Band:	Children Of Bodom
Album:	Halo Of Blood
Style:	Extreme power metal
Release date:	June 2013

01. Waste Of Skin
02. Halo Of Blood
03. Scream For Silence
04. Transference
05. Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming)
06. The Days Are Numbered
07. Dead Man's Hand On You
08. Damage Beyond Repair
09. All Twisted
10. One Bottle And A Knee Deep
11. Crazy Nights [Loudness Cover] [Limited Edition Bonus]
12. Sleeping In My Car [Roxette Cover] [Limited Edition Bonus]

Another few years have passed and the once so mighty Children Of Bodom give it another try. People out there might have heard the rumours already so here is the essential question: Are they back? Back from their downhill path starting with Are You Dead Yet? If you want an answer to that, get yourself the album and find it out by yourself, for it's truly a quite personal question. But let's have a look beyond conservatives and fanboy rockers and get some insight to the subject.

Halo Of Blood is their eighth album but it would have been better as the fifth. It sounds too much like Hate Crew Deathroll to not be called the logical follow-up to that great work released ten years ago (yes you're getting old). The opener "Waste Of Skin" totally fits as "Needled 24/7" in a newer version. Looking through the songs presented, one finds quite special ones telling how Alexi finally developed some diversity in his songwriting. "Dead Man's Hand On You" for example caught me totally off guard. Starting with acoustic guitars and clean (!) singing it builds up through rhythm-based parts to a rather epic chorus. Probably the least thing I expected from the Bodoms, nevertheless a shining highlight in their career. Another different song is definitely the title track, which many say to be black metal-like. Actually, it only sketchily has anything to do with that style but truly sounds special in its own way.

There's no use talking about the basic stuff here. Performance is excellent as always - I'd even say Alexi's vocal skills have improved - and so has the production level. Maybe on an even higher one than previous, conserving the natural instrumental sound and still pointing out the important things. The worst thing is that those guys again managed to pick one of the least good songs to be released as a single ("Transference", namely) but some attitudes won't ever change. In search of a highlight song I quickly came across the track "All Twisted". A paradise for every guitarist, with great harmonic aspects and a catchy-as-fuck chorus. Summed up, one type of song that made Children Of Bodom famous years ago.

To be honest, the last album wasn't too bad. At least a step up from the abysmal Blooddrunk, but still not the relief getting them out of the dust. The new stuff finally seems to be the breathing beast most of us have been waiting to wake up again after so many years of sleep. Awkward as it seems, that is also the reason Children Of Bodom will stand under even higher pressure for their next release. Maintain the level, fall back again, or push even higher up? Today, maybe only Alexi knows. And we have to keep on waiting.