Children Of Bodom - Follow The Reaper review
| Band: | Children Of Bodom |
| Album: | Follow The Reaper |
| Style: | Extreme power metal |
| Release date: | October 2000 |
01. Follow The Reaper
02. Bodom After Midnight
03. Children Of Decadence
04. Everytime I Die
05. Mask Of Sanity
06. Taste Of My Scythe
07. Hate Me!
08. Northern Comfort
09. Kissing The Shadows
10. Hellion [W.A.S.P. cover] [bonus]
11. Shot In The Dark [Ozzy Osbourne cover] [Japanese bonus]
12. Don't Stop At The Top [Scorpions cover] [Finnish bonus]
13. Aces High [Iron Maiden cover] [Deluxe Edition bonus]
14. Hate Me! [Original Single version] [2008 re-release bonus]
+ Everytime I Die [video] [Deluxe Edition bonus]
Death be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, thou art not so.
The follow up album to Hatebreeder, this album too has a very good little speach to kick it off. The five peace melo-death/extreme power metallers are back and better than ever with this album. This album, like their previous work has infamous neo-classical passeges, legendary harmonies, and solid rhythm work. Ladies and gentlemen, I have followed the reaper and I have tasted his scythe, it was sweet.
Follow the Reaper, while similar to past albums, is different and truly a step up in musicianship. They are more varied, more technical, and more skilled than ever before in this album. This, in my opinion, is the band at the height of their skill. The guitars are definitly more creative, and the second the opening note to the first song (which doubles as the title track) is played, you are bound to get sucked into the harmonic riffing of the masters of melody. This is sadly the last contribution Alexander Kuopala made before he left, and I feel it to be no coincience that after he left, the quality of their sound began to decline. The drums are great, as usual, keeping great time and using catchy fills and cymbal work. The vocals are Alexi's own unique little brand of growl, and are definitly good to my ear. The bass is mediocre, as usual, and the lyrics, of course, are cheesy as hell. But what do you expect from the boys of Bodom, though? Lyrics that make you think are not exactly their strong suit.
The first four songs on this album are definitly the highlight of the masterpiece. The title track holds one of the best opening melodies to any song I have ever heard. True, the album opener does not match the likes of The Painkiller, The Light the Blinds, or Fight Fire with Fire, but it is definitly captivating. Bodom After Midnight has one of the catchiest choruses you have ever heard, Children of Decadence sticks in your head due to it's masterful composition, and Every Time I Die is slow but mesmerising and you are guaranteed to bang your head every time you hear it. A few songs after that you run into the anthem "Hate Me!" which Alexi himself proclaims as his favorite song to play live.
There are very few flaws in this album, and really should be the first COB album any fan reaches for. While the lyrics might suck, and the bass may not be as noticeable, this is the height of thier skill. Go to the store and buy it if you want a really kick ass and unique album. Are you ready to follow the reaper?
Album Highlights: Follow the Reaper, Bodom After Midnight, Children Of Decadence, Every Time I Die, Hate Me!.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written by Arian Totalis | 31.07.2007
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
9.5
9.5
|
Rating: 9.5 |
Children of Bodom? It's hard to describe their music if you've never heard it before. It's a mix of power metal, speed metal and on the other side black/death metal for vocals! Let's say that it's just amazing. For their third album, Children of Bodom has taken the good things of their two previous ones and added some boosted melodies. As a result, Follow the Reaper is a brilliant cocktail of angry riffs and sweet but fast melodies. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 21
Visited by: 131 users
| Katatronik Angel of Lust Posts: 1018 From: Italy  |
That's right man, this album kicks really a lot of asses... maybe their best album ever, together with Hatebreeder! Good work 
---- "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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| Aylee_Bodom ¬¬ Posts: 211 From: Spain  |
Yah, maybe their lyrics aren't the best, but this album is just amazing...a masterpiece  With the new song Tie My Rope they slightly recover those melodies that so much characterize them...I hope the rest of the new songs keep on with the melody recovering. =D
---- *All Blood Runs The Same*
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| Sunioj Posts: 3894 From: Finland  |
Sure the bass is mediocre, but what did you think about the Hellion cover? I think that shows the bassist has potential but doesnt apply it. I listen to this album less than Hatebreeder though, but its still an a good album though...Hate Me is sooo catchy!
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| Abattoir Posts: 3629 From: Slovenia  |
Great album indeed. The best from COB for me...I have listened this album over and over again. Amazing long solos in Kissing the Shadows...
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| Lowelas OF FIRE Account deleted |
Lowelas OF FIRE
Account deleted
One ov my alltime favourite albums!!  it's such a damn shame that the band's music went TOTALLY downhill after this release though. So much emotion! I remember back in like 8th grade, whenever I'd have a shitty day, I'd pop this into the stereo  . It's the album ov the band which just stands out and blows the other releases out ov the water.I think what helped with the power and feeling ov this album was that it was the first Children Of Bodom release since Alexi Laiho's attempted suicide [with sleeping pills] and being in a coma for a month or two.
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8662 From: Czech Republic  |
i must say i like only a few bands and songs of those "extreme power" genre, but there is a number of such a tracks on this album... 
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| +{Jonas}+ I R Serious Cat Posts: 4955 From: Colombia  |
I'm deffinitely willign to follow teh reaper. This is their best album byt far. And teh WASP cover kicks ass. Great review Arian.
---- "Nobody wants to be the weird kid, you just end up being the weird kid. You don't know how you ended up getting there" - Rob Zombie http://jonas-bs.deviantart.com My dA, mainly photography, go check it out!
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Posts: 9718 From: Canada  |
@Jonas My god, I thought that WASP cover was atrocious, you shouldnt attempt to sing a Blackie Lawless song unless your Blackie Lawless, and Alexi Laiho aint Blackie Lawless. the only exception is Catamenias cover of 'I Wanna Be Somebody' in which they totally transformed the song to make it there own. There was a time when I wouldve agreed with this review 100%, but at the moment Ive grown tired of it, I hear alot of repeating in riffs, just rearranged in different songs.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| Stalker Lone wanderer Posts: 2705 From: Serbia  |
Ok, I would give it 8.5, it deserves it, but still, it is a (very) good COB's album with many legendary songs.
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| Arian Totalis The Philosopher Posts: 3351 From: USA  |
Written by Guest on 24.06.2008 at 03:08 Oh yeah, I don't think that ANY bodom album EVER is as good as Blooddrunk! 
---- "For the Coward there is no Life For the hero there is No Death" -Kakita Toshimoko "The Philosopher, you know so much about nothing at all." _Chuck Schuldiner.
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| thesabbathfan Posts: 410 From: Canada  |
I love this album, but I can't agree that they have been declining since, I just think it's been different since. This seemed to be the most atmospheric album they've produced, but everything else is good shit too.
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| Arian Totalis The Philosopher Posts: 3351 From: USA |
Written by thesabbathfan on 30.08.2008 at 23:30 I never said that they suck now-a-days. imo they're doing an okay job, but I also feel that the quality of their music has declined, and that they've given into a more comercialized sound. I mean, when you have a producer looking at you saying "we should do this because it'll target a wider audience range" that's actually them saying "let's alter your sound so we can make more money". and when you agree to do that, either you're naive, or you're saying "yeah, let's make money." In the end when you write music, it should be the very best you are capable of creating, and bodom have been half assing it since COBHCDR.
---- "For the Coward there is no Life For the hero there is No Death" -Kakita Toshimoko "The Philosopher, you know so much about nothing at all." _Chuck Schuldiner.
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| VPeter Posts: 1450 From: The Netherlands  |
a good album but waaaaaayyyyyy to overated. an 8 is just good enough.
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| thesabbathfan Posts: 410 From: Canada |
Written by Arian Totalis on 01.09.2008 at 22:33 good point.
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| Arian Totalis The Philosopher Posts: 3351 From: USA |
Edit, I was wrong with one thing. Alexander Kuopala DID play on COBHCDR. lol.
---- "For the Coward there is no Life For the hero there is No Death" -Kakita Toshimoko "The Philosopher, you know so much about nothing at all." _Chuck Schuldiner.
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| thewall30 Posts: 338 From: USA  |
Great, great album! I would rank this as their second best of course next to the phenominal Hatebreeder...
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 From: Canada  |
Written by Doc G. on 14.11.2007 at 07:13 This cover is inded nicely done, imo. Much better than Gates Of Ishtar's cover of the same song.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Gorshtak Posts: 24 From: Serbia  |
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| Arian Totalis The Philosopher Posts: 3351 From: USA |
Yeah I think I was like 17 or smth when I wrote this so sorry about some of the fuck ups. 9/10's of my reviews are like that. I only have a few that imo are worth reading.
---- "For the Coward there is no Life For the hero there is No Death" -Kakita Toshimoko "The Philosopher, you know so much about nothing at all." _Chuck Schuldiner.
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