One of the best bands born in the 90s, the first 3 albums are (in my opinion) among the best of the last 30 years! Stunning even in concert, truly enthralling and intense. I remember that when the first album came out the newspapers (the ones that were published in Italy at the time) really talked about it with a lot of enthusiasm, well, they weren't wrong. Alexi Laiho's death was truly a sad page💔
Children of Bodom, In Flames, and Opeth are basically responsible for getting me into harsh vocals. Hate Crew Deathroll is still one of the best melodic death metal albums from start to finish.
I was like maybe 14 and all about avenged sevenfold and linkin park and metallica, checking out the song Everytime I Die for the first time, I was waiting for the whole song wondering when the clean vocals would come in... they never did. I didn't like it the first time around, but the second... oh boy I got it. It changed the course of my music journey forever.
I became a fan after hearing FTR when it came out, and listening to the three albums they've made, i remember thinking 'they can't possibly make a record that holds the standard of their catalouge', and HCDR just fuckin' blew us all away.. as u said, from start to finish, a historic masterpiece
Something Wild, Hatebreeder And follow The Reaper were some of the most important albums of my teens, but tbh the sound they went into with Hatecrew is nowadays what I think of as the CoB sound
ooo i thought this was whole hatebreeder album..this album gives u EVERYTHING of the style in the album possible. its SO good as a full album. great single too which is always wanted..cobs the best
Def was a gateway band for me into metal. I grew up liking hard rock, and at the time I was introduced to this band was a pretty new guitarist into pop punk. Over the years, I listened to this band less and less as my tastes shifted towards weirder/heavier stuff, but no denying how completely blown away i was by them, and they were a favorite for years.
This band has been one of the firsts step into extreme metal in my teenage years, and despite all this time, this album still sound great to me. It is a mix of a lot of things but sounds solid like no other band.
same here!! i used to listen to this band!! so good!! melodic death metal !! RIP ALEXI WILD CHILD LAIHO rhey had and unique sound to their music.. they were friends with Death so amazing bands. alexi liked classical music also and it shows in his compositions
Not sure if you remember, but this isn't your first COB song. Right after we found out that Alexi had died, I asked you to check out Needled 24/7 as a tribute (figured this might be an easier song for you to get into), and I was blown away when you actually did it! So thanks again for doing that! COB was a huge band for me. I was already listening to a lot of melodic metal and death metal, but COB influenced me a lot as a guitar player. My old band even covered a few of their songs. This album in particular is a fave of mine though, and this song is part of the reason why. Alexi's first solo in this song is one of my all time fave solo's. This band did actually act as a bridge for me, but not in the way that you'd expect. I couldn't stand black metal vocals back then, and getting used to Alexi's vocals actually made black metal vocals click for me. I realise that COB is not black metal, and I had already been listening to death metal for about a decade by this point, so I was no stranger to harsh vocals. But it was the higher 'pitched' harsh vocals that I couldn't stand. Now I love them. And it's all thanks to Alexi. I am so desperate to see you check out Downfall, also from the Hatebreeder album. The dueling guitars/keys are out of this world. Silent Night, Bodom Night is also insane for the guitar/keys duo. Either of those would blow you away I think. But anything from Hatebreeder or Follow The Reaper is going to be absolute gold.
I was 15 and in full anti-everything mode when I first heard this song. For me it was the lyrics of the chorus : "Never see the full beast inside of me - well I'm an asshole and I really will always be" . That in combination with the orchestralic uplifting keyboard chords in the back just gave me EVERYTHING. Still loving this song 15 years later.
I didn’t find COB til ‘00. I was 18 then and heard the Follow the Reaper album, which to this very day imho I believe to be their best album of all time.there’s literally no skip songs… that’s what we call a “masterpiece.” Alexi’s style was so hardcore and even though their last 2 albums weren’t very good, I think we still could’ve squeezed out some more. He died from being what would be call “consumption” in the late hundreds of years ago. Pretty much drank himself to death which I knew was possible, I just didn’t know it could happen at his age, which proves how hard he hit the bottle. Just a sad way to go, but he’s made some of the greatest music I’ve ever heard and if there’s an album you wanna start with, it’s either this one or Follow the Reaper. Kissing the Shadows is one of my favorite songs on the album. Believe me when I say I have great taste in music lol, so yeah, YW. 😬🤘🏼
There's so many ideas in this one song you could make a whole album off them. Loved the band on and off from the nineties. Hate Crew Deathroll was my favourite. When I played that in my car the whole road heard it!
Bodom was definitely in there with my metal gateway bands. I always loved the keyboard solos and had never heard anything like it before. Also in my gateway bands were: Silent Civilian and Shadows Fall, before ultimately becoming obsessed with Lamb of God. Now I’m off the deep end into technical death metal and anything in the prog metal realm. Been a great journey and metal remains my favorite genre but my library is all over the place haha.
Children of Bodom was my first "harder" Metal Band coming from Iron Maiden etc. been listening to them since 2002. Absolute Gateway Band. But now that im older and been listening to metal for 25 years, i can appreciate them more, back then i didnt understand how good they were :D in school you only saw me in CoB shirts.....i had 3 Bandshirts, all CoB, couldnt afford more :D
Hey, why are you me :D I had tshirts of first three albums that I wore all the time (with occasional kill em all) untill they fell apart, just a while ago I was thinking about buying some again, guess it's considered retro now, too :D
@@reynev4n as far as i remember i had a Follow the Reaper (blue print), a Hate crew Deathroll (red print) and a Downfall (green print) shirt :) last 15 years ive been into Black Metal, mostly the more undergroundt stuff, dont like the mainstream shit. i own about 200+ Bandshirts now xD
The first time I heard of this band, Besides the beautiful melodies, I was so surprised that the vocalist can also play lead guitars like that simultaneously. And from then on I got hooked to this band.
CoB was my gateway too. I loved the music (listened to Lake Bodom sooo many times) but at first I just learned to tolerate the "distracting screaming". I learnt to appreciate them once I got used to them. Now, I really like growls/screams (of course some much more than others). Melodic death metal is still my favourite genre.
Hello hello again Bryan..That opening riff reminded me of The Four Horseman by the mighty Metallica but faster...I'm a casual listener of COB and I really dig those classical keyboards...RIP LEXI ✌️🤘🧐
bodom had a huge metallica influence but also alot of classical influence and also swedish melodic death metal influence, and also of course yngwie malmsteen and stuff
I was already a metal veteran when I came to CoB, but even with that background they were still way ahead most of their peers in the genre in the late-90s/early-00s. What they did so well was incorporating a wide range of metal influences, from thrash rhythms, to the dual melodic guitar leads of classic heavy metal, to the vocals of metalcore, to the keyboards of power/symphonic metal, to neoclassical shred... they were just clearly a band that had digested most all of metal's history and knew how to combine it into a very tasty dish. Their first four albums are indeed all superb and Alexi Laiho was indeed one of the premiere metal guitar virtuosos of that period. They kinda went downhill after those first few albums but they did have a few solid comeback efforts. This is a fine song selection, the title track from perhaps their best album.
You nailed it about them being a gateway band, they certainly were for me. I never thought about CoB's use of more "clean" vocals, but I guess you're right. Never noticed the punk before now.
CoB was one of the first metal bands I truly liked, after hearing the guitar arrangement of Vivaldi's Summer. The mix of neoclassical elements with what is essentially death metal crossed with power metal was really fresh coming from symphonic black metal. Even after all these years, CoB is still amongst the top of melodic death metal for me. Hatebreeder is still the only CoB album I have on CD, but I think the first three albums are their best. Alexi Laiho inspired a whole generation of guitarists. Truly a legend.
Definitely was a gateway band for me into extreme territory.. at the same time i found out about melodic death metal in specific, like in flames, dark tranquility and at the gates. Before that i used to listen to everything metal related from iron maiden and metallica to slipknot, disturbed and dragonforce Children of bodom i really liked because it was easy to listen to because its so catchy and even kind if like innocent and happy little melodies. A great gateway band… bands like skyfire and kalmah take the children of bodom vibe take it and morph it into their own, while children of bodom being so influental band, there is a very unknown band called dead of night, which is full on bodom worship. Like a tribute band with 2 full lenghts. the best cob album is this, the green one. Blue one is a close second. First album, something wild, is probably just as good as the green.. and the 4th one the red one again, hatecrew deathroll is good too, but they became way more radio friendly, and in their 5th album are you dead yet which is black album cover, from 2005, they became full on radio friendly
@@CriticalReactions Does that read need a comma?... (e.g. "I have no right now, but I had rights yesterday..." Anyways, you read is probably correct, it just dawned on me that there might be an alternative read 😊
The problem with the lyrics is that they are very misheard, now I can barely do any better but I'm quite sure Alexi says "I hate you from the bottom of my heart, I call you a fucking liar (I see so?) " in the part you're referring to. Have a look at my go: Loathe all, said so Betrayal, we told you Lost soul, beyond (something) maybe I see so or icy self? This line is super hard so tell what it says so I'll skip over it watch yourself on this path I hate you from the bottom of my heart, I call you a fucking liar (I see so?) Betrayal, lost soul, (burning?) angels wake up now, lose your kiss ass humility, I saw it, if anything your mentality for sure? Everything and the booze, peace inside of me, I'm an asshole and it will always be, so why now, leave me be. Slash your fucking arms, be dead and free (here if you listen to some of their lives, Alexi points at his hands so it's definitely meant to say slash your arms and not "Is that so fucking hard) I also think the lyrics say "well I manage the war" instead of I'm an asshole but it's hard to tell. Also, the word "booze" is more audible in live versions, trust me, it's there Burn alive in the flame with (something here) self destruction drive (This part is hard but sounds to me like) relive the old pain, with my search I have fallen to die (could also be something about faith but live videos it sounds like he says pain I see (something, maybe "self") without another life (I mean it does sound like northern lights but I can't tie that into the song so...) I cry fucking at yourself (maybe aaarg cry you fucking heart out , count it out) (counted up?) I kill you then, don't fucking (puss?) out (pass out?) A culmination And then you fucking die Caos and booze, pictured inside of me I'm an asshole (well I manage the war) and it will always be, so why now, leave me be. Slash your fucking arms, be dead and free I've been writing this for too long, it's kind been a project of mine for a while to figure out the correct lyrics since as a singer I got annoyed by the incorrect ones. Problem is, in a live setting it seems like Alexi either changed some lyrics or doesn't remember them all so it's still super hard. Cheers!
That’s definitely true for a lot of people. It’s funny cuz his vocals are one of the things that drew me in. I hate the typical Cookie Monster vocals in most metal bands. I feel like Alexi had more of a growl than a generic scream.
There are no lyrics! Alexi was just screaming nonsense and the fans wanted to make sense of the lyrics, so you found that mess that the fans put together and thought those were lyrics. The only real lyrics are actually “I hate you from the bottom of my heart” and the “I’m an asshole” part.
One of the most unbelievable thing is that guys were around 18 years old when they composed and recorded this.
One of the best bands born in the 90s, the first 3 albums are (in my opinion) among the best of the last 30 years! Stunning even in concert, truly enthralling and intense.
I remember that when the first album came out the newspapers (the ones that were published in Italy at the time) really talked about it with a lot of enthusiasm, well, they weren't wrong.
Alexi Laiho's death was truly a sad page💔
Children of Bodom, In Flames, and Opeth are basically responsible for getting me into harsh vocals. Hate Crew Deathroll is still one of the best melodic death metal albums from start to finish.
I was like maybe 14 and all about avenged sevenfold and linkin park and metallica, checking out the song Everytime I Die for the first time, I was waiting for the whole song wondering when the clean vocals would come in... they never did. I didn't like it the first time around, but the second... oh boy I got it.
It changed the course of my music journey forever.
I became a fan after hearing FTR when it came out, and listening to the three albums they've made, i remember thinking 'they can't possibly make a record that holds the standard of their catalouge', and HCDR just fuckin' blew us all away.. as u said, from start to finish, a historic masterpiece
Something Wild, Hatebreeder And follow The Reaper were some of the most important albums of my teens, but tbh the sound they went into with Hatecrew is nowadays what I think of as the CoB sound
ooo i thought this was whole hatebreeder album..this album gives u EVERYTHING of the style in the album possible. its SO good as a full album. great single too which is always wanted..cobs the best
Hatebreeder is the best Finnish metal album ever recorded.
Def was a gateway band for me into metal. I grew up liking hard rock, and at the time I was introduced to this band was a pretty new guitarist into pop punk. Over the years, I listened to this band less and less as my tastes shifted towards weirder/heavier stuff, but no denying how completely blown away i was by them, and they were a favorite for years.
This band has been one of the firsts step into extreme metal in my teenage years, and despite all this time, this album still sound great to me. It is a mix of a lot of things but sounds solid like no other band.
same here!! i used to listen to this band!! so good!! melodic death metal !! RIP ALEXI WILD CHILD LAIHO rhey had and unique sound to their music.. they were friends with Death so amazing bands. alexi liked classical music also and it shows in his compositions
Not sure if you remember, but this isn't your first COB song. Right after we found out that Alexi had died, I asked you to check out Needled 24/7 as a tribute (figured this might be an easier song for you to get into), and I was blown away when you actually did it! So thanks again for doing that!
COB was a huge band for me. I was already listening to a lot of melodic metal and death metal, but COB influenced me a lot as a guitar player. My old band even covered a few of their songs. This album in particular is a fave of mine though, and this song is part of the reason why. Alexi's first solo in this song is one of my all time fave solo's.
This band did actually act as a bridge for me, but not in the way that you'd expect. I couldn't stand black metal vocals back then, and getting used to Alexi's vocals actually made black metal vocals click for me. I realise that COB is not black metal, and I had already been listening to death metal for about a decade by this point, so I was no stranger to harsh vocals. But it was the higher 'pitched' harsh vocals that I couldn't stand. Now I love them. And it's all thanks to Alexi.
I am so desperate to see you check out Downfall, also from the Hatebreeder album. The dueling guitars/keys are out of this world. Silent Night, Bodom Night is also insane for the guitar/keys duo. Either of those would blow you away I think. But anything from Hatebreeder or Follow The Reaper is going to be absolute gold.
I was 15 and in full anti-everything mode when I first heard this song. For me it was the lyrics of the chorus : "Never see the full beast inside of me - well I'm an asshole and I really will always be" . That in combination with the orchestralic uplifting keyboard chords in the back just gave me EVERYTHING. Still loving this song 15 years later.
I didn’t find COB til ‘00. I was 18 then and heard the Follow the Reaper album, which to this very day imho I believe to be their best album of all time.there’s literally no skip songs… that’s what we call a “masterpiece.” Alexi’s style was so hardcore and even though their last 2 albums weren’t very good, I think we still could’ve squeezed out some more. He died from being what would be call “consumption” in the late hundreds of years ago. Pretty much drank himself to death which I knew was possible, I just didn’t know it could happen at his age, which proves how hard he hit the bottle. Just a sad way to go, but he’s made some of the greatest music I’ve ever heard and if there’s an album you wanna start with, it’s either this one or Follow the Reaper. Kissing the Shadows is one of my favorite songs on the album. Believe me when I say I have great taste in music lol, so yeah, YW. 😬🤘🏼
There's so many ideas in this one song you could make a whole album off them. Loved the band on and off from the nineties. Hate Crew Deathroll was my favourite. When I played that in my car the whole road heard it!
Bodom was definitely in there with my metal gateway bands. I always loved the keyboard solos and had never heard anything like it before. Also in my gateway bands were: Silent Civilian and Shadows Fall, before ultimately becoming obsessed with Lamb of God. Now I’m off the deep end into technical death metal and anything in the prog metal realm. Been a great journey and metal remains my favorite genre but my library is all over the place haha.
Very interesting. I've never listened to this band. I really enjoyed your analysis.
This entire album is so much fun.
Children of Bodom was my first "harder" Metal Band coming from Iron Maiden etc. been listening to them since 2002.
Absolute Gateway Band. But now that im older and been listening to metal for 25 years, i can appreciate them more, back then i didnt understand how good they were :D
in school you only saw me in CoB shirts.....i had 3 Bandshirts, all CoB, couldnt afford more :D
Hey, why are you me :D I had tshirts of first three albums that I wore all the time (with occasional kill em all) untill they fell apart, just a while ago I was thinking about buying some again, guess it's considered retro now, too :D
@@reynev4n as far as i remember i had a Follow the Reaper (blue print), a Hate crew Deathroll (red print) and a Downfall (green print) shirt :) last 15 years ive been into Black Metal, mostly the more undergroundt stuff, dont like the mainstream shit. i own about 200+ Bandshirts now xD
R.I.P. Alexi, we miss you
Still my favorite CoB song and album (but hell I like them all!). Pure brutality, speed, yet amazing at the same time.
Great analysis of this song dude. Nice to see a reaction video from a true musician who actually appreciates the music for what it is. COBHC for ever!
The first time I heard of this band, Besides the beautiful melodies, I was so surprised that the vocalist can also play lead guitars like that simultaneously. And from then on I got hooked to this band.
This is such a good channel to get a rest from all the doom and gloom, ironically.
CoB was my gateway too. I loved the music (listened to Lake Bodom sooo many times) but at first I just learned to tolerate the "distracting screaming". I learnt to appreciate them once I got used to them. Now, I really like growls/screams (of course some much more than others). Melodic death metal is still my favourite genre.
Hello hello again Bryan..That opening riff reminded me of The Four Horseman by the mighty Metallica but faster...I'm a casual listener of COB and I really dig those classical keyboards...RIP LEXI ✌️🤘🧐
bodom had a huge metallica influence but also alot of classical influence and also swedish melodic death metal influence, and also of course yngwie malmsteen and stuff
ew
This is simply a mixture of 80s hair metal mixed with death metal. This whole album just shreds!!!
It was such a slap to the face in the late 90’s.
I was already a metal veteran when I came to CoB, but even with that background they were still way ahead most of their peers in the genre in the late-90s/early-00s. What they did so well was incorporating a wide range of metal influences, from thrash rhythms, to the dual melodic guitar leads of classic heavy metal, to the vocals of metalcore, to the keyboards of power/symphonic metal, to neoclassical shred... they were just clearly a band that had digested most all of metal's history and knew how to combine it into a very tasty dish. Their first four albums are indeed all superb and Alexi Laiho was indeed one of the premiere metal guitar virtuosos of that period. They kinda went downhill after those first few albums but they did have a few solid comeback efforts. This is a fine song selection, the title track from perhaps their best album.
You nailed it about them being a gateway band, they certainly were for me. I never thought about CoB's use of more "clean" vocals, but I guess you're right. Never noticed the punk before now.
22:10 i assumed it means he has no heart right now, but your interpretation is much more interesting
I came into COB a bit later I guess, but my favourite stuff by them is honestly Follow the Reaper - Blooddrunk
Hopefully you can react to all of Follow the Reaper one day, their best album imo. Rip Alexi, he is the reason I love lead guitar so much
CoB was one of the first metal bands I truly liked, after hearing the guitar arrangement of Vivaldi's Summer. The mix of neoclassical elements with what is essentially death metal crossed with power metal was really fresh coming from symphonic black metal. Even after all these years, CoB is still amongst the top of melodic death metal for me. Hatebreeder is still the only CoB album I have on CD, but I think the first three albums are their best. Alexi Laiho inspired a whole generation of guitarists. Truly a legend.
Great reactions man, not sure if you take requests from here but would be nice if you could do "Emperor - Decrystallizing Reason" sometime.
Definitely was a gateway band for me into extreme territory.. at the same time i found out about melodic death metal in specific, like in flames, dark tranquility and at the gates. Before that i used to listen to everything metal related from iron maiden and metallica to slipknot, disturbed and dragonforce
Children of bodom i really liked because it was easy to listen to because its so catchy and even kind if like innocent and happy little melodies. A great gateway band… bands like skyfire and kalmah take the children of bodom vibe take it and morph it into their own, while children of bodom being so influental band, there is a very unknown band called dead of night, which is full on bodom worship. Like a tribute band with 2 full lenghts. the best cob album is this, the green one. Blue one is a close second. First album, something wild, is probably just as good as the green.. and the 4th one the red one again, hatecrew deathroll is good too, but they became way more radio friendly, and in their 5th album are you dead yet which is black album cover, from 2005, they became full on radio friendly
Well, you know, the music is goil, and when it comes to the Lyrics, thers no mindfucking shit, it is all felt.
Could it also be interpreted like "I have no right (now)"?
I suppose, yeah. There wasn't a comma in the lyrics to suggest that read but it's possible the lyrics were improperly written.
@@CriticalReactions Does that read need a comma?... (e.g. "I have no right now, but I had rights yesterday..."
Anyways, you read is probably correct, it just dawned on me that there might be an alternative read 😊
The problem with the lyrics is that they are very misheard, now I can barely do any better but I'm quite sure Alexi says "I hate you from the bottom of my heart, I call you a fucking liar (I see so?) " in the part you're referring to.
Have a look at my go:
Loathe all, said so
Betrayal, we told you
Lost soul, beyond (something) maybe I see so or icy self?
This line is super hard so tell what it says so I'll skip over it
watch yourself on this path
I hate you from the bottom of my heart, I call you a fucking liar (I see so?)
Betrayal, lost soul, (burning?) angels
wake up now, lose your kiss ass humility, I saw it, if anything your mentality for sure?
Everything and the booze, peace inside of me, I'm an asshole and it will always be, so why now, leave me be. Slash your fucking arms, be dead and free (here if you listen to some of their lives, Alexi points at his hands so it's definitely meant to say slash your arms and not "Is that so fucking hard) I also think the lyrics say "well I manage the war" instead of I'm an asshole but it's hard to tell. Also, the word "booze" is more audible in live versions, trust me, it's there
Burn alive in the flame with (something here) self destruction drive
(This part is hard but sounds to me like)
relive the old pain, with my search I have fallen to die (could also be something about faith but live videos it sounds like he says pain
I see (something, maybe "self") without another life (I mean it does sound like northern lights but I can't tie that into the song so...)
I cry fucking at yourself (maybe aaarg cry you fucking heart out , count it out) (counted up?)
I kill you then, don't fucking (puss?) out (pass out?)
A culmination
And then you fucking die
Caos and booze, pictured inside of me I'm an asshole (well I manage the war) and it will always be, so why now, leave me be. Slash your fucking arms, be dead and free
I've been writing this for too long, it's kind been a project of mine for a while to figure out the correct lyrics since as a singer I got annoyed by the incorrect ones. Problem is, in a live setting it seems like Alexi either changed some lyrics or doesn't remember them all so it's still super hard.
Cheers!
Wow yes this was certainly a gateway band for me too, putting me on track to like harsher vocals.
Musically I could probably get into Children of Bodom, but the vocal style always puts me off.
it'll grow on you if you just keep on listening.
That’s definitely true for a lot of people. It’s funny cuz his vocals are one of the things that drew me in. I hate the typical Cookie Monster vocals in most metal bands. I feel like Alexi had more of a growl than a generic scream.
I felt the same way at first. I think his vocals on Are You Dead Yet? are a lot more accessible.
There are no lyrics! Alexi was just screaming nonsense and the fans wanted to make sense of the lyrics, so you found that mess that the fans put together and thought those were lyrics. The only real lyrics are actually “I hate you from the bottom of my heart” and the “I’m an asshole” part.
COB ❤❤❤