Children of Bodom Tour Review

Children of Bodom Tour
Review

Children of Bodom
Trivium
Amon Amarth
HOB
11/13/05
Reviewer: Karma E. Omowale
Photos: Erika Kristen Watt

Children of Bodom US Headlining Tour with Trivium Amon Amarth

“Redefining The Face Of Metal, The Acts on the Children of Bodom Tour Were All Out In Your Face!”

As it stands, 2005 was a VERY good year for live shows. Many European acts came out of hibernation and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to our shores for the first time in eons. The three acts [Children of Bodom, Trivium, and Amon Amarth] on tonight’s bill will definitely make it tougher for subsequent acts to follow. After tonight’s complete and utter annihilation of the House of Blues, most assured the majority of their “successors” will pale by far in comparison. Tickets were sold-out long before the doors opened. Trivium‘s bassist Paolo Gregoletto put it best, “There’s a lot of buzz around this tour and that’s why shows have been selling out”. He went on to say, “It’s a good package. Bodom’s amazing, Amon Amarth’s amazing, and these bands don’t get over here a lot so people are really stoked”. We concur!

Going a little further with bands not playing here in America much, opening act Amon Amarth is a perfect example of this! Another spawn of Sweden’s sons have not toured the States in over two years. One can only imagine what an immense treat this was to those that bared witness to their set! I would be remiss by not mentioning the headliners of this tour, Finland’s Children of Bodom. Last time these lads were on tour they landed the spot of direct support for the Lamb of God/Fear Factory Tour around this same time last year. Before that, the men of Bodom toured with Iced Earth and Evergrey. Bottom line, from start to finish, it was an exhilarating evening, one soon not to be forgotten.

Lineup: Johan Hegg – vocals; Olavi Mikkonen – guitars; Johan Söderberg - guitars; Ted Lundström – bass; Fredrik Andersson – drums

Raise your horns high for Amon Amarth or drinking horns in this case! As brief history, this quintet formed in ’92, at that time they were known as “Scum”. Later, they changed their name to the Sindarin word for Mount Doom, Amon Amarth (as in J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings). Martin Lopez was once their drummer, as he appeared on their demo Thor’s Arise to the band’s debut album, Once Sent From The Golden Hall before parting ways with the band and joining Opeth. Now that we are all caught up, let’s return from this historic time capsule and speak of the present, today’s wonderment!

This band was downright impressive with a capital “I”. The Viking Kings of Tumba, Sweden established their dominance from the first chord and never looked back. The band’s portentous frontman, Johan Hegg captivated the audience during the first song "An Ancient Sign Of Coming Storm". Hegg commented on the style of their live shows, "It's supposed to be a lot of interaction with the audience", and that it was! As soon as he started to pump his fist, so did his faithful brood. To pay homage to their favorite band, a group of people raised the Swedish flag by the railing towards stage right. Hegg beamed as he acknowledged the fans. Later he told us how "cool" he thought it was! Not to mention the fans that milled the front row loyally sang every word to every song.

Unfortunately, there were a many of pissed off AA fan, due to the venue starting the show promptly at 6:30 without any local openers. Many of an AA missed the band. Not to mention their set was cut short due to curfew, and as a direct result, "Fate of Norns" got dropped from the setlist. It affected the band as well; Hegg said because their set was shortened, it "made it difficult for [the band] to be more diverse.” The band more than made up for it by going for “a lot of action, that’s what we wanted to do for the twenty-five minutes we had. Normally we would be a bit more diverse but still it’s progressive." Well he definitely hit the nail on the head there. By this being our first time seeing Amon Amarth, we can say it was more than a pleasure. Their performance was "brilliant" per Johan’s assessment and ours as well. It seems the HOB stepped their game up, as the sound was clear and incredible!

At the conclusion of Amon Amarth's set, the excited crowd clapped loudly, seemingly so the band was just excited as their fans. The energy level was close to suffocating it was so strong, what an amazing feeling! Wild applause followed for many seconds after the lights went down. Hegg immediately raised his (drinking) horn, had a drink, and then toasted the crowd. We all raise our horns/glasses high to you as well Johan! Skål!!

Setlist: An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm, Pursuit of Vikings, Releasing Surtur's Fire, For The Stabwounds In Our Backs, Death In Fire

Click here for interview with Johan Hegg from tonight

Here for 2007 interview with Johan

Click photo to enlarge thumbnail

Lineup: Matt Heafy - lead vocals/guitar; Travis Smith - drums; Paolo Gregoletto - bass; Corey Beaulieu - guitar/vocals

This was yet another fantastic performance for the Almonte Springs, Florida quartet! Did you know that with the success of Ascendancy the band earned the title of the fourth highest new band debut in the history of Roadrunner Records? These lads should be damn proud of themselves, as they have been working their asses off to get their name out there. In between creative marketing (My Space), an aggressive 2005 touring schedule (Ozzfest, Road Rage, Overkill Tour, Danzig…), through heavily rotated videos on HBB and heavy rotation including a special feature on Music Choice, you cannot help but know who Trivium is, and if you don’t you obviously have been in your cave too long. They have definitely become a household name as of late.

Bassist Paolo Gregoletto commented on the band’s rising fandom, "It’s awesome though ‘cos there are a LOT of Trivium fans coming out too. "I think that people who saw us on Ozzfest really wanted to see us play some more!" They even found out they had fans in places the unlikeliest of places, “We played Helsinki, Finland for the first time ever. We headlined a show and 600 kids showed up. We didn’t know we had any fans there so that was pretty cool”. Speaking of touring, the band recently toured Europe as direct support for Sweden’s Arch Enemy in the latter part of the summer/early autumn, in which they had a pretty successful run. Gregoletto had this to say about that tour, “It was amazing! We played a few new places we hadn’t been to before; we played Norway too".

Obviously, the band was still fired up from last night’s sold-out performance at Harpo’s, Detroit’s legendary theatre now metal venue. Paolo said there were “a couple thousand people” in attendance last night! Sporting a new hairdo lead vocalist and guitarist, Matt Heafy, made a mosh call during "Rain", "Chicago, what the fuck's up with the mosh pit?" The audience responded with a pretty sizable one. Still unsatisfied and wanting more, Heafy retorted, "Chicago, I know what the fuck a circle pit is", the crowd moshed awhile to "Drowned And Torn Asunder".

They put on one hell of a set as a plethora of fans on the floor screamed and shouted as the band performed. The little girlies and host of fan-boys lining the front row sung every word to all of their songs. The pit erupted especially on “Gunshot”. It was damn good effort as the men from the Sunshine State properly warmed the crowd for Children of Bodom!

Setlist: The End Of Everything [PA], Rain, Drowned And Torn Asunder, Like Light To The Flies, Suffocating Sight, The Deceived, Gunshot To The Head of Trepidation, Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr.

Click here for interview with the Entire Band

Here for photos of the band during the Come Clarity Tour with In Flames

Lineup: Alexi Laiho – vocals / guitar; Henkka T. Blacksmith – bass; Jaska Raatikainen – drums; Roope Latvala – guitars; Janne Warman – keyboards

This five piece outfit from Espoo, Finland has to be one of the most exciting live acts around, obviously their fans thought so too. Minutes before the screen of mindless self-promotion went up, the packed/sold-out crowd loudly and rapaciously shouted, “Bodom, Bodom, Bodom, Bodom…” The band finally came out, by this time the tension mounted to an incredible proportion, so of course we were all over-anxious. That minute and a half seemed like an eternity. The band kicked the set off with a song from their fifth freshly (October 25^th) release, Are You Dead Yet, lead guitarist and vocalist's Alex Laiho’s current favorite to be exact, “Living Dead Beat”. Amazingly enough, the crowd seemed quite receptive to the song or shall I say they were a lot warmer than anticipated.

Speaking of the new material, the band seemed at ease performing the songs. Laiho had this to say on the matter, “You know, we have gotten used to it. When we first started playing the new songs, which was in Australia actually. First, it felt kind of weird; it’s just a little bit different than the old stuff. For me, there’s a lot more crazy stuff too, you know, like sing and play at the same time. Like really crazy rhythms with the guitar and do a completely different thing with the vocals to get used to it. But now, it’s okay”! It was way more than okay, it was astounding. They ripped through the new songs like a hot knife gliding through a stick of butter, with way more precision. Here’s a play-by-play account of CoB’s amazing set:

The entire floor erupted during the intro to “Sixpounder” off their last album, Hate Crew Deathroll. At the conclusion of this song, Laiho addressed his minion, “Chicago, how the fuck are you guys doing tonight? We’re happy to be here because you guys fuckin’ rock!” The crowd went absolutely nuts! He continued, “Are you ready mother truckers? On into “Silent Night…” the crowd finished the sentence, “…Bodom Night”. Mass hysteria ensued. During “Silent Night” an onslaught of female crowd surfers continued to cross the barricades. At the conclusion of “Silent Night”, Alexi added, “I’ve never seen so many chicks crowd surfing before! That’s pretty fucking cool!” He even gave a high five to one passerby. For the next song, Laiho said, “Are you guys ready for some more headbanging or what?” Crowd immediately and happily responded with a pit, before “Hate Me” commenced. In unison, the audience shouted, “HATE ME”! Alexi started to point to every female that crowd surfed passed this point; he even threw horns at some whenever he had the chance to. How cool is that?

Alexi Laiho and Roope Latvala of Children of Bodom (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt) Addressing the crowd again, Alexi announced the new album in which the crowd moderately cheered; some yipes were released as well. The older fans were attempting to be supportive; however, it did not come across as strongly as the band had hoped, especially according to their facial expressions. Laiho then said, “We’re gonna slow it down a bit. Wingman, play “Angels Don’t Kill”!” I must admit this is when I got rowdy!! Drummer Jaska Raatikainen started up his drum solo immediately after “Angels”. We were all left breathless during the three-minute assault! Can you blast beats? YES!! Alexi appeared at the end of Jaska’s solo and said, “Give it up for Mr. Raatikainen”! Rightfully so, the crowd went berserk. Laiho added, “He’s a crazy son of a bitch”! Laughter and wild applause erupted. He then followed with, “Can I ask you a question? How many of you heard of a place called Lake Bodom? Well go and check it out after this song!” he then growled. The way they bridged the two interludes (“Bam” and “BBQ”) together was great.

Laiho starts his dialogue up with his fans again, “So you guys wanna rock? On the count of 3, I want you to say I Wanna Rock!” the exultant crowd responded in-kind! Alexi retorted, “Oh you wanna rock do you? Well here’s Follow The mother fucking Reaper!” the crowd went crazy. Alexi gave more thumbs up to the crowd surfing girls. After the conclusion of the song, he snarled, “That’s the way to do it!” His attention then diverted to the people in the rafters of the venue, “Are you crazy mother fuckers having fun”? The fans in the upper tiers erupted with applause and screams, as well as the crowd on the floor. At it again, Alexi screams, “Wanna see a real live hatecrew mosh pit?”, the band led into “Needled 24/7” at this point. In the beginning of the song, Alexi bent down on one knee with his guitar behind his head whilst still playing. He was right; a pit erupted like the size of a tsunami. During the second break in “Needled” while jamming with guitarist, Roope Latvala slapped Alexi in the face. A little premature if you ask me, he should have done this during “In Your Face”! It was comic relief at its highest form.

Alexi Laiho and Janne Warman of Children of Bodom (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt) Next up on tonight’s whirlwind of events is keyboard wizard, Janne Warman’s solo, “Tilu”…oh wait, now a bare chest Alexi comes out too! Never have we witnessed such splendor. It turned out to be a duel, Warman vs. Laiho! Think it was a draw, as all jaws in the audience were left agape. Goes to show when you headline you will always have the time to be able to showcase immense talent, as best displayed during this awesome added bonus. It definitely highlighted Laiho’s aptitude; each chord strummed led him closer to guitar god status. After Laiho’s portion of the solo, he clapped for Janne, as well as the audience. The energy level reached an all-new height by this juncture. The rest of the band joined Alexi and Janne, for the next song, “In Your Face”. This time bassist Henkka T. Blacksmith returned without his wifebeater, guessing he didn’t want to be left out. The crowd seemed to respond to this tune.

Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

Laiho screams, “Chicago, are you the real mother fucking Hatecrew? Well this one’s for you, crazy mother fuckers! This is “Hate Crew Deathroll”! The maddened pace of the crowd picked up, yet more steam. During “HCDR” they broke the chorus down into a semi-acoustic part. DAMN! Was this sharp!! At the conclusion of the song, Alexi screamed, “You guys have the toughest chicks in the country!” The floor erupted! Laiho then said, “This is our last song!”, the crowd hissed and booed. He went on to say, “I’ve gone through stitches, broken bones…this song is a result of all of this plus a black eye, “Are You Dead Yet?””. Amazingly enough, the crowd gave the band a warm reception to the song. As the song ended Laiho said, “Thank you Chicago! You guys are fucking insane!” on the outro, the crowd immediately followed with “Bodom, Bodom, Bodom…”

-- INTERMISSION --

The band came back out to a hysterical crowd, the venue was filled with cheers, applause, whistles, and screams; they ripped into “Chokehold”. It’s now Latvala’s turn in the spotlight. Roope’s guitar solo was sharp, nothing short of fantastic. Alexi came out and gave him a round of applause himself. The band then followed with “Everytime I Die”. Someone in the audience screamed, “I love you Alexi!”, he responded, “I love you too”! He then went on to say, “I was pretty hung over off JD and you woke my ass up! We love you for it”! The finale of the night was “Downfall”. From the looks of it, the stoic older fans of CoB started to appreciate the new material, they still banged their heads while hurdling horns even if it was done through gritted teeth! Despite the nose on their faces, they started to like it. Let’s talk about appreciation for a hot minute, shall we? This band was explosive! ALL in attendance appreciated that!! Children of Bodom’s performance was an all out, balls out effort; it was “In Your Face”! It was one bloody hell of a set! Well that’s all for now, goodnight. I am spent!!

Setlist (taken straight from production setlist): Living Dead Beat, Sixpounder, Silent Night Bodom Night, Hate Me, We Are So Not, Angels Don't Kill, Rumpu (Drum solo), Bam Niksi, BBQ Niksi, Follow The Reaper, Needled 24/7, Tilu, In Your Face, Hate Crew Deathroll, Are You Dead Yet?, ***Encore*** Chokehold, Everytime I Die, Downfall.

Click here for interview with Alexi

Here for brand new interview with Henkka

Here for more photos of the band on their second headlining tour

Here for 2006 headlining tour with Amon Amarth & Gojira