Children of Bodom Winter Tour 2006 Review

Children of Bodom
2006 Winter Tour
Review

Children of Bodom 2006 Tour

Sanctity
12/2/06
Rave II (Milwaukee, WI)
Reviewer: Karma E. Omowale
Photos: Erika Kristen Watt

…haha of course many Bodom fans can identify this goofy Dr. Demento classic as the band’s intro these days but it also fits as a great descriptor for how insane tonight’s show was filled to the brim with crazy electric energy…and sweat! Ironically the first Children of Bodom and Amon Amarth tour in 2005 went so well, they decided to do it again (in which was the first time I feasted my eyes and ears upon Amon Amarth as well), now this particular bill is further solidified with France 's phenoms, Gojira (as it was nice to see the band on their maiden voyage to America) along for the ride! When you listen to this band, all kinds of imagery of nature, etc. comes to mind in which can be attributed to their religious and spiritual beliefs. One of Gojira's songs "From The Sky" off their latest album kinda reminds you of an AA song... Of which when we caught up with the band’s singer, Joe Duplantier, “We’re so excited and so happy to be here. It’s incredible!” Oh, I know something else that can be said, this mini-tour, for those who were fortunate enough to catch it, did not touch down in every major port. Not sure if this was a secondary market tour or not but thankfully, they included Milwaukee on this run; dedicated to the cause, we would be damned before missing Gojira, Amon Amarth, or the boys of Bodom! So there you go. Then when you sit back and think about this tour was sort of a pre-Christmas gift…many thanks: kiitos, tack, merci! Okay, now all of the nations have been represented!

Lineup: Joe Duplantier – Vocals, Guitar; Christian Andreu – Guitar; Jean-Michel Labadie – Bass; Mario Duplantier – Drums

Although this is the band’s first time here in the States, they virtually remained a secret considering From Mars to Sirus is the band’s third album. Well after this tour, rest assured, their name will be as popular as the croissant before long! According to the lead singer/guitarist Joe Duplantier, he shared this with us as far as crowd reaction thus far on this tour, he had this to say, for the moment it’s perfect. Detroit was particularly great.” The singer continues, “because Detroit has a strange atmosphere, you know it’s kind of…I don’t know if freaky is the right word…” Well hell, we concur, especially considering the venue itself! “In the place where the venue is it’s strange too, it’s not in town. It’s an incredible venue, it HUGE, HUGE, so huge. It’s amazing, I had these kids and I couldn’t even touch their hands!” naturally since the stage itself towers more than 15-20 feet from the floor. “It was an amazing show; we could see the circle pit from up there! I really liked this show; it is a venue for metal gigs really. What’s good too is that the audience was so concentrated, which is good but a bit scary.” Duplantier concludes, “When you’re playing for the first time in the States... I mean it was our very first show…then we played Rochester, so the yeah, the reactions are great!”

Tonight, Joe’s stage presence is stifling and resolute; he and the rest of the band were determined to not only get that crowd worked up but win them over for the long haul as well! The crowd not at first not knowing what to expect after the band played the first song off their new album, “Ocean Planet,” they were confounded at first. Before the conclusion of the song, the crowd was mesmerized and totally got into France’s lovechild! The singer went on to say that in France their biggest crowd pleaser is “Flying Whales” and here “Backbone” calling it a, “very effective one, which is good to start the gig but “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” is one of the highlights of the set!” Yuppers! As it stood after performing their second song of the night “Backbone,” they never looked back, neither audience nor the band for that matter. Judging from the reaction of the audience this song causes quite a stir here in America too! This song killed!

The singer then addressed the crowd with a smile a mile wide on his face, “Thank you! Do we have any people from Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison?” The crowd roared, the band then ripped into “Remembrance” from their 2003 release, The Link. The crowd swayed and threw their horns madly. After a trip down memory lane with the last two songs, [by the way, “Clone” comes from the band’s debut album released in 2000, Terra Incognito] Back to the present release, for “Flying Whales”, Joe reconnects with the audience, “This one is about the fact that you are your own creators…” the audience absolutely lost it. Not to be outdone by his sibling, drummer Mario got his fair share of the spotlight with a magnificent drum solo during the song. The crowd ate it up! The band ended their dynamic set with “Heaviest Matter.” Undoubtedly, Gojira has and will continue to gain fans in the States, exposing the world to their world. This band transcends the normal boundaries of metal; this is spirituality at its highest form. Make sure to see this band next time they roll through your port, from the looks of it they will be around for a LONG time to come for their je ne sais quoi is unstoppable! Merci, merci!!

Gojira Setlist: Ocean Planet; Backbone; Remembrance; Clone; Flying Whales; Heaviest Matter.

Lineup: Johan Hegg – Vocals; Olavi Mikkonen – Guitar; Johan Söderberg – Guitar; Ted Lundström – Bass; Fredrik Andersson – Drums

Nice and warmed up from one hell of a performance from Gojira, the crowd was primed and ready as the distinct smell of sweat and beer filled the air. It was like déjà vu seeing Sweden’s Amon Amarth grace the stage for a second time opening for Children of Bodom…but no matter how many times you see this class act perform, it’s never enough! Just coming off the heels of a four-week European tour now in main support for Children of Bodom, these men were primed and ready to kick the living shit out of the Rave II this evening! The crowd was more than up for it too with fists in the air the entire time. Speaking of interaction, how cool is it that the band ran a contest of sorts where they would allow their fans to choose their setlist for this tour. AWW!

The crowd NEVER stood still from the time the “Intro” piped through the PA. All fists were held high as this pleased the band much. I do not think Johan ever stopped smiling or the rest of the band either. The audience sang along loudly to every song, this made the band play harder for their beloved audience…was it possible? I am sorry I missed all up until “Fate of Norns” as I was conducting an interview with Gojira. However, I cannot tell you much of what happened in between this time until now other than I could put my horns down and cease singing along long enough to jot down some notes, sorry! During the intro to “An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm” Hegg growls, “Come on Milwaukee, let’s see those horns high!” You had better believe the crowd complied! Once the band concluded the song, the applause went on for what seems to be forever. A large smile crossed the frontman’s face, “Thank you Milwaukee, you are fucking fantastic!” The crowd roared as the band began to play their final song of the evening, “Pursuit of the Vikings”. You could feel the energy growing chorus by chorus, as the fans began to sing louder than Johan. It was amazing! Hegg threw the mic out towards the audience and let them sing the last verse. Ahh, how sweet! To conclude their monster set, Hegg says, “I know this is great metal scene! Thank you so fucking much Milwaukee! Cheers!” he then followed it up in svenska, “Skål!” and drank from his horn, toasting his faithful minons!

Just in case you missed the band and/or did not get your fill, they are doing a small run in Scandinavia starting in January of ‘07 and after that, we hear they have offers for the States along with festivals and such so, looks like we’ll get the chance to see them again sooner than later. Hell yeah, until then, let’s raise our drinking horns high, chanting in unison “skål för fan”!!

Amon Amarth Setlist: Intro; Valhall Awaits Me; Runes to My Memory; Death in Fire; Fate of Norns; Asator; Cry of the Black Birds; An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm; Pursuit of Vikings.

Lineup: Alexi Laiho – Vocals, Guitar; Roope Latvala – Guitar; Janne Warman – Keyboard; Henkka "Blacksmith" Seppälä – Bass; Jaska W. Raatikainen – Drums

Are we tired yet? NO is the answer to this burning question!!! This is the 5^th time we’ve seen Bodom in a little under 18-months and you know all we can say is, ‘bring it’! This has been the sweetest overdose, ever! Lord only knows when we’ll see them past this show. Especially since the band just released their live mega set Chaos Ridden Years - Stockholm Knockout Live DVD, then back to Europe… oh no! Tonight’s festivities with the fans in good old Bodom fashion chanting, “Bodom, Bodom, Bodom,..” Soon the boys of Bodom themselves are ready to make their appearance, nice and liquored up for their fans. Haha To start out the evening with the loony tune, “They’re Coming to Take Me Away” piping through the PA, the audience lost it! The band immediately ripped into “Hate Me.” Amazingly enough, the unified voice of the crowd became louder than frontman and guitar virtuoso, Alexi Laiho himself! For the second selection of the evening, the boys again reached into their back catalogue for the second consecutive selection from their most celebrated album, Follow the Reaper with “Children of Decadence.” Of course, this made their older fans happier than a pig in shit! Skipping ahead to the current era to Hate Crew Deathroll with, “Chokehold (Cocked 'n' Loaded)” the band was armed and dangerous as they killed this song.

To intro the second consecutive song off Deathroll “Sixpounder” Laiho addressed his crazed fans, “Milwaukee, how the fuck you doing tonight? How was that?” The crowd’s energy reached an even more maddened feverish pitch. Alexi replied, “WOO! That’s right! First time we played the States was six years ago and the first time was in Milwaukee. So fucking thank you!” The place erupted! The band then ripped into the song. Unfortunately, in between the sea of bodies on the floor and poor lighting, I could not capture much past this point so this is officially, where the journalist hopped off and I decided to enjoy the show as a fan, something I rarely get a chance to do with them. We know every show is different, however feel free to see the show through Erika Kristen’s lenses! And if you’re not satisfied there, please feel free to pilfer through the links below to detailed reviews/photos of the previous shows we attended. Until next time my fare metalheads, hei sitten!

Children of Bodom Setlist: Intro: They're Coming To Take Me Away; Hate Me!; Children Of Decadence; Chokehold; Sixpounder; Living Dead Beat; Are You Dead Yet?; Children Of Bodom; Needled 24/7; Angels Don't Kill; We're Not Gonna Fall; Mask Of Sanity/Deadnight Warrior Mix; Kissing The Shadows; Bodom Beach Terror; In Your Face; Downfall.

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