Perhaps even more so than fellow countrymen Nightwish, Children of Bodom are a shining example of the vast difference between what qualifies as pop music in Finland and what does here in the United States. Sure they're behind Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson, but CoB is one of the best selling musical acts all-time in Finland. You'll see how impossible that is to believe as an American (if you're an American) when we get into the music below. Children of Bodom takes their name from an unsolved multiple murder case from the 60's in their hometown of Espoo, which gives a little insight into their image. Lead vocalist/guitarist Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho's persona is truly a caricature, taking cues from 80's Los Angeles hair bands like Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, and perhaps most directly, their Finish doppelgangers Hanoi Rocks. He's skinny with long straight hair, frequently sports a leather jacket or t-shirt with the sleeves ripped out and blue jeans, and while on stage, drinks beer between tunes, spits prolifically and spews a steady stream of profanity whenever addressing his audience. But the look and the show are just the beginning.
There's a lot to say about Children of Bodom from a musical perspective. First of all, they are a true melting pot of metal. Alexi's vocals sound straight out of classic black metal and I've seen them repeatedly misclassified as an example of that genre. It's true that there are occasional blast beats and tremolo picking, but I think it's a major stretch to call them a black metal band. I think the best categorization for them is Euro power metal, but you'll hear glam, rock and even baroque classical music too. Back to Alexi, his facile neo-classical riffing and soloing link him clearly to the Yngwie Malmsteen school of guitar playing, but his approach is lighter and more energetic... reckless even, but in a good way. Drummer Jaska Raatikainen is one of my favorites. He somehow manages to sound metronomic, while still grooving with good feel and energy. He switches seamlessly between duple and triple patterns, and between machine gun double kick feels and standard rock beats reminiscent of the afore-mentioned Boss. And then there's keyboardist Janne Wirman, who somehow gets away with baroque organ and harpsichord sounds one second and C&C Music Factory keyboard hits the next. It's just such a weird amalgamation of sources and yet they pull it off convincingly and very, very enjoyably. I'm going to share my favorite of theirs, "Children of Bodom" from 1999's fantastic album Hatebreeder, followed by a live video of "Downfall" from the same album (warning: extensive profanity). Note the live introduction which quotes Motley Crue, Judas Priest and Dio before launching into the song.
