Children Of Bodom's latest record RELENTLESS RECKLESS FOREVER is something I and many other people have been waiting for a long time. But will it live up to the expectations?
1. Not My Funeral: Good opening, kicks into the action at once, with a good opening riff. Really good headbaning riff around 1:00. Chorus is very melodic and catchy. The unisono solo is a bit weird/atonal, but it fits the song. Alexi's solo is just about what you would expect. 4*
2. Shovel Knockout: Starts of pretty bad, gets better around 0:35, although i think is scream is really misplaced. The riff and fast upbeat drumming lead usto into a melodic chorus in the style of "KISSING THE SHADOWS". Nothing really special here. 3*
3. Roundtrip To Hell And Back: Good slow melodic opening, which leads into pretty slow chordy piece, with lots of keys, which sound good. There are a few interesting riffs in here, solo is not really memorable. 3*
4. Pussyfoot Miss Suicide: Kicks in with a good riff, which leads us into a faster, more headbanging riff, in the style of "ARE YOU DEAD YET". The grand keyboard parts sound extremely well. Solo section is pretty nice. 3.5*
5. Relentless Reckless Forever: Solid track, not to fast, not to slow. Kicks in once again with a great riff. Nothing really stands out on this track, but there is nothing that really dissapoits either. 3.5*
6. Ugly: Kicks in hard and fast, but falls back after a while, which is a shame, but soon turns up again. The main riff is pretty good.I absolutely LOVE the solo. 3.5*
7. Cry of the Nihilist: My least favourite song at the moment. Really thrashy tune, with a cool unisono solo. 3*
8. Was It Worth It?: Without doubt the worst track on the album. It's really song oriented, and pretty catchy, but it doesn't fit on this album. The vocal Alexi uses is a big bummer. 2*
9. Northpole Throwdown: Best track on the whole album, in the style of "HATEBREEDER". Fast, thrashy, i f*ckin love it. For me this is how Children Of Bodom should sound like. Amazing. 4,5*
After 2008's dissapointment called BLOODDRUNK, this is a solid comeback, and just a really solid album in general. It's certainly worth the Children Of Bodom name, but it is far away from their classic albums like HATEBREEDER and FOLLOW THE REAPER
3.5 Stars.