Kingcrimsonprog
2005’s Are You Dead Yet? is the fifth full-length studio album by the Finnish Melodic Death Metal band Children Of Bodom. The record saw a change in the band’s line-up, guitar tunings and musical direction.
Compared to albums like Hatebreeder and Follow The Reaper the album is noticeably slower and feauters considerably less audible influence from Melodic European Power Metal than before, instead their signature sound (Alexi’s recognizable voice and lead guitar style, plus those bright keyboard tones) is meshed with American sounding Groove Metal, to create something familiar but yet unique. On this album, the band would seem equally at home sharing a stage with Helloween or Pantera without seeming out of place at either event.
Regardless of what it sounds like, the quality of the record is high. The production is clean and crisp, the performances are tight and the album is a decent length without overstaying its welcome. There’s plenty of fun double kicks and flashy guitar solos, and a good balance of sticking to a formula you like while making every song sound different to the last.
Highlights include the famous Title Track and single “Trashed, Lost & Strungout” as well as the absolutely furious sounding “If You Want Peace Prepare For War,” and the slow, out of character Groove Metal song “Punch Me I Bleed.”
Overall; This is a different direction for the band, but a very strong album nonetheless. It may be a very good entry point for fans of more British and American music to get into the band and then work backwards to their more European sounding early work