Children Of Bodom: A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019)
Reviewed by: Jim Harrison
Review Score: 9.5
Legendary Finnish melodic death/doom metal band Children Of Bodom will release their new live recording of their last live show called, A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019). This recording is very important as not only is it the last show COB played as a band but also was prior to the untimely death of guitarist and vocalist Alexi Laiho on December 29, 2020.
Children of Bodom formed in 1998 and released a total of ten studio albums, two live albums, two EP’s, two compilation albums and one DVD in their storied career. With a huge catalog spanning over two decades they became a genre defining piece to the early 2000’s metal scene creating a fast, heavy vibe with the addition of keyboards that’s made their sound totally distinctive. Their origin of the name was derived from the Lake Bodom murders in 1960 and carries an interesting story.
The final line up upon their split in 2019 were, Alexi Laiho, vocals and lead guitar, Jaska Raatikainan drums, Henkka Seppälä bass, Jane Wirman keyboards and Daniel Freyberg rhythm guitar. Laiho and Freyberg carried on as Bodom After Midnight in 2020 up until Alexi Laiho’s death.
This live album has all their hits and incudes eighteen tracks with great audience participation and interaction.
There are so many great moments on this album and personally for myself as a huge fan I love the fact that the show starts ‘Under The Grass and Clover’ which ignites the show and really sets the tone for the cerebral assault and you can tell it gets the crowd amped up.
Some of the other highlights for me are the classic tracks ‘In Your Face’ that is such an amazing live track. ‘Shovel Knockout’ is another crowd pleaser as well is ‘Bodom Beach Terror’ that showcases Wirman’s keyboards. The ominous ‘Every Time I Die’ adds a doom sound and pounds the audience into total submission, this is one of my favourite COB songs.
Fan favourites, ‘Are You Dead Yet’ and ‘Blood Drunk’ gets the fans into a hyped frenzy. Tracks ‘Follow the Reaper’ and ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ will please all COB fans new and old as these are hits that showcase how great this band is.
Another one of my all time favourite songs is ‘Lake Bodom’ which has a classical vibe that rips into a face melter of a track. The audience is going wild for this one and it’s so heavy with Laiho’s signature voice just ripping through this. This sounds so good live and you can feel the excitement. The last track ‘Downfall’ from their second album Hatebreeder that was released in 1999 and actually was the last track on that album. What a great way to end the album, fast and heavy.
This is a special release not only for being their last performance but acting as an ongoing memorial to Alexi Laiho’s legacy and Children of Bodom’s contribution to the metal movement. This will be a great addition to any Children of Bodom fans collection and serves as a great way to bring in some new listeners who hopefully will check out their back catalog and see how musically, vocally and lyrically talented this band is.
Definitely pick this album up and play it at eleven!
A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019) drops December 15, 2023 via Spinefarm.
The Metal Pit’s Top 50 Metal Albums of All-Time
Listen to the Podcast below of our reveal of the writers Top 50 Metal Albums of All-Time
Scroll to see THE METAL PIT’s top 50 list and link to each writers top 50.
Also available most places you listen to podcasts and on our youtube channel.
The Metal Pit’s Top 50 Albums Of All Time
Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast -1982
Metallica – Master of Puppets – 1986
Slayer – Reign in Blood – 1986
Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell – 1980
Dio – Holy Diver – 1983
Megadeth – Peace Sells – 1986
Metallica – Ride The Lightning – 1984
Judas Priest – Painkiller – 1990
Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance – 1982
Metallica – And Justice For All – 1988
Anthrax – Among The Living – 1987
King Diamond – Abigail – 1987
Motorhead – Overkill – 1979
Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break The Oath – 1984
Black Sabbath – Paranoid – 1970
Iron Maiden – Powerslave – 1984
Deep Purple – Machine Head – 1972
Rainbow – Rising – 1976
Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith – 1984
Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time – 1986
Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden – 1980
Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son – 1988
Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind – 1983
Venom – Black Metal – 1982
Megadeth – Rust in Peace – 1990
Motorhead – Ace Of Spades – 1980
Sepultura – Beneath The Remains – 1989
Metallica – Kill Em All – 1983
Judas Priest – British Steel – 1980
Slayer – Seasons in the Abyss – 1990
ACDC – Back in Black – 1980
Guns’N’Roses – Appetite For Destruction – 1987
Overkill – Years of Decay – 1989
Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath – 1973
Manowar – Kings of Metal – 1988
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath – 1970
Iron Maiden – Killers – 1981
Queensryche – Operation Mindcrime – 1988
Ozzy Osbourne – No Rest For The Wicked – 1988
Led Zeppelin – IV – 1971
Metal Church – Metal Church – 1984
Death – Spiritual Healing – 1990
WASP – Wasp – 1984
Exodus – Bonded By Blood – 1985
Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard Of Ozz – 1980
Nuclear Assault – Handle With Care – 1989
Exodus – Fabulous Disaster – 1989
Savatage – Gutter Ballet – 1989
Mercyful Fate – Melissa – 1983
Sepultura – Arise – 1991
The Metal Pit writers top 50 lists. Click on their name for their list.
Post-metal shoegaze trio SOM hit the stage first on this unseasonably-pleasant Toronto evening. Featuring founding members of seminal Boston space rockers Constants — and former and touring members of Adai, Junius, Rosetta, and Caspian — SOM‘s brand of melancholic, trance-inducing post-metal certainly set the mood for what was to come from tonight’s headliners, Katatonia. The guy’s tackled a handful of tracks from their two full-length albums (The Fall and The Shape Of Everything), and ended the night with the fantastic ‘Youth // Decay’ from their 2021 EP, Awake.
GOST
Not to be mistaken with the Swedish masked-ones, Texan one-man band Gost exist somewhere in the dark recesses between black metal and electronic / synthwave. Some might see Gost as an odd choice for this tour, sandwiched between two contemporary-sounding rock bands, but mainman, James Lollar, and his touring bassist, delivered an aggressive and sinister set that had the near-capacity crowd entranced and shaking their hips and fists.
Gost started their kinetic set off with the insanely intense ‘Garruth’ (taken from 2018’s Possessor), and immediately followed this up with ‘Maleficarum’ (off of 2016’s Non Paradisi). The album that saw the most action this evening was Gost‘s 2015 debut full-length Behemoth, of which they played ‘Master’, ‘Behemoth’, and ‘Bathory Bitch’. As one of the most aggressive synthwave albums in existence, these songs managed to get the pit moving, whether that be dancing or some light, semi-synchronized moshing.
The guys then jumped into three more current tracks, which included ‘The Call Of The Faithful’ (off of 2019’s Valediction), ‘Blessed Be’ and ‘Coven’ (from 2021’s Rites Of Love And Reverence), and the brand new, still-unreleased track ‘Prophecy’, which is from their forthcoming album of the same name, which drops on March 8th via Metal Blade Records.
An awesome set of industrialized synthwave that was a welcome break from the bookends of melancholy that was SOM and Katatonia.
KATATONIA
Swedish progressive rock / metal legends Katatonia don’t make it to this side of the pond very often. When they do, you can bet your bottom dollar that it is an event like no other. On this night, frontman Jonas Renske and crew (tonight the band were down a member, performing as a four-piece) lead the eager, enthusiastic crowd through an hour and a half of songs culled from seven of their thirteen full-length albums.
Katatonia started the night off with the track ‘No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall’ from their latest album Sky Void Of Stars (released earlier this year). In fact, this album got the most love of the night, with the tracks ‘Colossal Shade’, ‘Opaline’, ‘Birds’, and ‘Atrium’ also making appearances. It was clear that the album is a popular one among Katatonia fans, as the crowd roared their appreciation after each song.
All warmed up with nowhere to go, the band then launched into ‘Lethean’ (off of 2012’s Dead End Kings). They would go on to also perform ‘Dead Letters’, ‘Buildings’, ‘The Racing Heart’ from the very same album. It was at this point that Jonas greeted the crowd, expressing his thanks for everyone coming out on a Wednesday night. I can only imagine that if this were a Friday or Saturday evening, The Axis Club would have been brimming with fans. This isn’t to say it wasn’t a good turnout. In fact, any busier might have been a bit too much.
‘Flicker’ was the next track to be showcased. This is a gem of a song from what I believe is a highly under-rated album within the Katatonia catalog (2020’s City Burials). The song’s trippy, abstract atmosphere is one that you can easily lose yourself in, which was evidenced by the swaying, pendulous heads of those in attendance.
Night Is The New Day was the next album to get some attention, the band delivering a near-perfect rendition of the song ‘Forsaker’. They later explored the album again with the song ‘Nephilim’. Both tracks are some of the band’s most melancholic work, which worked perfectly with the moody, atmospheric stage lighting tonight (swirling hues of greens and reds). In fact, the band was entirely back-lit this evening, which cast each and every member in eerie shadows, making it nearly impossible to discern their individual faces. With the mood set, the guys then unleashed fan-favorite ‘July’ to a thunderous roar from the now-satiated throngs of Katatonia lovers.
More than halfway through their set, I was beginning to notice a trend with their songs of choice, which consisted of mostly contemporary Katatonia tracks. In fact, the band didn’t play anything pre-2003, which, for this scribe, was a bit disappointing. Sticking to this formula, the guys then jumped into ‘Decima’ from 2016’s The Fall Of Hearts. They would also visit the track ‘Old Heart Falls’ from the very same album later in their set.
With the night seemingly at a close, the guys walked off the stage much to the disappointment of fans. It didn’t take long for a chant of ‘one more song!’ to fill the venue. After about two minutes of this, Katatonia walked back out onto the stage to deliver three encores in ‘Behind The Blood’, ‘My Twin’, and ‘Evidence’.
Apart from a few sound snafus, which included Jonas’ vocals being a bit buried in the mix, Katatonia delivered a fantastic set of songs. I do wish they had explored some of their earlier material, such as Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Tonight’s Decision – which were given no love tonight. The guys definitely shied away from much of their heavier material (post-death metal stuff, that is) in favor of lighter/easier fare. That being said, what they did tackle was tackled with precision and utmost care of their craft.
Remaining dates on the Sky Void Of Stars tour are as follows:
November 25 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw 26 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theater 28 Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone 29 Fresno, CA – Strummer’s 30 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
December 1 Pomona, CA – The Glass House 2 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom 4 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater 5 Austin, TX – Come And Take it Live 6 Houston, TX – Scout Bar 8 Atlanta, GA – Hell @ The Masquerade 9 Orlando, FL – Level 13
With a band name that leaves no question to their intentions – being stabbed in the fucking face with pure, unadulterated brutality – Houston Texas’ Stabbing were the perfect choice as the opening band for this tour. Having got their start just a couple of years ago, Stabbing have made some serious waves in the world of brutal death metal as-of-late. With only one full-length album and an EP under their belts, the band busted out some of their heaviest tonight in Toronto.
Starting their set off with a handful of tracks pulled from 2022’s Extirpated Mortal Process, which included the songs ‘Inhaling The Dead’, ‘Final Flesh Feast’, ‘Visions Of Eternal Suffering’, ‘It Ends With Flames’ and ‘Pulsing Wound’, the band succeeded in getting the early-arrivers hyped and moving (evidence of this could be seen in the pit, with a few, but faithful, fans getting the night started right).
Stabbing then jumped into ‘Gutted By The Beast’ and ‘Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught’, both from 2021’s Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught. They ended their short, but violent, set with ‘Vortex Of The Severed Dead’ and ‘Pulled Apart’ from this year’s demo release.
Stabbing are definitely a force to be reckoned with. I expect great things from this young band in the coming years. Keep an ear out!
SKELETAL REMAINS
If you love your death metal old-school, Californian brutalizers, Skeletal Remains, are your go to band when it comes to contemporary death metal bands keeping things true to the origin of the sub-genre. No one does it better than these guys, and they proved that point ten-fold tonight in Toronto.
Without knowing anything about the band, one would be hard-pressed to guess that these guys got their start just over ten years ago. In fact, you can stack Skeletal Remains up against any legendary death metal band and they’d fit right in, which is why the band were the logical choice for this tour.
The guys started the night with a brand new track ‘Void Of Despair’ (from their coming album of the same name, which drops on March 8th via Century Media Records). Later in their set, they also dropped another new one, ‘To Conquer The Devout’. If these two songs are any indication, the forthcoming album could be a 2024 year-end contender.
The guys then took things back a bit, with the lead-off track ‘Beyond Cremation’ off of their 2015 album, Condemned To Misery. This is another face-melter of a song that sent the pit into a vortex of swirling bodies. With not a second of respite, the band unleashed two fan-favorites in ‘Illusive Divinity’ and ‘Tombs Of Chaos’, the pair taken from 2020’s incredible The Entombment Of Chaos. The guys ended their highly-energized set with ‘Internal Detestation’ and ‘Torture Labyrinth’ from 2018’s Devouring Mortality.
Skeletal Remains definitely threw the venue and it’s inhabitants back into the early 90s with their brand of anachronistic, ode-to-the-old-school death metal. An absolute treat and a band that should not be missed if they make it to your neck-of-the-woods.
INCANTATION
You can’t speak of ‘legendary’ and ‘death metal’ without the mention of the mighty Incantation. These guys basically invented a sub-genre of death metal all their own, one that lives on to this day with countless bands paying homage to Incantation‘s ‘cavernous’ aesthetic. So, it goes without saying that the band was the logical choice as co-headliner alongside Suffocation, bringing the old-school to a new generation of rabid connoisseurs of death metal.
Tonight in Toronto, the maestro himself, frontman John McEntee, marshalled his crew of like-minded brutalizers through a set-list of both classic and contemporary Incantation material. The band blasted onto the stage with the track ‘Concordant’ from their brand new album Unholy Deification. This wasn’t the only love shown for the new album, as the guys would later tackle the tracks ‘Homunculus’, ‘Chalice’, and ‘Invocation’, which is some of their best work in years.
At this point, Incantation had the near-capacity crowd eating from their palms. The guys harnessed this energy and jumped into the popular ‘Rites Of The Locust’ (from 2017’s Profane Nexus) and ‘Carrion Prophecy’ (off of 2014’s Dirges Of Elysium). Adding fuel to the inferno of a pit that had formed, Incan launched into ‘Fury’s Manifesto’ and ‘Ritual Impurity’ from 2020’s Sect Of Vile Divinities. From here on out, all hell was unleashed in the pit.
The guys then proceeded to rewind thirty years with their classic track ‘Blasphemous Cremation’ off of 1992’s Onward To Golgotha. With such a vast library of quintessential Incantation songs, I’m not sure how the band decides on what to include in a set-list. Either way, this was the perfect track at the perfect time, and the ravenous ragers made sure to show it. Jumping forward to the turn of the century, Incan pulled out two contemporary classics with ‘Ascend Into The Eternal’ (from 2012’s Vanquish In Vengeance) and ‘Oath Of Armageddon’ (off of 2004’s Decimate Christendom).
Now at just halfway through their set, the interaction between band and fan had soared to a fevered pitch. Between songs, the crowd vocalized their pleasure with a deafening roar, which frontman John McEntee acknowledged and obliged with the last three songs of their set, which included ‘Ibex Moon’ (from ’94’s Mortal Throne Of Nazarene) and the duo of ‘Impending Diabolical Conquest’ and ‘Shadows Of The Ancient Empire’ (off 1998’s Diabolical Conquest).
Is it just me, or does Incantation keep getting better with age? I don’t think the band have ever sounded as tight as they do today. An incredible set from one of the most consistent and beloved death metal bands out there.
SUFFOCATION
If I hadn’t been on the bus myself hanging with the guys prior to their set, I woulda thought NYC brutal death metal legends Suffocation rode into Toronto on a convoy of bulldozers, as tonight the Suffo ones absolutely levelled each and every Canadian (and one Swede, who flew all the way to Toronto for one night just to catch Incantation) in attendance. In fact, I’m not certain the venue, Lee’s Palace, survived… I wouldn’t be surprised if Torontonians woke up the next morning to a heap of smoldering rubble.
Strolling out onto the stage to a deafening roar from every voice box in the crammed venue, the guys launched into a classic with ‘Catatonia’ from 1991’s Human Waste EP. Immediately, the crowd erupted into a frenzy, which included body after body climbing onto the stage to dive head-first into the ocean of unsuspecting heads. And we are off to the races!
Touring in support of their brand new album, Hymns From The Apocrypha, the guys dropped several tracks from this badass and brutal album, which included ‘Seraphim Enslavement’, ‘Dim Veil Of Obscurity’, ‘Perpetual Deception’, and ‘Hymns From The Apocrypha’. It was clear that fans were well familiar with the noob-ness on display, as I could see lots of mouths roaring along with now full-time vocalist, Ricky Myers.
The next three songs were welcome throwbacks with ‘Breeding The Spawn’ (from the ’93 album of the same name), ‘Pierced From Within’ (from the ’95 album of the same name), and ‘Funeral Inception’ (from the ’98 EP Despise The Sun). The latter of the three really landed hard, whipping the now sweat-soaked pit into absolute moshing madness.
Suffocation ended their set with the tracks ‘Blind, Torture, Kill’ (from their 2006 self-titled album), and ‘Liege Of Inveracity’ and ‘Infecting The Crypts’ from their classic debut full-length, Effigy Of The Forgotten. For those in the know, the latter two tracks are filled to the brim with massive gravity-defying breakdowns that, in the live setting, are probably the heaviest riffs ever heard by human ears.
Suffocation once again prove why they are living legends. There is no band heavier.
Remaining dates on the Ancient Unholy Uprising Tour 2023 are as follows:
November 22 – Portland, OR – Bossanova Ballroom 24 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge 25 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick 26 – Los Angeles, CA – 1720 27 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge 28 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad 29 – Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street Collective 30 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
December 1 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar 2 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger 3 – New Orleans, LA – Southport Music Hall 4 – Greensboro, NC – Hangar 1819
ALBUM REVIEW: GRYMHEART
Hellish Hunt
Rating: 9
Review by: Jim Harrison
Grymheart is set to release their debut album, Hellish Hunt on September 22, 2023 through Scarlet Records. Formed in 2020 and hailing from Budapest, Hungary this quartet brings a mix of folk metal harmonies and melodic death metal giving the listener a massive sound.
Vocalists and guitarist Gabriel Blacksmith has a distinct voice that really gives this band their own sound. Bassist Dargor Rivgahr pulling in the listener with killer base lines; drummer, Sorin Nalaar whose drumbeats keep the heart pumping and guitarist, V’arhel whose talented riffs and creativity keeps the listener engaged. This is an exciting tight knit unit that will appeal to all metal fans.
The album art was created by Gyula Havencsák who has done art for Burning Witches, Accept and Stratovarious. The album begins with a short instrumental “The Twilight is Coming” with a classical, folky guitar riff and rips into track two “Hellbent Horde” which is fast and furious. It’s melodic but Blacksmiths vocals give it that evil, death metal sound. This is one of two of my favourite tracks on the album. “Ignis Fatuus” has a classical folk guitar start and again the song rips into a killer riff. This is a melodic metal track with death metal and clearer vocals giving this track a PowerWolf sound and would be awesome live.
“To Die By The Succubus” is the first single release and video. This is my second favourite track, the drums and guitars are fantastic. The video is well done and this is a great teaser for the album. The band is in hoods, lots of great imagery and vocalist Blacksmith has a Tom G, Warrior from Celtic Frost look and sound about him, what a cool track.
“My Hellish Hunt” captures the essence of the band lending itself to a demon/monster hunters vibe reminiscent of The Witcher or Van Helsing movies.
Heading into just over half the album, “Army of the Graves“ starts slower but turns into a faster melodic track with a killer chorus. Track “ Everlost“ has more of a death metal vibe to it and so does “Fennirs Sons” both tracks remind me of Children of Bodom.
“Facing the Kraken” is the fastest song on the album and the drums and bass just pound. I love the title and this song is another example of the essence and imagery of this band.
“Harpies of Devil” has the double kick drum, massive guitar riffs and the vocals just light it up.
The last track “Monsters Among Us” has a huge sound finishing this album on a high, actually leaving you wanting more. The heavy guitar riffs, pounding drums and bass mixed with superb vocals puts the listener over the edge. Slowing with classical guitar midway than blowing it up again, it seems the band incorporated everything in the arsenal to finish this off in style. This will be another great live track.
I am always excited when I have the privilege to review a debut album and I am in the witness of something special with this band.
I predict Grymheart will become a leader In this genre, bringing something for all metal fans. Their musicianship, writing, vocals and subject matter are tight and creative setting them apart from other bands.
