perjantai 26. kesäkuuta 2009

Henkka checks in from Metaltown

Henkka has posted the following blog, fresh from Children Of Bodom's appearance today at the Metaltown festival in Gothenburg, Sweden.

"The best festival experience of the summer! Easily!

So far we did some festivals, in Spain, Finland and Germany, but I have to admit that Sweden was amazing. Last headlining tour we did only one show in Sweden, which was weird, but now in Gothenburg, it feels that we should have done more.

What can I say..? Lot of people, very nice weather, lovely city and many many friends. So Gothenburg is treating us well today. And yesterday too.

That wraps up the whole experience we had in Göteborg this summer! Mycket bra!"

Next stop on the band's summer festival schedule is Graspop, Belgium on Sunday 28th June.

keskiviikko 17. kesäkuuta 2009

Scythes Of Bodom's blog opens


Hey all you faithful Scythes followers out there!

We launched Scythes Of Bodom back in 2002 with a mission - we wanted to share our fellow hardcore fans all the info we lunatics had got our hands on after this punk band from Espoo started to put out CDs and perform live shows of the quality that totally blew our minds. Just like all of you, we really wanted to get to the bottom of the whole phenomenom that these five dudes had created.

The success of Scythes Of Bodom came to us out of the blue. We never really imagined that so many of you would be just as nuts about to learn the smallest detail or piece of trivia from the band's history. It's been amazing to see that THOUSANDS of you share our passion for the COBHC and come to read Scythes Of Bodom every day.

This is the very reason we are opening this blog: we all have felt for a long time that we haven't been able to provide you with the quality news feed on COB you deserve, and that there's really no one keeping the fans up to date on what's latest with the band and in which media they appear in. We have had some issues with updating the site as often as we have wanted to, and this is where this blog - and the new blood we have in our team - come in very handy.

Expect nearly bi-daily updates on this blog and don't hesitate to take advantage of the comment feature, too!

See you in the pit!

maanantai 15. kesäkuuta 2009

Rock Hard Festival 2009 coverage




Children Of Bodom started their 2009's summer festival run in
Gelsenkirchen, Germany last weekend. Gelsenkirchen's neat Amphitheater is a really cool setting for the annual Rock Hard Festival, named after German's leading metal magazine and organized by Continental Concerts, who also book and offer management services for Children Of Bodom in Europe.





As we all know, COB had to drop off from their recent US tour with Lamb Of God due to Alexi's broken shoulder, rib and internal bleeding.


Rock Hard took place just a little over three weeks after Alexi had to give in during the band's NYC show and head back home to rest, after having played ten shows against doctor's recommendation in great pain from all the injuries he suffered after coming crashing down on his bunk in the band's tour bus.

A representative of the festival announced the band on the stage telling everyone about Alexi's condition making the point clear that he is not 100%. However, if you hadn't seen Children Of Bodom live before, there was no way of telling that something was wrong and that his rib was still hurting while he was singing.


For those who were familiar with his usual stage antics, it was quite clear that he wasn't moving and jumping around as much as usual, but still playing with the accuracy he always does.




I was rather sceptical and thought that the band probably hadn't got the chance to rehearse any songs they haven't played in a while to add to their set due to Alexi's injury, but to my surprise they had really mixed up their whole setlist from their recent shows.

After the Big Lebowski intro the band introduced already on the Lamb Of God tour, they launched their set straight into Needled 24/7 which they haven't played in a long while.


It was closely followed up by Bodom Beach Terror, a song that has never been played in the first quarter of the set before. Other positive surprises included Smile Pretty For The Devil - a fantastic live song COB has been playing from time to time but been a little uncertain about due to mixed crowd reactions -, Are You Dead Yet?, yet another song they haven't played in two years, and most importantly Kissing The Shadows, a very welcome return for many fans who enjoy the lightning fast solo sections in the song.


Roope's new ENGL Amplification endorsement was also showing, as he played the show in front of a wall of 9 ENGL Amps.

Children Of Bodom's setlist @ Rock Hard Festival 2009

Intro: The Big Lebowski - The Fucking Short Version (YouTube)

Children Of Bodoms Setlist, Rock Hard Festival 2009.
(Photo: K-Man)

Needled 24/7
Bodom Beach Terror
Smile Pretty For The Devil
Living Dead Beat
Are You Dead Yet?
Banned From Heaven
Hate Me!
Kissing The Shadows
Bodom After Midnight
Blooddrunk
Angels Don't Kill
In Your Face
---
Bed Of Razors
Downfall
(Outro: Wild Side (Mötley Crüe)

The German Hate Crew at the Amphitheater seemed to be loving every minute of the show. Although the record of 2000 crowdsurfers over the fence from COB's Wacken 2008 appearance
wasn't broken, there was a lot of action going on and I even got to witness the first Wall of Death, totally improvised by the crowd and not called for by the band, I've seen at a Children Of Bodom show in the beginning of Blooddrunk!

The band seemed to be on a good mood and Alexi and Janne were trading off their trademark remarks throughout the set. Before Downfall, Janne started to play Van Halen's Jump and as Roope and Jaska joined the jam, Alexi told them to stop because "I'm sure they like that shit more than our own songs" to which Janne wittily replied "well, who fucking doesn't?".







All photos by A Lund

All in all, it was a relief to see that the band could deliver a solid show despite Alexi's condition and that they have taken the time to mix their setlist up which is something they haven't always been so good at. Be sure to catch COB this summer on one of their upcoming festival dates! Whether you're a new fan or an old school hardcore fan, rest assured - you're in a for a treat!