To celebrate the release of Children of Bodom‘s new album, I Worship Chaos, (October 2nd, via Nuclear Blast) the band have teamed up with Metal Hammer to offer one lucky COB fanatic the chance to win an LTD Alexi-200 ESP Signature Electric Guitar! Fans need to upload a video of themselves playing the main riff from the title track of the album I Worship Chaos. They can enter by heading over to Metal Hammer‘s website and submitting their link via the entry form here.

The competition ends on October 9th, at 11:59 p.m., with the winner being announced on October 16th. Good luck!

Rock Hard \m/

Patric states:

The last time I worked with COB we did great stuff together. Trashed, Lost and Strungout was Gold awarded and the Chaos Ridden Years Stockholm Knockout Live DVD was also Gold awarded. So after all these years it was a great pleasure to get to work with them again. The band decided not to be in the video as they wanted to tell the story about The Warrior Goddess Morrigan and together with the band we made this tale about a man fighting his inner demons.

Order I Worship Chaos here, and check out our previous post for Children of Bodom tour dates.

Rock Hard \m/

More on I Worship Chaos:

Returning to Finland’s Danger Johnny Studios (located at a top secret, undisclosed location in Helsinki) to record I Worship Chaos, the album was produced by COB and Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their earlier albums Halo Of Blood, Hatebreeder, Follow The Reaper, and Hate Crew Deathroll. The album was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland, while Finnish artist Tuomas Korpi created the artwork.

COB is set to embark on a momentous worldwide trek in support of I Worship Chaos. All of the current European dates are listed below. Children of Bodom will continue their worldwide touring plans through 2016 and will be hitting the USA in February/March 2016.

Children of Bodom Tour Dates:

Oct 10 – Loud Park, Saitama (JAP)
Oct 25 – B90, Gdansk (POL) *
Oct 26 – Fabryka, Krakow (POL) *
Oct 27 – Club Fleda, Brno (CZE) *
Oct 29 – Espace Julien, Marseille (FRA) *
Oct 31 – Stage Live, Bilbao (SPA) *
Nov 01 – Repvblicca, Valencia (SPA) *
Nov 02 – Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona (SPA)*
Nov 04 – Le Rocher De Palmer, Bordeaux (FRA) *
Nov 05 – Le Transbordeur, Lyon (FRA) *
Nov 06 – Le Bataclan, Paris (FRA) *
Nov 07 – Le Laiterie, Strasbourg (FRA) *
Nov 09 – 3Arena, Dublin (IRE) ***
Nov 11 – Braehead Arena, Glasgow (SCO) ***
Nov 12 – O2 Apollo, Manchester (ENG) ***
Nov 14 – SSE Arena Wembley, London (ENG) ***
Nov 15 – Birmingham O2 Academy, Birmingham (ENG) ***
Nov 17 – LKA Longhorn, Stuttgart (GER) **
Nov 18 – 013, Tilburg (NED) **
Nov 19 – Turbinen Halle, Oberhausen (GER) **
Nov 20 – Schlachthof, Wiesbaden (GER) **
Nov 22 – Komplex, Zurich (SUI) **
Nov 23 – Les Docks, Lausanne (SUI) **
Nov 24 – Alcatraz, Milan (ITA) **
Nov 25 – Kesselhaus, Munich (GER) **
Nov 26 – Gasometer, Vienna (AUS) **
Nov 28 – Haus Auersee, Leipzig (GER) **
Nov 29 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BEL) **
Nov 30 – Docks, Hamburg (GER) **
Dec 01 – Store Vega, Copenhagen (DEN) **
Dec 05 – Klubben, Stockholm (SWE) *
Dec 06 – Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo (NOR) *

* COB headlining, Sylosis support
** COB & Lamb Of God co-headlining, Sylosis opener
*** Megadeth & Lamb Of God co-headlining, COB special guest, Sylosis open

Rock Hard \m/

As an added bonus if you pre-order the album via iTunes or Amazon “I Worship Chaos” and the first single, “Morrigan,” will be available as an “instant grat” tracks.

Mastermind Alexi Laiho states about the upcoming release:

To me it seems like I Worship Chaos has a lot darker vibe in it than the previous albums and so far everyone has told me that the songs are a lot catchier this time which I’m definitely glad about. To sum it up… It’s angry, dark, and catchy as fuck. I think it’s safe to say I Worship Chaos is COB reborn even more pissed off.

Rock Hard \m/

Let the video cycle and you can catch the second trailer in which the lyrics are explained and the first trailer in which bassist Henkka explains the artwork (created by Tuomas Korpi) for the new album.

The first song, “Morrigan,” released from I Worship Chaos can be watched right below:

I Worship Chaos will be available in following formats:
– CD + DVD digibook (incl. bonus DVD and three bonus tracks!)
– CD
– 2LP (black, clear, silver, yellow, picture)
– digibook + canvas (mail order edition)

Pre-order your copy of I Worship Chaos here.

I Worship Chaos Track Listing:

01. I Hurt
02. My Bodom (I Am The Only One)
03. Morrigan
04. Horns
05. Prayer For The Afflicted
06. I Worship Chaos
07. Hold Your Tongue
08. Suicide Bomber
09. All For Nothing
10. Widdershins

Bonus Tracks (digibook only):
11. Mistress Of Taboo (PLASMATICS cover)
12. Danger Zone (KENNY LOGGINS cover)
13. Black Winter Day (AMORPHIS cover)
Bonus DVD (digibook only)

For the recording of I Worship Chaos, COB returned to Finland’s Danger Johnny Studios (located at a top secret, undisclosed location in Helsinki). The album was produced by COB and Mikko Karmila,who worked with the band on their earlier albums Halo Of Blood, Hatebreeder, Follow The Reaper, and Hate Crew Deathroll. The album was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

COB is set to embark on a momentous worldwide trek in support of I Worship Chaos. All of the current European dates are listed below. Children of Bodom will continue their worldwide touring plans through 2016 and will be hitting the USA in February/March 2016.

Children of Bodom Tour Dates:
Oct 10 – Loud Park, Saitama (JAP)
Oct 25 – B90, Gdansk (POL) *
Oct 26 – Fabryka, Krakow (POL) *
Oct 27 – Club Fleda, Brno (CZE) *
Oct 29 – Espace Julien, Marseille (FRA) *
Oct 31 – Stage Live, Bilbao (SPA) *
Nov 01 – Repvblicca, Valencia (SPA) *
Nov 02 – Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona (SPA)*
Nov 04 – Le Rocher De Palmer, Bordeaux (FRA) *
Nov 05 – Le Transbordeur, Lyon (FRA) *
Nov 06 – Le Bataclan, Paris (FRA) *
Nov 07 – Le Laiterie, Strasbourg (FRA) *
Nov 09 – 3Arena, Dublin (IRE) ***
Nov 11 – Braehead Arena, Glasgow (SCO) ***
Nov 12 – O2 Apollo, Manchester (ENG) ***
Nov 14 – SSE Arena Wembley, London (ENG) ***
Nov 15 – Birmingham O2 Academy, Birmingham (ENG) ***
Nov 17 – LKA Longhorn, Stuttgart (GER) **
Nov 18 – 013, Tilburg (NED) **
Nov 19 – Turbinen Halle, Oberhausen (GER) **
Nov 20 – Schlachthof, Wiesbaden (GER) **
Nov 22 – Komplex, Zurich (SUI) **
Nov 23 – Les Docks, Lausanne (SUI) **
Nov 24 – Alcatraz, Milan (ITA) **
Nov 25 – Kesselhaus, Munich (GER) **
Nov 26 – Gasometer, Vienna (AUS) **
Nov 28 – Haus Auersee, Leipzig (GER) **
Nov 29 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BEL) **
Nov 30 – Docks, Hamburg (GER) **
Dec 01 – Store Vega, Copenhagen (DEN) **
Dec 05 – Klubben, Stockholm (SWE) *
Dec 06 – Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo (NOR) *
* COB headlining, Sylosis support
** COB & Lamb Of God co-headlining, Sylosis opener
*** Megadeth & Lamb Of God co-headlining, COB special guest, Sylosis open

Rock Hard \m/

Last month, some of you learned that Machine Head went ahead and canceled their U.S. tour with Children of Bodom, Epica and Battlecross. Apparently, the Oakland metallers are heading back into the studio to finish up their upcoming eighth full-length album, Bloodstone & Diamonds, which is due out on November 7, 2014.

The idea of cancelling the tour may sound like a great idea for Machine Head, but it’s easy to understand that the situation sucks for the other bands, including the diehard fans. This is a mess that requires re-planning on everyone’s end. Keep in mind some these guys have families to deal with too, so you should understand the levels of frustration. Children of Bodom’s frontman, Alexi Laiho, already responded to the situation with class. However, Robb Flynn fired back negatively at Laiho’s response and COB fans who are bitching about the cancellation.

Below is Robb’s full response, which was pulled from his recent General Journals entry:

For a band, [Facebook] is broken down a bit different. There are of course the diehard supporters. They’re first and foremost. There also exists a large group of “I’m-not-really-sure-if-they-are-fans-or-not,” and last and certainly least, there’s the people whose sole purpose is to troll your page. Like, I don’t know… let’s say the Children Of Bodom “Hate Crew” that has been out in full force in light of the US tour being re-scheduled. It’s typical shit talking, albeit a ton of it to the actual Machine Head fans saying ‘how much better Bodom are than Machine Head’ and how ‘Bodom should’ve been headlining over Machine Head’, and “fuck Machine Head”.

For every person that complains about the tour getting canceled the Head Cases are like “shut the fuck up, life goes on, M F’n H to the death!!!” So for every one of those people, I thank you VERY much. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate the fact that you do that. Because shit DOES happen and sometimes life DOESN’T go the way you want it to.

Is Robb Flynn out of line here? Let us know what you think in the comment section right below.

I’m happy to report that Children of Bodom delivered on all fronts the other night!

Children of Bodom is currently on the Halo of Blood Over North America 2014 tour in support of their latest release Halo of Blood (2013), and we caught them on the second show of the tour. Opening up for them are Týr and Death Angel.

Týr

We missed at least three-quarters of Týr’s set because we had trouble finding parking. Actually, while I had pulled into a spot along the road to verify if I could park there, some punk kid proceeded to “parallel park” in the space in front of me, and there was a lot of space. His “parallel parking” consists of not giving a shit about what’s behind him as he backs in; I had to put my car in reverse in order to avoid being hit… twice! But I digress.

I wish we’d seen the whole Týr set because they sounded great and the audience response was amazing. Actually, the crowd’s response was a good indicator of how the rest of the night would go.

Death Angel

Shortly before Death Angel took the stage, the crowd packed the floor in front of the stage tighter than a can of sardines… and the body odor was yet another indicator of how the rest of the testosterone-fueled night would go. This was going to be a metallers night of thrashy debauchery.

Death Angel played a great set comprised mostly of new material, with highlights that included “Left for Dead,” “The Dream Calls for Blood,” and, of course, the intro to “The Ultra-Violence,” which led into “Thrown to the Wolves.” I would have killed the guy next to me to have heard “The Ultra-Violence” in its entirety, but I totally understand why they wouldn’t play a 10-minute instrumental as an opening act.

While frontman Mark Osegueda’s proclaimed love for the city seemed a bit cliche, he did reminisce about playing at a specific venue back in 1987, which added an element of sincerity. He nonetheless had a great rapport with the audience.

Children of Bodom

If the crowd’s intensity had been building all night, it reached its apex when Children of Bodom hit the stage. From the moment Will Carroll stepped behind his kit and threw up the horns to the final bow from the band, the crowd was with the Finnish metallers as they put on a spectacular show full of odd ups and downs.

I’ve never been to a metal show where the intensity shot through the roof while the band played and then was brought down to a calming, almost hypnotic level between songs. Of course the ambient music provided by Janne Wirman’s keyboards certainly helped.

You can read the full set list below, but highlights from COB included “Halo of Blood,” “Lake Bodom,” “Are You Dead Yet?” “Angels Don’t Kill,” and more, but I don’t want to list the list below. Know what I mean?

Everything about COB’s performance was impeccable. Alexi’s vocals were amazing, and neither drowned out nor overpowering; bass was full and rich; guitars were crisp and clear; keyboards shone when they should… there’ nothing bad to say about the perfo… wait, was it an airband performance? Kidding, of course, but it was that damn good.

By the way, the beer is always fairly priced at Montreal’s Metropolis venue.

Children of Bodom Set List:

1. “Sixpounder”
2. “Living Dead Beat”
3. “Bodom Beach Terror”
4. “Halo of Blood”
5. “Scream for Silence”
6. “Hate Crew Deathroll”
7. “Lake Bodom”
8. “Follow the Reaper”
9. “Dead Man’s Hand on You”
10. “Are You Dead Yet?”
11. “Blooddrunk”
12. “Angels Don’t Kill”
13. “Towards Dead End”
14. “Hate Me!”
15. “Downfall”
16. “In Your Face”

Rock Hard \m/

Formed in 1993 by childhood friends Alexi Laiho and Jaska Raatikainen under the moniker of Inearthed, Children of Bodom released their first album, Something Wild, in 1997. Since then, COB has released eight studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums, and a DVD. They’ve also kicked ass along the way, being a consistent Gold album seller, attracting legions of metal fans around the world, and becoming one of Finland’s best-selling band of all time.

The live performance above comes from COB’s Stockholm Knockout Live – Chaos Ridden Years DVD, which was released in 2006 and filmed in Stockholm, Sweden. Not only does the DVD capture the intensity that ripples throughout a COB concert, but it also includes a great reference to W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless — oh, and a fair amount of bonus material:
-Chaos Ridden Years: The Children of Bodom Documentary
-Making of Stockholm Knockout Live
-Deleted Scenes
-Photo Gallery
-Promotional Videos:
“Are You Dead Yet?”
“Downfall”
“Deadnight Warrior”
“Everytime I Die”
“In Your Face”
“Sixpounder”
“Trashed, Lost & Strungout”

If you’re not a fan of Children of Bodom, you’re missing out, but having a good listen to this concert might just change your stance on the band. Though they’re considered melodic death and/or extreme metal, they combine a lot of the traditional elements of hard rock and thrash metal in their performance, i.e., muthafuckin’ solos. The dueling solo between Alexi (guitar) and Janne Wirman (keyboard) is especially awesome — even if, at times, it sounds like Eddie Van Halen and parts of that bit in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure when Beethoven takes over the music department in the mall.

Children of Bodom – Chaos Ridden Years set list:

1. “Living Dead Beat”
2. “Sixpounder”
3. “Silent Night, Bodom Night”
4. “Hate Me!”
5. “We’re Not Gonna Fall”
6. “Angels Don’t Kill”
7. “Deadbeats I” (drum solo)
8. “Bodom After Midnight / Bodom Beach Terror” (medley)
9. “Follow the Reaper”
10. “Needled 24/7”
11. “Clash of the Booze Brothers” (guitar/keyboard duel)
12. “In Your Face”
13. “Hate Crew Deathroll”
14. “Are You Dead Yet?”
15. “Latvala – Guitar Solo” (guitar solo)
16. “Lake Bodom”
17. “Everytime I Die”
18. “Downfall”

Yell! Magazine’s Concert Series brings you kick-ass live shows to get your party started right and to help you vent your Friday frustrations.

Rock Hard \m/

Children of Bodom (COB) don’t need an introduction, but their return to North America for their Halo of Blood Over North America tour does. In just a few, short days (February 4th) COB hit the ground running in Quebec City, Quebec, with Death Angel and Tyr in support.

COB is continuing to support their latest release, Halo of Blood, on this tour. The successful album was recorded at Danger Johnny Studios in Helsinki, Finland with recording engineer Mikko Karmila, who also worked on the Hatebreeder (1999), Follow the Reaper (2001), and Hate Crew Deathroll (2003). Producer Peter Tägtgren (Immortal, Marduk, Amon Amarth) oversaw production on both vocals and keyboards. The album was mixed at Finland’s famed Finnvox Studios. Cover artwork was created by artist Sam Saramäki, known for his work on classic COB records such as Follow The Reaper and 2005’s Are You Dead Yet?

Halo Of Blood Over North America Tour Dates:

2/14/14 Imperial – Quebec City, QC – CANADA
2/15/14 Metropolis – Montreal, QC – CANADA
2/16/14 Sound Academy – Toronto, ON – CANADA
2/18/14 Crocks – Thunder Bay, ON – CANADA
2/20/14 The Garrick – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA
2/21/14 Louis Pub – Saskatoon, SK – CANADA
2/22/14 Union Hall – Edmonton, AB – CANADA
2/23/14 MacEwan Ballroom – Calgary, AB – CANADA
2/25/14 Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, B.C. – CANADA
2/26/14 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
2/28/14 The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
3/01/14 House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
3/02/14 The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
3/03/14 Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
3/05/14 The Murray Theater – Salt Lake City, UT
3/06/14 Summit Theater – Denver, CO
3/07/14 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
3/08/14 Tricky Falls El Paso, TX
3/10/14 Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX
3/11/14 House of Blues – Dallas, TX
3/12/14 House of Blues – Houston, TX
3/14/14 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
3/15/14 Revolution – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
3/16/14 The Ritz Ybor – Tampa, FL
3/18/14 Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
3/19/14 The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC
3/21/14 The Fillmore – Silver Spring, MD
3/22/14 Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
3/23/14 House of Blues – Cleveland, OH
3/24/14 St. Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI
3/25/14 House of Blues – Chicago, IL
3/27/14 Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
3/28/14 Irving Plaza – New York, NY
3/29/14 Irving Plaza – New York, NY

Children of Bodom are:

Alexi Laiho (guitar, vocals); Roope Latvala (guitar); Jaska Raatikainen (drums); Henkka Seppälä (bass); and Janne Warman (keyboards).

Rock Hard \m/

About the video

Commercial intro directed and edited by Fabio Jafet. Written and produced by David Rousseau (Creativeseen Rocks). Alexi Laiho interview filmed/edited by Napptime Digital Video, written by JKC.

Open up about this video interview, and leave your thoughts in comment section below.