Children of Bodom - Halo of Blood

As soon as I read that Children of Bodom were eyeing a new release on June 11th, the memory instantly sent me back a few years when I saw them in London, ON as part of the Gigantour series (alongside Megadeth, In Flames and more).  What a performance these guys put on!  Their sound was top notch and the cool melodies got everyone grooving, enough at least to send my buddy Matt crowd surfing for the first time at his first ever concert.  Haha ohh the good memories indeed.

It's not all rainbows and sunshine though.  I do have to give slight criticism to the last few CoB albums "Blooddrunk" and "Relentless Reckless Forever".  Die hard fans ached for the new albums where as I did not seem to find that emotional connection with the albums.  I was much more comfortable with their previous releases of "Hate Crew Deathroll" and "Are You Dead Yet?"  Both albums were colossi of their time; maybe that was the reason I held them a little more near and dear than other albums.  Don't get me wrong, there were a few tunes I could pick off any of their albums to rock out to.  I just found more hits and more versatility with the two albums I stated earlier.  To each their own right?

Well I am hoping that CoB come back with yet another great album as they announce "Halo of Blood".  The June 11th release date will be via Nuclear Blast Records.  The cover art was created by Sami Saramäki, who was responsible for the artwork on previous CoB albums such as "Follow The Reaper", "Are You Dead Yet?" and "Hate Crew Deathroll".

"We wanted to have a winter scene. Somehow it fits well with the atmosphere of the music and the composing session. It could be Lake Bodom, actually, frozen, with people trapped under the ice. Very Finnish looking scene. We were really happy how Sami created the whole imagery!" -Henkka Seppälä

1. Waste Of Skin

2. Halo Of Blood

3. Scream For Silence

4. Transference

5. Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming)

6. The Days Are Numbered

7. Dead Man’s Hand On You

8. Damage Beyond Repair

9. All Twisted

10. One Bottle And A Knee Deep

"'Halo Of Blood' is the eighth studio album from CHILDREN OF BODOM, and believe it or not, but we still managed to keep it fresh and new while still maintaining the elements that make COB sound recognizable. It's got the fastest and the slowest song we ever made and lyrics wise there are themes we had never had before. It's 10 new songs of pure Nordic metal and whether you enjoy it with a beer or a glass of water, I’m sure you will have a good time." -Alexi Laiho

More info as it comes in!  For now...