Children of Bodom: A Chapter Called Children of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019)

I was intrigued by comments made recently on ‘The Hudson Valley Squares’ where the general consensus from the panel was that it was commonplace in the late 70s/early 80s for Live albums to contain the ‘best’ versions of a band's material. There’s merit to this comment for that era of music, however, it left me thinking, because in recent times I have found a lot of live albums to be lackluster, almost like afterthoughts, rather than a legitimately important release in the band's catalog. In recent times I get the impression that the bands take the live sound from the mixing desk on almost every show and later review and decide whether the performance was strong enough to make some additional content out of.

Interestingly then, when Children of Bodom released A Chapter Called Children of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019), some 5 years after the show date, and several years after the passing of lynchpin member Alexi Laiho.

I won’t profess to be a die-hard fan of the Finnish melodic death metal band, but I was pleasantly surprised by how engaged I was with the release. Any band’s final show is a landmark event, and playing the show for a ‘home crowd’ in an iconic venue only elevates this. Listening to the performance of a now-deceased frontman carries some weight too.

The band's material has always come across well in the live setting, and the ‘best of’ set has palpable energy from both the band and the crowd. The production on the release gets a pass too. Given the delay in release, I can’t be sure whether the concert was originally intended to be released, however, I’m glad it has been.

In summary, this album doesn’t contain the ‘best’ versions of a band's material, but it is a very important release in the Children of Bodom history. From that perspective, it’s a more impactful live album than many released in today’s day and age, and is well worth checking out if you’re a fan of the band or melodic metal styles.

Track List:
1. Under The Grass and Clover
2. Platitudes And Barren Words
3. In Your Face
4. Shovel Knockout
5. Bodom Beach Terror
6. Everytime I Die
7. Halo Of Blood
8. Are You Dead Yet?
9. Blooddrunk
10. I Worship Chaos
11. Angels Don't Kill
12. Follow The Reaper
13. Deadnight Warrior
14. Needled 24/7
15. Hate Me
16. Hate Crew Deathroll
17. Lake Bodom
18. Downfall

Added: January 18th 2024
Reviewer: Chris Reid
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1337
Language: english

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