Halo of Blood

It is the eighth studio album by the Finnish band Children of Bodom. Unfortunately, I am approaching the end of the discography of my favorite band. I try not to speedrun so that I still have some secrets to discover. So this review may be a little different than others, as I haven't listened to Blooddrunk or Relentless, Reckless, Forever, which were a decline in form for most listeners. And today the album is discussed as a return to this form. Therefore, the opinion will be from the perspective of a listener who did not witness the alleged decline in form. The first thing that attracts attention in this album is, of course, the cover, as usual for CoB, it is beautiful, dark and mysterious. Of course, it shows Reaper walking on the frozen Lake Bodom with people trapped under the ice.

Moving on to listening. Songs such as "Waste of Skin", "Scream for Silence" and "Damage Beyond Repair" are songs with a classic CoB pattern that worked well on the first 5 albums. There are keyboards, melodic solos, choirs in the chorus, everything is in its place as if nothing happened. However, the title track "Halo of Blood" has a black metal sound, especially in the intro. There is one more interesting composition, different from the rest. We're talking about "Dead Man's Hand on You", the beginning sounds like it's Type O Negative or another gothic metal band, it doesn't sound like CoB at all. I really like this, trying to do something different and fresh. Of course, a good pattern is not bad, but the songs "similar" to the first 5 albums are no longer so gripping, exciting or heartwarming. I'm talking specifically about "Bodom Blue Moon" and "Your Days Are Numbered". These songs are simply boring (in my opinion), they have nothing interesting to offer, and even if they did find something, you can listen to better equivalents, such as "Bodom Beach Terror". Some of the really good songs that stick to the formula include "Scream for Silence", "Waste of Skin", "All Twisted". You can just feel the good old Children of Bodom in these songs. Alexi’s shredding is peak performance as always, his voice got kinda weaker but it’s still good. Another thing that bothers me a bit about this album is the fact that the bass is practically inaudible. The drums are just okay, nothing bad but nothing great either. The keyboards and rhythm guitar are at a high level as always. The album classically ends with a cover or even two. For me, CoB are the masters of making covers. They are able to combine their sound with the original in such a way that it sounds like their song, but the soul of the original is still present.

Overall, Halo of Blood stands out from the rest of the discography I know. I miss the amazing melody that they easily added to the top five of their albums. I have the impression that it was made a bit hastily, some of the songs are clearly well thought out, and some were made quickly according to a well-rehearsed pattern. I'm not saying it's a bad album or that I was disappointed. None of these things. It is still at least a very good album (8.5/10), but maybe I just expected something better.