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Children Of Bodom
 Boasting a large fanbase for their faultless ability to synchronise lead guitars with keyboards, Children Of Bodom are now a household name in Finnish metal. Like them or hate them, Bodom's rapidly increasing success as musicians has seen them headlining some of the biggest metal festivals around the world, having the press generate entirely new dictionary definitions for their playing style, and proving that guitarists that wear eyeliner can still bust out insane guitar solos.
Coming fresh out of the studio following the band's sixth full-length album 'Blooddrunk', on the other end of the line is bassist Hennka Blacksmith, allegedly the only member who speaks fluent English. So, how happy are they with the new album? "Very happy, we had a lot of fun writing it and we had a lot of fun recording it, so it was perfect for us. We were really relaxed all the way, it turned out really well. I love the sound, I love the songs."
"We never had any goals; I mean the subconscious goal for everybody is to make interesting songs and tracks that we would enjoy playing and hearing. We managed to do that, so we're happy. We achieved what we were supposed to achieve."
The new album is arguably the band's heaviest release to date, sticking to an extremely fast low-end sound, boasting musical progression, and doesn't fall short of the hardcore aggression that one would expect from a Children Of Bodom record. The band has once again pushed itself technically, although the band doesn't claim this to be a primary musical goal.
"No it's not important. Technicality shouldn't be the goal as itself, but if you have some technicalities involved, it makes it a little more interesting. That's why the songs tend to be technical for us."
With Janne Warman and Alexi Wildchild trying to outdo each other on keyboards and lead guitar respectively, it's always useful to have a man like Blacksmith to balance the playing field.
"I always aim to keep the package together somehow, because at points there are guitars and keyboards everywhere with lots of weird stuff going on, so the drummer and I have to keep the whole thing together. That's my aim. I try to keep the rhythm simple - because there's lot of things happening, I think it should be plain, quite simple and very heavy. I think I achieved that."
At points you have to wonder just how seriously the band do take themselves, with an album entitled 'Blooddrunk' containing songs like Lobodomy and Roadkill Morning.
The lyrics are an unnecessary evil for us, that's Alexi's deal. We're not a band that has much to say lyrically, I think we speak with our music. Sometimes there are songs that are very personal for him, which are therapeutic for him to write them down, and the rest is just having fun and writing lyrics to fit the music."
For the second time in couple of years, Adelaide fans will have the opportunity to see Bodom's new gear live at the end of June. It would seem they loved us the first time round.
"Yeah, I loved the crowd. Surprisingly all the shows were sold out, everywhere it was a pleasant trip, and we had no idea it would be like that. Everyone's always saying good things about Australia. All the Europe kids have good things to say about Australia, I don't know why we didn't go there earlier actually."
"I prefer the smaller venues, the club feeling is more intense and more sweaty, and that's where metal music should always be played, not these big arenas outside. You don't get the interaction between the audience and the band so well outside."
A packed-out Fowler's Live will no doubt provide the intimacy Blacksmith is preaching about, but one thing is for sure; the return of Bodom to Adelaide will be one of the most anticipated metal shows this year.
"I'm hoping its going to be just as good the second time around. We prefer to play everything from every album if it's possible, that's how it should be. That's how I wanted to see my favourite bands when I would go to their shows."
Brad Holland
"Blooddrunk' is out now on Spinefarm through Universal.
Children Of Bodom play at Fowler's Live on Sat 28 June.
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