Halo of Blood

Halo of Blood is a work on which CHILDREN OF BODOM foregrounded slashing guitar riffs, high-speed interplay with the keyboards, and rough vocals. Even as the songs run fiercely, the lead phrases have clear melody, so the chaos is not mere noise. It is a record on which early aggression and later maturity fuse at a high level. On “Waste of Skin,” “Halo of Blood” and “Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming),” thrash-like drive and the cold color of Nordic melodeath overlap, and the album keeps a sharp tension throughout. Songs like “Scream for Silence,” “Transference” and “Dead Man's Hand on You” breathe the band’s full playing too. It is a record for those who seek speed and catchiness at once. Showing the fullness of a mature CHILDREN OF BODOM, it is a powerful work.