Review Summary: Solid But Not Inspired
The seventh studio album from Children Of Bodom is an up and down listen. There are some moments of brilliance in “Relentless Reckless Forever” and equal points where you want to lament the band’s musical direction. It’s a solid album but there’s no innovation at all.
After listening to “Not My Funeral” we can have an idea of what the rest of the album will be, because many of the songs have a similar structure. The melodic parts are still present in their music but obviously weaker in comparison to “Follow The Reaper” or “Hatebreeder”. As for the lyrics, it’s just what you expected, anything but poetic. The keyboard lines are elegant but feel uninspired. And the guitar work, which once was fantastic, is still great now but once again weak in comparison to their earlier records.
However, this isn’t all bad, tracks as “Ugly” and “Cry Of The Nihilist” can still create an amazing atmosphere, mixing Power Metal with Thrash in a very decent and entertaining way. “Relentless Reckless Forever” is a track that has a ton of good riffs and the chorus is just pure power. This album’s greatest strength lies mainly within the riffing and some of the keyboard melodies.
The music, while incoherent at times, is very technical, well mixed and superior to “Blooddrunk” in almost every song. The fact that the band has improved still makes me have faith that maybe they´ll reach the musical awesomeness they once were able to produce.
Finally, Children Of Bodom’s newest work is still a solid and respectable album from a band that is capable of creating much better listening experiences than this one. But again, the main problem with “Relentless Reckless Forever” is the lack of originality and inspiration, which was already predictable before the album came out (with song titles like “Pussyfoot Miss Suicide” etc.). However, there are no recycled riffs this time and overall this manages to be a good addition to their discography.
Recommended Tracks:
- Not My Funeral
- Ugly
- Northpole Throwdown
