Metalheads around the world know that “Silent Night, Bodom Night” is a wryly-titled song from Children Of Bodom’s “Bestbreeder” album, and those who have seen the band perform also know that an evening with the Finnish quintet is anything but silent. On Saturday, December 9th, as the holiday season drew nigh, Children Of Bodom headlined a kind of international summit of metal at the Wiltern Theater, accompanied on tour by Swedish headknockers Amon Amarth, French threshers Gojira, and Southern-fried shed-shredders Sanctity. The audience was amped for all acts, and went especially ape for the fellows from Finland, whose lengthy “Are You Dead Yet?” tour was finally coming to a close. Blending their distinctive brand of “melodic death metal” with class and competence, Children Of Bodom boisterously banished silence throughout an intense set of focused pandemonium Eschewing the symphony-music prelude favored by so many other artists, the Bodom boys heralded their entry with the loony marching beat of Napoleon XIV’s 1966 novelty hit, “They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!” Mist swirled and yellow mood-lights twirled as drummer Jaska Raatikainen broke in with a kicking beat, and the crowd roared when the lights came up on guitarist Alexi Laiho, striking a hero’s pose with his axe. Flanked by rhythm guitarist Roope Latvala and bassist Henkka Seppälä, with keyboardist Janne Wirman st
ationed slightly behind him to the left, Alexi opened up with “Hate Me,” demonstrating technical mastery from the outset. Alexi’s vigorous vocals, gravel-strewn and wide-ranging, were well-attuned to the darkly-driving themes of COB’s repertoire, while his frenetic fretwork commanded continuous attention and respect. The guitarist’s virtuosity was steadily matched and counter pointed by expert effort from Janne, whose keyboard was curiously raised away from him in an almost perpendicular position, keys facing the crowd. This setup might have looked unusual, but Janne’s dexterous digits flew up and down the ivories with unflagging precision, fleshing out the foundation for songs such as “Children Of Decadence,” “Chokehold” and “Sixpounder.”
One of the few decorative flairs on Children Of Bodom’s stage was a trio of metallic panels hung above Jaska’s drum kit, looking something like large aluminum cookie sheets. The panels lent a simple industrial accent during the first few numbers, but it was during “Living Dead Beat” that their true purpose was revealed: white spotlights were arranged inside each rectangle in the shape of a letter, so that when the power was switched on, the panels spelled out the initials C, O and B, to the crowd’s immense approval. In classic arena-rock fashion, the lights would blaze steadily for a stretch, then pulse off and on, and then ignite one by one i
n sequence. COB’s initials went staccato during the signature song “Children Of Bodom,” which featured hot leads by Janne and impressive acrobatic posturing from Alexi.
“Needled 24/7” saw more trade-off riffage between guitar and keyboard, which was at times reminiscent of Deep Purple’s “Machine-Head” glory days. Flavorful depth was displayed during the melodic bell-like introduction to “Angels Don’t Kill,” with Alexi winning hearty audience recognition when his heavy chords took over. “Mask of Sanity” was prefaced by a tuneful piano prelude, and built to a sensory extravaganza, melding into “Deadnight Warrior.” Three pairs of disco-style colored lights sent whirling patterns around the stage, while synthesizer sounds wailed and fierce guitars generated crunchy sonic barrages.
Next came “Kissing the Shadows,” after which Alexi asked, in rhetorical fashion, if anyone had heard of Lake Bodom. This promptly elicited a raucous chant of “Bodom!” from the crowd, as an appropriate lead-in to “Bodom Beach Terror.” Henkka helped out on vocals, accentuating the mix with tight, choppy chunks of low-octave string-plunking on his bass. While Jaska maintained the beat on the skins, Janne’s synth-riffs dashed madly into a momentary meeting with
“Billie Jean.” That snippet of a pop-cover moment was followed by Alexi’s slashing machine-shop intro to the set-closer, “In Your Face.” The song was highlighted by a bold stage-dasher who leaped over the front-line moshers for his moment in the light, before escaping back into the crowd with a daring plunge. Soon thereafter, Children Of Bodom also bade farewell, but the unremitting roar from the house brought the band back for an encore salute. Alexi urged everyone to “raise the metal horns to the sky,” as the band blasted into “Downfall,” – an apt finale before the final curtain fell.
A capacity crowd of dedicated headbangers thronged the vintage art-deco venue, and while the standard theme of attire was basic black, much diversity was seen in the faces throughout the hall and up front at the lip of the stage. From Asheville, North Carolina, came the opening band, Sanctity, delivering a short but potent clutch of songs. The second act was Gojira, a long-haired crew from France who gained lively response from their smooth use of stock death-metal elements. The band’s sound incorporated thunderous double-bass drumming, keen twin-guitar attack, and growling lead vocals, all of which resounded well at the Wiltern. At the cl
ose of Gojira’s set, vocalist/guitarist Joe Duplantier announced, “The Vikings are coming!” – setting the scene for the arrival of Amon Amarth, a distinctive fivesome from Sweden. Barrel-chested singer Johan Hegg strutted on stage shirtless, with leather gauntlets on his arms and a Viking drinking horn by his side. Nordic imagery pervaded the band’s performance, which Johan particularly emphasized when he held up his hand in the obligatory pinkie-and-index-finger salute, and then called on the crowd to “raise your horns for the Norns,” who were the fate-spinners of Viking lore. Johan also let it be known that his rustic mead-mug wasn’t simply for show, as he made sure to take a couple of lengthy pulls from the polished artifact. Amon Amarth’s hard-hitting compositions put many moshers into a frenzy, and even spurred a couple of crowd-surfers, before closing with “Pursuit of the Vikings,” paving the way for their not-so-distant metal kinsmen, Finland’s Children Of Bodom.
Later, before bowing out for the night, Children Of Bodom’s Alexi gave profuse praise and thanks to all the fellow-travelers and players on the “Are You Dead Yet?” tour, all of whom helped to make the Wiltern show strikingly strong, from start to Finnish.
