'ARE YOU DEAD YET?' - CHILDREN OF BODOM

Following 2003's 'Hate Crew Deathroll' Children of Bodom have not done themselves any favours. They have a lot to live up to. At the first listen it has to be said that 'Are You Dead Yet?' doesn't quite meet expectations. It is by no means a bad album, or even a mediocre one for that matter, but it does lack the energy and thrill of its predecessor. It is however a bit unfair to judge a new album solely by comparison with a band's last (and perhaps best) work.

On it's own merits 'Are You Dead Yet?' is an undeniable fine album. Alexi Laiho is a guitarist of insane ability, and has the yowling howling screech of a pissed off banshee. The rest of the band aren't exactly crap either. The combined musical skill of this band just cannott be overexaggerated.

'Living Dead Beat' and titletrack 'Are You Dead Yet' kick off the record in a typically fast paced (and surprisingly catchy!) melodic fashion, before disappearing off into a strange world of inconsistent and unpredictable rhythms ('If You Want Peace....Prepare For War'), and what can only be described of as extreme metal ballads ('Punch Me I Bleed'). After this the album finally settles into a weird sort of middleground, with tracks such as 'Bastards of Bodom' and 'We're Not Gonna Fall' containing all the ferocity and fire you'd expect from CoB but lacking the sincerity, and seeming slightly deflated. Like a good wine it improves over time, and it does help if you listen to this on a decent set of super-bass speakers, but of course this shouldn't be necessary. A damn good album yes, but a masterpiece......not really.

4/5