CHILDREN OF BODOM

I Worship Chaos

Nuclear Blast
rating icon 6 / 10

Track listing:

01. I Hurt
02. My Bodom (I am The Only One)
03. Morrigan
04. Horns
05. Prayer For The Afflicted
06. I Worship Chaos
07. Hold Your Tongue
08. Suicide Bomber
09. All For Nothing
10. Widdershins


Finland's CHILDREN OF BODOM has produced some of the most well-known melodic death metal ever released. Whether or not it's one cup of tea, there is no denying their songwriting prowess and skill exhibited over the years.

If not overtly present, melodic death metal typically has at least traces of triumphant, old-school heavy metal and power metal in terms of spirit, and that has indeed been at CHILDREN OF BODOM's core. The band has risen to the top not only because of the potency of its delivery, but also because of its debut's interesting mix of almost circus-like absurdity linked to the way the keyboards were employed and mashed together with hints of nineties Nordic black metal.

In recent years, CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman/ringleader Alexi Laiho has trimmed his blatant Yngwie Malmsteen worship for a more stripped-down approach that has reaped rewards, most notably with the pummeling, memorable "Blooddrunk", arguably the band's most aggressive effort.

Touring alongside the likes of MEGADETH and LAMB OF GOD has affected CHILDREN OF BODOM's songwriting, whether intentionally or not. But for all of its aggression, "I Worship Chaos" is nothing new, nor is it anything truly captivating at any point, aside from "Morrigan", which is a well-rounded heavy metal song from beginning to end. Elsewhere, "Hold Your Tongue" is anthemic and presumably geared toward arena-sized crowds while album closer "Widdershins" finishes off with a by-the-numbers breakdown — heavy, slow and easily digestible for the masses. The fact that it appears at the very end of the album suggests that it might have been thrown in with a sense of self-awareness about their drift into the mainstream — a jab, perhaps, at pundits. Whatever the case may be, it's accurately representative of an album that is thoroughly formulaic and generic.

Author: Jay H. Gorania
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).