siLLy puPPy Starting out as Inearthed in Espoo, Finland, CHILDREN OF BODOM formed by guitarist ALex Laiho (R.I.P.) and drummer Jaska Raatikainen would go on to become one of Finland’s most successful metal bands with a string of gold albums. Starting out in 1993, the fledgling Inearthed existed for five years influenced by death metal bands such as Entombed, Cannibal Corpse and Obituary but with the arrival of Janne Warmann on keyboards, the band reinvented itself and emerged as one of the first examples of death metal and power metal fusion. The world would never be the same!

Having developed a unique sound that took several competing metal styles and forcing them to play together, Inearthed was forced to change its name before a recording contract for Spineform Records and after a random perusal through the phone book settled on Lake Bodom which was the scene of some murders. After some reworking, CHILDREN OF BODOM had arrived and released the debut album SOMETHING WILD In 1997 which at the time sounded like nothing else. Death metal didn’t take long to splinter off into a million categories but once thrash metal split into death metal and power metal, the two sort of became the antithesis of each other until CHILDREN OF BODOM changed all that.

Mostly tagged as melodic death metal, SOMETHING WILD comes across more of a power metal album with death metal elements therefore a deathened power metal album that showcases neoclassical wizardry, fast tempos, Iron Maiden inspired gallops and highly melodic tunes leaving only the growly vocals and blastbeats to really bring any death metal attributes to the table. The album showcased the guitar virtuosity of Laiho who has been labeled as one of Finland’s all time greatest guitarists however Warmann’s keyboard wizardry is also of an equal caliber with frenetic soloing tradeoffs that are highlighted on the Slayer cover “Silent Scream” that is included as a bonus track on some CDs.

Added to the aggressive mix of melodic power metal and death metal grit, SOMETHING WILD also features an interesting black metal atmosphere which possibly was gleaned from touring with Dimmu Borgir. There are also moments of thrash metal attacks and many moments of good old fashioned 80s heavy metal coming through in the mix. The music is really quite unclassifiable as it wriggles around through various stylistic moments but its’ perhaps the neoclassical underpinnings most apparent by the Mozart inspired intro of “Red Light In My Eyes Pt 2” that defines the CHILDREN OF BODOM sound.

This is one of the bands that seems to get a lot a hate. Purists of both death metal and power metal find CHILDREN OF BODOM to be an unthinkable bastardization of two classic metal styles but for those of us who aren’t so hung up on genre purities, i personally find this music to be quite fascinating in how it manages to juggle all these disparate stylistic effects and fuse them together to proficiently. CHILDREN OF BODOM truly hit the ground running and propelled themselves to the top fo the melo-death tiers with this eclectic and energetic mix of extreme metal styles. While i can’t say CHILDREN OF BODOM has ever topped my list of favorite all-time metal bands, i am always in awe of the musicianship on display and the maturity of the compositions. Excellent debut.

UMUR "Something Wild" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish death metal act Children of Bodom. The album was released through Spinefarm Records in February 1997. The album was originally meant to be released on a small Belgian label under the IneartheD monicker, but as the band were not satisfied with the deal, they were forced to change their name to Children of Bodom to avoid legal issues when they signed with Spinefarm Records. The name Children of Bodom derives from an infamous Finnish murder case where three teenagers were murdered at Lake Bodom in the 60s by a still unknown killer.

The music on the album is at it´s core death metal, but there are dominant power metal leanings in the music too. Heavy metal and thrash metal riffing are also used, as well as neo-classical elements. Melodic death metal with power metal styled keyboards is maybe a valid simple description of the band´s music. The vocals are growling yet fully intelligible. Occasionally they enter raspy black metal territory.

It´s pretty obvious that the 8 track, 35:58 minutes long album is a debut. Especially if you´re familiar with the band´s later more mature output. This is pretty raw and unpolished and few of the tracks are particularly memorable. The performance by the band is decent and there are a couple of skillfully played sections here and there, but again it´s obvious that these guys could take it up a notch and would do so on the next couple of albums. The fact that the sound production is a bit thin and maybe a bit too unpolished and unbalanced for the style, doesn´t help on my overall impression of "Something Wild" either. All in all it´s a decent debut album by Children of Bodom, which right away established their trademark sound, but the songwriting is immature and the tracks simply don´t stick, so a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Kingcrimsonprog Something Wild is the debut full-length studio album by the Finnish Melodic Death Metal band Children Of Bodom, it was released in 1997 and re-released in 2002 after the band broke through.

If you like Heavy Metal, virtuosic guitar and keyboard playing, technicality and don’t dislike harsh vocal styles, then Children Of Bodom are definitely a band you should consider trying out. If you like Children Of Bodom, at some stage or other, this is a good album to check out.

The album is a brief, seven-track, 35-minute collection of fast, aggressive, melodic Metal. This album has a lot more of a Neo-Classical vibe than their modern albums and more of a slight Black Metal tinge to it (although still not overwhelmingly so) than anything else they ever made.

It also has a rawer production and some less-expensive sounding keyboard noises than their later works, the combination of all these things makes it a pretty unique release, and while it definitely unmistakably sounds like Bodom, it has ideas and sounds you’d never hear on later releases.

What it does share with later Bodom albums is that it is a constant barrage of Thrash Riffs, Death Riffs, Melodic lead guitar, frequent blistering fast guitar solos (all of which are amazing even at this early stage of the band’s career), speedy double-kicks, interesting fills, the bombast and attitude of Power Metal and Alexi’s instantly recognizable voice.

Its difficult to pick highlights since there’s only seven tracks and they’re all so good, but my personal favourite is ‘Lake Bodom.’ If you wonder whether or not you’d like this album, I recommend you give that track a listen before making the decision.

In Summary; Something Wild is a raw, charming and interesting record, that any Children Of Bodom should find an enjoyable addition to their collection.