Additionally, his guitar work is at its always exceptional level of brilliance, with many songs being driven by his fast-paced fretwork.

It’s still more of his same gravelly sharp vocals delivering well-constructed lyrics, but it feels a lot more organically delivered and less forced this time around. Vocally, Alexi Laiho has continued on the journey that he has been going on throughout his career. These songs are all objectively different in their delivery and incorporate newer stylistic elements to give themselves a unique feel, and it’s a welcomed change from the band. While songs like the title track, ‘ Glass Houses’ and ‘ Kick in a Spleen’ feel familiar to classic Bodom and exude their trademark aggression and speed ‘ Hecates Nightmare’, ‘Under Grass and Clover’, and ‘This Road’ are a bit different and dial down the aggression for a stronger rock or progressive vibe. The songwriting approach makes tracks on Hexed really feel fleshed out and purposeful through their timing changes and nuanced structures, but the band has also used the new album as an opportunity to try some new things. This was apparent on “ I Worship Chaos”, but seems to have really hit refinement strides on Hexed, the likes of which haven’t been seen by the band since their “ Are You Dead Yet” years.

The first thing that stood out on Hexed was the considered approach to songwriting that Bodom has used. While Bodom’s most recent offering “I Worship Chaos” was dubbed as a return to form for the band, their 10 th and latest studio album Hexed sees the band progressing even further down that path and realizing the power of their legacy and how to utilize it to take their music forward for a modern audience.

This often didn’t hit the mark it intended to and as a result, has left many fans longing for a return to the band’s roots. It’s this onerous heritage that the band has held onto throughout their career while striving to grow and ‘one-up’ their fast melodeath sound to further their overall appeal. Coming out of the gate with successful consecutive releases during their early years established a preconceived notion in the mind of fans of what Children of Bodom should sound like. Children of Bodom has always been an unfortunate victim of their own legacy.

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