One month after playing Montreal, Finnish band Children of Bodom return to the Medley for their headlining tour.
Calling from Minneapolis in the midst of their North American tour, the November show still has vocalist and guitarist Alexi Laiho pumped.
“It was seriously just amazing man. I mean, not only did we just sell the place out and everything like that, but the crowd in Montreal is one of the best in the world definitely. It was just really good, the best show on the whole tour [so far],” Laiho said.
And he’s just as thrilled about their upcoming show on December 11 with openers Trivium and Amon Amarth. “Definitely [very excited]. I’m just hoping people are going to show up,” he said .
Why wouldn’t they? A typical Children of Bodom show is all about making sure that people have a good time.
With a “really energetic presence [in a] really rock and rollish way,” Laiho said they want “to show people that we have fun playing live. The objective is to make sure that everybody is having fun.” If everyone else in the crowd is having a good time, then they’re definitely all having a good time too.
The band, which includes bassist Henkka Seppala, keyboard player Janne Wirman, drummer Jaska Raatikeinen and new guitarist Roope Latvala, is in town to promote their latest record, Are You Dead Yet?, released October 25. While the album’s lyrical content contains no real message, Laiho said that their “main source of inspiration is [letting out] negative feelings”.
And when it comes to the music, it’s a completely different story. Laiho said that “compared to the last album, [Are You Dead Yet? is] more straightforward, catchier. Whenever we make albums, we try to make it as aggressive and heavy as possible…and this time around we actually managed to make it heavier in a less obvious way. When it comes to the tempos of the songs and stuff, they might be a bit slower but at the same time it’s heavier too.”
As for differences between Europe and North America, Laiho thinks that they are small, if any. “In a way it’s not that different…I think that right now in North America they appreciate stuff like guitar solos, and the crazy keyboard things that we have going on, [since] nowadays [these things are] actually more common,” he said.
Although the existence of metal bands who use instrumental techniques similar to those of Children of Bodom were once quite sparse, now the Finnish group feel more accepted when they play at a more aggressive level than they previously did in North America.
However, Laiho still admits that it’s a challenge to try to break into the American market. “Whenever you go to new regions that you haven’t really been, it makes it more interesting when you know there’s a bunch more people you have to convince of the fact that you guys know how to rock. We haven’t done that much touring here, this is our first headlining tour so we’ll just hope for the best and do the best we can,” he said.
If their packed performance isn’t enough to convince Children of Bodom that they’re on the right track, the fact that Sunday’s upcoming concert has also sold out, certainly will.
Children of Bodom play the Medley on Sunday, December 11 at 8p.m. with Trivium and Amon Amarth. Tickets are $29 (As of December 2, thirty new spots have been opened up because the show sold out so quickly).
