Jared Cohen Children of Jihad

While Children of Bodom are used to personnel shakeups, the departure of longtime guitarist Roope Latvala before the recording of I Worship Chaos posed a challenge. A member since 2003, he was an integral part of the band's sound. This left vocalist/guitarist Alexi Laiho handling all six-string chores alone for the first time, making this COB's debut as a quartet. It was recorded in a converted warehouse rather than a conventional recording studio, and delivers a more spacious sound. Laiho and bassist Henkka Seppälä tuned half a step lower for each song, resulting in a much darker, heavier attack. Opener "I Hurt" is classic COB with a knotty, technical death metal riff, labyrinthine scalar flights, and piercing melodic interludes…

Hatebreeder, the second release from Finland's Children of Bodom, is a louder, faster, and positively heavier release than the group's debut. Under normal circumstances, this type of evolution is a guaranteed upgrade for a metal band, but not all of Hatebreeder's elements are improvements on the blueprint established during Something Wild. Most noticeably, Alexi Laiho's black metal scream is more menacing and consistent, but this is a disputed topic among Scandinavian metal enthusiasts. Many listeners enjoy the music, but could do without the bloodcurdling vocal excess, while others consider it a critical element of any real metal statement. The value of so much throat splitting is subjective, but Laiho's refinement of the approach isn't…