Children Of Bodom, The Great Indian Octoberfest, 2012
I am not going to lie, but the Children Of Bodom gig on the 14th of October, 2012 wasn't as good as I had expected it to be.
Walking into the venue, I caught sight of two decent-sized stages. I was already drenched due to the rain, and immediately, I realised that the two stages weren't covered. Thinking highly of the organisers, I assumed the stages would be covered soon enough. But that was not the case. Due to the incessant rain, Bodom almost cancelled!!
The rain and the soaked stage made it almost next to impossible for any performance to take place. Although we metalheads braved the rain for hours together just to get as close to our Finnish Gods as possible, the band had issues. And for good reason too. Electricity and water is a lethal combination even for our guitar God Alexi Laiho.
Nevertheless, the organisers thought of an idea, and put up individual tents for each band member. After about an hour of agonizingly-slow stage setup, Children Of Bodom took to the stage. For the two-thousand-odd people there, it was a dream come true to watch the Melodic Death masters rip up the stage with their aggressive music. The band opened with the intro to 'Warheart", and proceeded to 'Hate me!', off off their 2001 album Follow The Reaper.
From the instant Alexi Laiho started to wreak havoc on stage, I noticed the sound system wasn't equalised properly. Jaaska's drums were way too loud, and Laiho's blistering solo's were barely audible. Janne's keyboard, Roope's and Henkka's rhythm and bass guitars were perfect-sounding, but Alexi Laiho's higher notes was not to be heard. Being Hate Crew myself ( Children of Bodom's fans are called Hate Crew), I actually formed the solos right there in my head from what I had heard from the studio versions. The first-timers weren't that lucky. To them, Bodom sounded like Lamb Of God- heavy vocals and overpowering drums.
Anyway, moving on, the band played 'Silent Night, Bodom Night' and 'Shovel Knockout'. Seeing Alexi Laiho not more than ten metres from me felt almost surreal. The next song was 'Needled 24/7', an all-time crowd-favourite. And as a result, I was sucked into a slush-mosh-pit. Slush, because of the stupid rain. Moshing to Needled 24/7 was pretty hectic, with a man next to me losing his shoe in the pit. The crowd was expectedly full of energy, and all those present screamed their lungs out, singing along to favourites 'Everytime I Die' and 'Angels Don't Kill'. I was expecting Jaaska's double-bass drum solo after Angels Don't Kill, but that was not to be. Children Of Bodom progressed to belt out 'Deadnight Warrior' from their debut album 'Something Wild'.
Next, along with the use of some light-effects, 'In Your Face' was performed, directed straight at public authority everywhere. 'Blooddrunk' was up next, and I could hear a few drunk men from behind me yelling "Bawdawm! Bawdawm!". Drunk from the beer, obviously.
Before 'Hate Crew Deathroll', Alexi Laiho commanded the crowd to sing along. However, only few knew the lyrics to the song from the album of the same name. Bodom went on to play 'Downfall', and I knew what was to ensue. An insane mosh-pit. Although few joined in, it was really energy-packed. After 'Downfall', Bodom went off stage.
When the crowd demanded for more, they took up stage again. A grey hat was thrown at Laiho, who sportingly donned it. The crowd headbanged to 'Are You Dead Yet?', Bodom's usual closing-track. To this one, almost everyone knew the lyrics. I felt that the whole crowd was one single body, yelling the lyrics to 'Are You Dead Yet?'.
For me, this song was the pick of the lot. It simply radiated the most energy and sounded the best, by far. By the time they were done, my head was dizzy, my whole body aching and my vocal chords felt as if I'd swallowed coal. If this does not happen to one at a metal gig, then one has simply not enjoyed. I felt a certain sense of longing for the band to perform again in front of me, right after they had concluded.
Laiho confessed that he loved the crowd, and with his usual dose of expletives, put the message across that the crowd was great and that the band would like to visit India again.
The star of the night for me was Janne Wirman (the keyboardist). The quality of the sound system let down Laiho, but Wirman outshone the others. His technical precision was unreal, and his effects and intro's pin-perfect. All logic flew out the window when he ripped out the solo on 'Downfall', all while sipping a cocktail with his left hand.
Overall, the performance and energy of the gig was simply amazing, and I loved it. And after placing down so many plus points, it makes no sense to dwell on the small things that could have been better. I would definetely like to see Children Of Bodom, live, again.
I am not going to lie, but the Children Of Bodom gig on the 14th of October, 2012 wasn't as good as I had expected it to be.
Walking into the venue, I caught sight of two decent-sized stages. I was already drenched due to the rain, and immediately, I realised that the two stages weren't covered. Thinking highly of the organisers, I assumed the stages would be covered soon enough. But that was not the case. Due to the incessant rain, Bodom almost cancelled!!
The rain and the soaked stage made it almost next to impossible for any performance to take place. Although we metalheads braved the rain for hours together just to get as close to our Finnish Gods as possible, the band had issues. And for good reason too. Electricity and water is a lethal combination even for our guitar God Alexi Laiho.
Nevertheless, the organisers thought of an idea, and put up individual tents for each band member. After about an hour of agonizingly-slow stage setup, Children Of Bodom took to the stage. For the two-thousand-odd people there, it was a dream come true to watch the Melodic Death masters rip up the stage with their aggressive music. The band opened with the intro to 'Warheart", and proceeded to 'Hate me!', off off their 2001 album Follow The Reaper.
From the instant Alexi Laiho started to wreak havoc on stage, I noticed the sound system wasn't equalised properly. Jaaska's drums were way too loud, and Laiho's blistering solo's were barely audible. Janne's keyboard, Roope's and Henkka's rhythm and bass guitars were perfect-sounding, but Alexi Laiho's higher notes was not to be heard. Being Hate Crew myself ( Children of Bodom's fans are called Hate Crew), I actually formed the solos right there in my head from what I had heard from the studio versions. The first-timers weren't that lucky. To them, Bodom sounded like Lamb Of God- heavy vocals and overpowering drums.
Anyway, moving on, the band played 'Silent Night, Bodom Night' and 'Shovel Knockout'. Seeing Alexi Laiho not more than ten metres from me felt almost surreal. The next song was 'Needled 24/7', an all-time crowd-favourite. And as a result, I was sucked into a slush-mosh-pit. Slush, because of the stupid rain. Moshing to Needled 24/7 was pretty hectic, with a man next to me losing his shoe in the pit. The crowd was expectedly full of energy, and all those present screamed their lungs out, singing along to favourites 'Everytime I Die' and 'Angels Don't Kill'. I was expecting Jaaska's double-bass drum solo after Angels Don't Kill, but that was not to be. Children Of Bodom progressed to belt out 'Deadnight Warrior' from their debut album 'Something Wild'.
Next, along with the use of some light-effects, 'In Your Face' was performed, directed straight at public authority everywhere. 'Blooddrunk' was up next, and I could hear a few drunk men from behind me yelling "Bawdawm! Bawdawm!". Drunk from the beer, obviously.
Before 'Hate Crew Deathroll', Alexi Laiho commanded the crowd to sing along. However, only few knew the lyrics to the song from the album of the same name. Bodom went on to play 'Downfall', and I knew what was to ensue. An insane mosh-pit. Although few joined in, it was really energy-packed. After 'Downfall', Bodom went off stage.
When the crowd demanded for more, they took up stage again. A grey hat was thrown at Laiho, who sportingly donned it. The crowd headbanged to 'Are You Dead Yet?', Bodom's usual closing-track. To this one, almost everyone knew the lyrics. I felt that the whole crowd was one single body, yelling the lyrics to 'Are You Dead Yet?'.
For me, this song was the pick of the lot. It simply radiated the most energy and sounded the best, by far. By the time they were done, my head was dizzy, my whole body aching and my vocal chords felt as if I'd swallowed coal. If this does not happen to one at a metal gig, then one has simply not enjoyed. I felt a certain sense of longing for the band to perform again in front of me, right after they had concluded.
Laiho confessed that he loved the crowd, and with his usual dose of expletives, put the message across that the crowd was great and that the band would like to visit India again.
Overall, the performance and energy of the gig was simply amazing, and I loved it. And after placing down so many plus points, it makes no sense to dwell on the small things that could have been better. I would definetely like to see Children Of Bodom, live, again.
