Tracklist
album info:
Verified yes
Discs1
GenreMetal
Rank−
Released1999-05-04
Record labelNuclear Blast, Spinefarm Records
Charts
Added
Last updatedApril 1st, 2017
AboutHatebreeder is the second studio album by Finnish metal band Children of Bodom. The "Deluxe Edition" was released in 2005 with bonus material. Hatebreeder was also re-released in 2008.
In 2005, Hatebreeder was ranked number 492 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.
What to say about an album that you consider to be a perfect album? Hatebreeder has gotten me speachless. This album grabs me by the throat from the moment that I hear 'from now on we are enemies, you and I' until the last note of Downfall and it never lets go between those two moments. The copy that I bought also has two bonus tracks that I will talk about later, but I do not consider them as a part of the album Hatebreeder in this review. This album was a step in the right direction, coming from Something Wild. That was a great album, but it had some some flaws. With Hatebreeder, Children of Bodom produced a perfect melodic death metal record with some neo-classical power metal vibes that has set a standard for this type of music. I would compare this album and Follow The Reaper with the Keeper albums from Helloween. They brought melodic death metal to a whole other level by incorporating those power metal influences.
The songs on this album are incredible. Each song consists of beautiful melodies, awesome riffs and stunning solos. If I have to pick the best song on this album, I would go with Silent Night, Bodom Night. This song is 3 minutes and 13 seconds long and it has everything that a Children of Bodom song needs. A very nice riff that you can headbang to or even hum along with, some incredible guitar and keyboard sounds by Alexi and Janne, a breakdown where you can bang your head off and another solo by Alexi and Janne in harmony. All of that is done in 3 minutes, so you can expect that the song has a pretty fast pace too.
Every second of this album is a highlight, but some parts of songs are absolutely phenomenal. The solo battle between Alexi and Janne at the end of the title track gives me goosebumps. It's so powerful and brings about strong emotions. Another example is the haunting keyboard intro of Bed of Razors or when Alexi shouts 'guitar' in Wrath Within and then the solo kicks in. I know, it's really cheesy, but it fits so well in this song. After the solo there's a breakdown and another beautiful harmony of Alexi and Janne. The ending track is Downfall and is the second best track on the album. The intro is again an awesome haunting keyboard melody and then the guitars kick in with some nice riffing. The solo in this song again is a very powerful one.
The shredding on this album as a whole is simply incredible. Along with his performance on Follow the Reaper, this has got to be Alexi's best guitarwork. Janne does his thing with the keyboards, sometimes accompanying with Alexi, sometimes just doing his own thing. Jaska is also right up there, delivering the perfect beats to all the frantic guitar and keyboard playing. Henkka's bass sounds really nice too, although he's sometimes hard to hear through all the shredding. But if you listen to Warheart, you'll hear that low fat bass sound that's typical for Henkka and it's awesome.
This album really mixes the neo-classical components with extreme metal very well. This has got to be one of the first power melodeath albums that I believe inspired many other bands such as Norther, Kalmah or Made of Hate. If you like those bands, you'll certainly love this album. I had to think long and hard over which album is the best Children of Bodom album and I decided that both Hatebreeder and Follow the Reaper are equally as good. It doesn't get any better than this.
PS : on the copy I bought are two bonus tracks. One is a cover from the Finnish thrash metal band Stone, in which Roope Latvala also played. The song is called No Commands and it's fairly good. It's nothing too special, but it's fun. The second track is a cover of Iron Maiden's Aces High. The vocals aren't too good, but the music itself is really fun. It's the Children of Bodom sound, but they're playing an Iron Maiden song. That's what I like about covers from Children of Bodom. They always incorporate their own sound into the original songs.
All tracks written by Alexi Laiho, except where noted.
Album Performers:
Alexi Laiho – vocals, lead guitar
Alexander Kuoppala – rhythm guitar
Janne Wirman – keyboards
Henkka Seppälä – bass
Jaska Raatikainen – drums
Gang vocals on "Warheart", "Black Widow", and "Children of Bodom" by Children of Bodom
In 2005, Hatebreeder was ranked number 492 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.
What to say about an album that you consider to be a perfect album? Hatebreeder has gotten me speachless. This album grabs me by the throat from the moment that I hear 'from now on we are enemies, you and I' until the last note of Downfall and it never lets go between those two moments. The copy that I bought also has two bonus tracks that I will talk about later, but I do not consider them as a part of the album Hatebreeder in this review. This album was a step in the right direction, coming from Something Wild. That was a great album, but it had some some flaws. With Hatebreeder, Children of Bodom produced a perfect melodic death metal record with some neo-classical power metal vibes that has set a standard for this type of music. I would compare this album and Follow The Reaper with the Keeper albums from Helloween. They brought melodic death metal to a whole other level by incorporating those power metal influences.
The songs on this album are incredible. Each song consists of beautiful melodies, awesome riffs and stunning solos. If I have to pick the best song on this album, I would go with Silent Night, Bodom Night. This song is 3 minutes and 13 seconds long and it has everything that a Children of Bodom song needs. A very nice riff that you can headbang to or even hum along with, some incredible guitar and keyboard sounds by Alexi and Janne, a breakdown where you can bang your head off and another solo by Alexi and Janne in harmony. All of that is done in 3 minutes, so you can expect that the song has a pretty fast pace too.
Every second of this album is a highlight, but some parts of songs are absolutely phenomenal. The solo battle between Alexi and Janne at the end of the title track gives me goosebumps. It's so powerful and brings about strong emotions. Another example is the haunting keyboard intro of Bed of Razors or when Alexi shouts 'guitar' in Wrath Within and then the solo kicks in. I know, it's really cheesy, but it fits so well in this song. After the solo there's a breakdown and another beautiful harmony of Alexi and Janne. The ending track is Downfall and is the second best track on the album. The intro is again an awesome haunting keyboard melody and then the guitars kick in with some nice riffing. The solo in this song again is a very powerful one.
The shredding on this album as a whole is simply incredible. Along with his performance on Follow the Reaper, this has got to be Alexi's best guitarwork. Janne does his thing with the keyboards, sometimes accompanying with Alexi, sometimes just doing his own thing. Jaska is also right up there, delivering the perfect beats to all the frantic guitar and keyboard playing. Henkka's bass sounds really nice too, although he's sometimes hard to hear through all the shredding. But if you listen to Warheart, you'll hear that low fat bass sound that's typical for Henkka and it's awesome.
This album really mixes the neo-classical components with extreme metal very well. This has got to be one of the first power melodeath albums that I believe inspired many other bands such as Norther, Kalmah or Made of Hate. If you like those bands, you'll certainly love this album. I had to think long and hard over which album is the best Children of Bodom album and I decided that both Hatebreeder and Follow the Reaper are equally as good. It doesn't get any better than this.
PS : on the copy I bought are two bonus tracks. One is a cover from the Finnish thrash metal band Stone, in which Roope Latvala also played. The song is called No Commands and it's fairly good. It's nothing too special, but it's fun. The second track is a cover of Iron Maiden's Aces High. The vocals aren't too good, but the music itself is really fun. It's the Children of Bodom sound, but they're playing an Iron Maiden song. That's what I like about covers from Children of Bodom. They always incorporate their own sound into the original songs.
All tracks written by Alexi Laiho, except where noted.
Album Performers:
Alexi Laiho – vocals, lead guitar
Alexander Kuoppala – rhythm guitar
Janne Wirman – keyboards
Henkka Seppälä – bass
Jaska Raatikainen – drums
Gang vocals on "Warheart", "Black Widow", and "Children of Bodom" by Children of Bodom