Courtesy of Spinefarm RecordsWhen one thinks of Finland, ice and artic cold may come to mind.
Although severe weather is only a partially accurate description of the climate, the importance of Finland’s arguably largest metal export, Children of Bodom, cannot be undermined.
Children of Bodom, whose name is derived from a series of unsolved murders that occurred at Lake Bodom in Finland, may have brought Finland to the forefront of the seemingly well-respected brand of heavy metal.
However, this form of metal has long been promoted in other Scandinavian countries such as Norway.
Several bands from Norway appear to be highly respected by American metal fans, such as Venom, which proclaims to be “Pure Norwegian Black Metal.”
This subgenre of metal, which is frequently referred to as black or thrash metal, is often associated with the heavy music that stems from this particular portion of the world.
“For me, metal is metal, music is music, I don’t really care about labels,” Children of Bodom vocalist and guitarist Alexi Laiho said in an interview with www.metalunderground.com. “But if somebody says we’re black metal or they say that we’re thrash metal, I’m OK with it.”
No matter what Children of Bodom is labeled, the music is far from simplistic or bland, which may be the reason why it is so highly respected by metal fans.
The success Children of Bodom has seen might be a result of its relentless touring schedule.
“We did over a hundred gigs within one year,” Laiho said. “You can see that on the (Dimmu Borgir) tour, most of the people didn’t even know who the f*** we are. This time around, at least they know who we are.”
Although the members of Children of Bodom appear to be serious musicians, the band has made several covers that suggest an apparent sense of humor, such as the cover of “Oops! ? I Did It Again” by Britney Spears.
“Apart from it being obviously a joke anyway, it was the fact that we just had to pick something that definitely surprised and even shocked people,” Laiho said.
-Children of Bodom is scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Soma. Tickets are $15.
