The latest album from Finland’s Children of Bodom is I Worship Chaos, and it has been a bit chaotic for the band recently. They recorded the album as a four-piece after the departure of guitarist Roope Latvala, who had been in the band for the past dozen years or so.

That didn’t slow the band down at all. I Worship Chaos is a consistent album that delivers everything Bodom fans expect along with a couple surprises. One of those surprises is “Morrigan,” an extremely catchy and accessible song, or at least as accessible as they can be with Alexi Laiho’s raspy vocals.

Since they recorded the album as a quartet, Laiho handled all the guitars along with doing the vocals. The riffs are crisp and heavy, with songs like “My Bodom (I Am the Only One)” alternating galloping thrash with slower melodic death metal. Laiho is one of metal’s most gifted axemen, and his chops are on full display throughout the album.

Keyboardist Janne Wirman is vital to the album’s success. He knows when to add atmospheric parts, when to take the lead and when to step aside and let the guitars fly. Sometimes that atmosphere is subtle, other times he adds a wall of sound to really beef up the impact.

Children of Bodom have a lot of influences that they bring to the table. In addition to the aforementioned thrash and melodic death metal stylings, they also add gothic elements, periodic prog and even some ‘80s glam.

“Prayer for the Afflicted” is around the album’s halfway point, and acts as the perfect bridge between the first and second halves of the record. It’s a power ballad of sorts, with rough growls instead of soaring melodic singing.

The title track ramps the intensity back up, carrying the momentum that lasts for the remainder of the album. The penultimate track “All For Nothing” is slower with melodic riffs, but still has intensity. The finale “Widdershins” bring the proceedings to a raucous ending.

Just as they did with 2013‘s Halo of Blood, the deluxe edition of I Worship Chaos includes some cover songs. This time around they tackled the ‘80s pop hit “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins along with “Black Winter Day” by Amorphis and the Plasmatics cover “Mistress of Taboo.”

Laiho is 36 now and may have outgrown his “Wildchild” nickname, but I Worship Chaos still has the recklessness and edge that Bodom fans desire.

Children of Bodom's 'I Worship Chaos' is available at the Nuclear Blast online merch store.

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