Album Review : Blooddrunk - Children Of Bodom*** For Fans Of : Arch Enemy, Lamb Of God, In Flames There was a time when the Finnish 5 piece looked as if they could cross over from being just quite popular to being one of the really big names in heavy metal, that time was with the release of the album "Hate Crew Deathroll" in 2003 with its catchy, shout-a-long tracks like 'Sixpounder', 'Needled 24-7' and the awesome 'Triple Corpse Hammerblow'. The "Are You Dead Yet ?" album seemed to divide CoB's fans with its simpler and industrial tinged elements so long time fans would be hoping for a return to form with Blooddrunk. This really isn't the powerhouse album that we were hoping for though, CoB seem to have stood still in terms of songwriting, Alexi Laiho, whilst still performing heroically on the guitar, has changed his vocal style to become rougher, it isn't a typical death metal grunt but it has become more like Angela Gossow's half singing half shouting style. I preferred Laiho's vocals when they were cleaner. The band sound very together and polished on Blooddrunk, but the songwriting lets the album down, it's a damn shame when you put two jokey add on songs on the album ("Ghost Riders In The Sky" & "Lookin' Out My Back Door") and they sound better crafted than the main album tracks. My main problem with this album is that although everything is really well played, the songs themselves just don't stand out. The title track is pretty good, but the other 8 tracks are much of a muchness, they're all good if you like this sort of melodic / power / extreme metal, but not fantastic. Blooddrunk is a little faster than 'Hate Crew' or 'Are You Dead' , it is stacked high with furious guitar and keyboard solo's almost a la Dragonforce, but as Dragonforce don't seem to be able to craft a killer riff or hook in amidst their technical brilliance so CoB seem to dazzle with their craft here, but on a more visceral level they fail to ignite. I like this album, I've played it a dozen times or more, but I'm finding that I'd rather put 'Hate Crew' on for a spin than 'Blooddrunk', this is good, but I don't think it is the best that Children Of Bodom are capable of.