While there definitely was a time when I thought that Children Of Bodom was da shiznit, they have for many a year now underwhelmed me when it comes to live performances, and so it was with some trepidation that I entered the darkened hall of Amager Bio one late September eve…

“You guys in Denmark like to drink beer right? Yeah, me too!”
- Alexi ‘Wildchild’ Laiho (vocals/guitar)

The first thing I took notice of was that the kids had dialled down on stage get-up – instead of the ramps, the half car and the oil barrels of old, there was now a more simple rust-coloured scrapyard look over it. Instead of a normal backdrop there were some large metal boxes hung up as a light rig, on the double bass drums the cover of the new album was on display, and of course Janne ‘Warman’ Wirman displayed an impressive collection of bras which were hung on the stand of his keyboard.
The light boxes would later reveal both huge lamps spelling out COB and the ability to display videos, but as the show started we were instead treated to the wailing of sirens as police lights lit the room – a fitting start for the third group of Finns taking the stage this night.
The band members themselves were greeted with spread cheers and whistles as they took the stage, and as soon as they were in position they went right to it without delay, letting Transference lead the crowd into the first moshpit of the show.
The members of Children Of Bodom seemed to be in a good mood this evening. The show was as it usually goes, with the three string-benders marching or half running all over the stage, striking poses and looking mean, whilst Jaska Raatikainen concentrated all his efforts on punishing the skins and Wirman had his own bubble of fun behind his instrument. The thing that made the difference was that they all seemed to be a bit more present, and this made the atmosphere more positive and the show go from bland and uninteresting to enjoyable and with feeling. Of course, we all also got a laugh, both people on and off the stage, when Laiho accidentally introduced Kissing The Shadows as Lake Bodom and then tried to retract with humorous consequences.

“Holy fuck, would you look at that Copenhagen motherfucking hate crew!”
- Laiho (vocals/guitar)

As mentioned, the mosh began already in Transference, and although this of course was a good sign in itself, it wasn’t until Sixpounder that it really opened up the way one would expect at a Children Of Bodom show, and from there on out it was more or less all in on the festivities.
Of course, we were treated to some other audience participation activities as well, as the hand-clapping fest to Lake Bodom and my personal favourite, the high-school prom-night feel with the disco balls during the relatively calm, new song Dead Man’s Hand On You.
The Danish hate crew was treated to a regular size setlist of 17 tracks, many of them stemming from the new album Halo Of Blood of course, but also with some more obscure choices, such as the old Hatebreeder era song Towards Dead End, a song which they apparently have not played in Denmark ever before. Me, I missed a few favourites, definitely Angels Don’t Kill, but on the whole I was satisfied with the selection which held the energy of the show nice and tight.
The show ended much as it had started, with flashing lights and wailing sirens, and as we left into the dark night with this sound ringing in our ears, I could happily conclude that even though Children Of Bodom will probably never reach the same status with me as they have had (that train has left the station), I am still able to enjoy their live-shows when they pull it together and do it right. This was one of those nights...

Setlist:

Transference
Silent Night, Bodom Night
Sixpounder
Halo Of Blood
Scream for Silence
Kissing The Shadows
Lake Bodom
Hate Crew Deathroll
Shovel Knockout
Dead Man’s Hand On You
Are you Dead Yet?
Blooddrunk
Everytime I Die
Towards Dead End
Hate Me!
Downfall
In Your Face