Finland was headlining the first day of Metaldays 2014, and it did so in the guise of Children Of Bodom.

“We are Children Of Bodom from Finland, are you ready to have a good time with us tonight?”
- Alexi ‘Wildchild’ Laiho (vocals/guitar)

Children Of Bodom were heavily delayed coming on stage, some 20-25 minutes, but as soon as they got there and the intro was over, they immediately kicked in the highest gear with Needled 24/7, and the party was on.
The ground before them was filled with people, and straight from the get-go a mosh kicked up, small at first but growing as the show moved on – everyone present knew what a Children Of Bodom show was about! Heck, even in the silences between songs, the flow of crowd surfers didn’t let up for a minute.
Apparently things got so wild that Janne ‘Warman’ Wirman felt the need to document it, although I’m not sure how good his mobile photos turned out from way up on the stage...

“It’s fucking awesome to be back at this festival!”
- Laiho (vocals/guitar)

It was a scraped down to the bone setup Children Of Bodom had brought with them to Metaldays, compared to the very elaborate stagings we have seen from this band in the past – a simple backdrop with the Halo Of Blood artwork was all there was. On the other hand, as long as the performance works and the atmosphere is there, all else is superfluous.
And the performance was there, as was the atmosphere. True, the moves have all been seen before, but it’s been a good while since I felt such a presence from the band – as usual they moved about a lot, messed with each other, and rocked out in the general metal fashion, but this night it felt like they actually meant it, like they were truly enjoying themselves and not just saying it for the sake of their fans. If you are a seasoned festival/concert visitor, I’m sure you have felt the difference as well – you can’t really put a finger on it, but you know it’s there.

You probably also know the expression about how time flies when you’re having fun?
Well, Children Of Bodom’s show surely felt like it was over in a heartbeat! I will say that I have seen them more gripping, livelier, but that is way back in the past – I wasn’t blown away by this show, but I was greatly entertained, and I truly believe that this was Children Of Bodom at the top of their game right now.

Setlist (incomplete):

Needled 24/7
Hate Crew Deathroll
Follow The Reaper
Angels Don’t Kill
Are You Dead Yet?
Towards Dead End
Hate Me!
Bodom After Midnight