Scheduled for March 8th 2019
Finland’s melodic death superstars Children of Bodom are proud to the announce the release of their tenth album, Hexed, on March 8th 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records.
COB frontman, guitarist, and mastermind Alexi Laiho comments,
“People have said that this album is generally catchier. So I started thinking about that, perhaps the song structures are easier to grasp on initial listen. But there’s some crazy shit in there, almost progressive or at least technical. There are certain melodies across the album that could have come from jazz songs, although they’re completely metal with us, of course (laughs). “
“For me, it has always been very hard to describe our new music,‘ comments bassist Henkka Blacksmith. “In a way it always feels familiar, but the new stuff also always surprises me. Here we have something that’s very Bodom, but somehow we haven’t done this kind of stuff, possibly ever. Then again, someone said that there’s a somewhat similar vibe to what Follow the Reaper had. I don’t know. Anyway, we had a really hard time choosing the songs for the videos, I guess that’s a positive problem to have.“
Hexed saw the return to Finland’s Danger Johnny Studios where COB were reunited with Mikko Karmila (I Worship Chaos, Halo Of Blood, Hatebreeder, Follow the Reaper and Hate Crew Deathroll) who recorded everything except keyboards and also produced the album with the band. Janne Wirman recorded keyboards at Beyond Abilities Studios. The album was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.
For this album, the band enlisted Deins Forkas to create the album artwork. Bassist Henkka Blacksmith commented on the cover,
“For some years I’ve wanted to try a different approach with our cover art. We are so used to digital art, so it’s really hard to do something else. Doing it completely with a computer is somewhat safe and convenient. This time we all agreed to try going old school. We found this cool dude and gave him simple instructions – the cover has to be purple and the reaper has to be central. Half a year later we got his work, and with little tweaking, we now have the cover of Hexed. It is very different from what we are used to, even the Reaper looks different, but at the same time very spooky. “
Hexed will be available for pre-order starting December 7th.
Below is the track listing for Hexed
1. The Road
2. Under Grass and Clover
3. Glass Houses
4. Hecate’s Nightmare
5. Kick in the Spleen
6. Platitudes and Barren Words
7. Hexed
8. Relapse (The Nature of My Crime)
9. Say Never Look Back
10. Soon Departed
11. Knuckleduster
12. I Worship Chaos (live)
13. Morrigan (live)
14. Knuckleduster (remix)
Stay tuned for more information about the album as well as announcements about their upcoming US tour in the spring and European trek in the summer!
Fully 20+ years into the tough, heroic grind that represents the lifeblood of extreme musicians – Finnish metal scientists Children of Bodom have won over crowds globally through a crafted alloy that is theirs alone. But the building of their esteemed career has also been aided and abetted by the simple maths of all their hard work and intense touring. Their shows are widely acknowledged for being engaging, personable and energetic thrash parties – which inevitably end up indelibly stamped on the circuit boards of headbangers worldwide.
Children of Bodom have incorporated many different musical styles into their celebrated sound, leading critics and fans to label them as melodic death metal, thrash metal, symphonic black metal, and neoclassical metal. Their enthralling mix of melodic hooks and instrumental acrobatics have solidified the band as one of the leading voices of music’s new generation.
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