Album Review: Children Of Bodom - Holiday At Lake Bodom (15 Years Of Wasted Youth)

Easily Finland's biggest musical export and deserving stalwarts of their genre, melodic death metallers Children Of Bodom unleash the beasts of records past for Holiday At Lake Bodom (15 Years Of Wasted Youth). This compilation celebrates 15 years of COB mayhem by taking a retrospective romp through all seven of their studio albums and throws the dog a bone in the form of some unexpected cover song choices and a behind-the-scenes DVD.

Encompassing a wide range of tracks, from 1997's Something Wild to last year's Relentless Reckless Forever, the revolving line-up demonstrate their ability to mix it up a bit. Downfall is one of the bigger hits on offer here, alongside the brutal rhythmic structures of Everytime I Die and Follow The Reaper. There's also some cheeky covers in the form of I'm Shipping Off To Boston by Dropkick Murphys and Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl, proving a sense of humour still runs rife in the metal domain.

It's apparent that even with the genre-specific dilemma of an ever-revolving cast of characters – singer and guitarist Alexi Laiho and drummer Jaska Raatikainen being the two long-serving exceptions – COB's sound lives outside the borders of a myriad of combined sub-genres and remains theirs. Development and experimentation over the years is clear to behold and makes it a satisfyingly broad listen.

Additional commentary in the liner notes from each of the current band members detailing interesting trivia about the included songs is insightful, and backstage footage and unseen video clips on the bonus DVD ensure that COB live up to their prior release's moniker: relentless and reckless forever.