With a style that splits the difference between Scandinavian death metal ferocity and classic British power metal, Finland's Children of Bodom draw strength from every color in the metal spectrum. BLOODDRUNK can be as vicious and terrifying as the title would imply, but it can also be as exhilarating and anthemic as Iron Maiden. Punctuating their dizzying guitar leads with splashes of melodic synth tones, the Children add yet another layer to BLOODDRUNK'S overall sonic palate, lending a depth too often absent in this kind of album. "Lobodomy" has frantically paced riffs spilling out until they hit a pool of cool, eerie keys that tempers the madness, and "Done With Everything, Die With Nothing" features a stately, Maiden-esque knot of guitar that resolves itself into a breakaway run. BLOODDRUNK'S title makes it sound like all-out darkness, but these guys are having too much fun playing with the blood for that.

Boy, whoever thought that technical metal was dead as a doornail during the mid- to late '90s has been proven dead wrong. Just a few years after this aforementioned era of "metal no man's land," technical metal has spread like a virus, via bands that share both an appreciation of the extreme aggression of Slayer and the technical proficiency of Iron Maiden. A fitting example of both of these metallic styles colliding as one is Finland's Children of Bodom, and especially their 2008 offering, Blooddrunk. All the ingredients from past Bodom releases are present once more -- Goth keyboards, guitar acrobatics, and vocals that sound straight out of the torture chamber. These lads sure can play their instruments, as evidenced by such intense metal blasts as the title track, "Smile Pretty for the Devil," and "Tie My Rope." But one thing that differentiates Children of Bodom from the host of other similarly styled bands is that they know the importance of succinct songwriting -- only one track here stretches past the five-minute mark. As a result, Blooddrunk showcases one of the few modern-day metal bands that manage to balance straight-to-the-point songwriting with their collective instrumental prowess. ~ Greg Prato