World renowned Finnish heavy metal band CHILDREN OF BODOM (COB) have selected Halo Of Blood as the title of their eighth studio album due out on June 11th in North America. Artwork was created by artist Sam Saramäki, known for his classic COB album covers for Follow the Reaper (2001), Hate Crew Deathroll (2003), and Are You Dead Yet? (2005).
COB frontman, guitarist, and mastermind Alexi Laiho comments on the new album’s musical direction:
“We managed to keep Halo Of Blood fresh and new while still maintaining the elements that make COB’s sound recognizable. It’s got the fastest and the slowest song we ever made and lyrics-wise, there are themes we had never had before. It’s ten new songs of pure Nordic metal!”
Bass player Henkka Seppälä shares the following about the artwork:
"We wanted to have a winter scene. Somehow it fits well with the atmosphere of the music and the composing session. Lake Bodom, frozen, with people trapped under the ice. Very Finnish-looking scene. We were really happy how Sami created the whole imagery!"
CHILDREN OF BODOM recorded Halo Of Blood at Finland's Danger Johnny Studios (in a top secret, undisclosed location in Helsinki) with recording engineer Mikko Karmila, who worked on the Hatebreeder (1999), Follow the Reaper (2001), and Hate Crew Deathroll (2003) albums. Producer Peter Tägtgren (Immortal, Marduk, Amon Amarth) oversaw production on both vocals and keyboards. The album was mixed at Finland’s famed Finnvox Studios.
Track listing for COB’s Halo Of Blood is:
01 - Waste Of Skin
02 - Halo Of Blood
03 - Scream For Silence
04 - Transference
05 - Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming)
06 - The Days Are Numbered
07 - Dead Man's Hand On You
08 - Damage Beyond Repair
09 - All Twisted
10 - One Bottle and a Knee Deep
To support Halo Of Blood, CHILDREN OF BODOM will be one of the featured acts on the 2013 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. COB will perform alongside Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Mastodon, Amon Amarth and others across the United States. Launching on June 29th in San Bernardino, California, the 5-week trek will run through August 4th in Dallas, Texas.
Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival tour dates for 2013 are as follows:
06/29/13 San Manuel Amphitheater - San Bernardino, CA
06/30/13 Shoreline Amphitheater - Mountain View, CA
07/02/13 Idaho Center Amphitheater - Nampa, ID
07/03/13 White River Amphitheater - Auburn, WA
07/05/13 Desert Sky Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ
07/06/13 Isleta Amphitheater - Albuquerque, NM
07/07/13 Fiddler's Green Amphitheater - Englewood, CO
07/10/13 Molson Canadian Amphitheater - Toronto, ON – CANADA
07/12/13 First Niagara Pavilion - Burgettstown, PA
07/13/13 Susquehana Bank Center - Camden, NJ
07/14/13 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center - Darien Center, NY
07/16/13 Comcast Center - Mansfield, MA
07/17/13 Bangor Waterfront - Bangor, ME
07/19/13 Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain - Scranton, PA
07/20/13 Saratoga Performing Arts Center - Saratoga Springs, NY
07/21/13 The Comcast Theatre - Hartford, CT
07/23/13 PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
07/24/13 Jiffy Lube Live - Bristow, VA
07/26/13 Klipsch Music Center - Noblesville, IN
07/27/13 First Midwest Bank Amphitheater - Tinley Park, IL
07/28/13 DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkson, MI
07/30/13 Lakewood Amphitheater – Atlanta, GA
07/31/13 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheater – Tampa, FL
08/02/13 Tower Amphitheater – Austin, TX
08/03/13 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Woodlands, TX
08/04/13 Gexa Energy Pavilion – Dallas, TX
For the uninitiated: Over the last twenty years, Finland’s CHILDREN OF BODOM have incorporated many different musical styles into their celebrated sound, leading critics and fans to label them as melodic death metal, power metal, thrash metal, symphonic black metal, and neoclassical metal. Their enthralling mix of melodi
