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Nov 30, 20226 min read

Children Of Bodom - Something Wild (1997)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…



On November 30, 1997, Children Of Bodom released their debut full-length studio album Something Wild via Spinefarm Records in Finland (worldwide via Nuclear Blast in 1998).


(Cover of worldwide release)


Upon release, the album was met with universal acclaim by music critics. In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1997 by Metal Hammer magazine.


Background:

Something Wild was produced, recorded and mixed by Anssi Kippo and Children of Bodom at Astia-studios (Lappeenranta, Finland). In an attempt to promote their band, they opened a show for Dimmu Borgir in 1997. Their success was such that a representative from the Nuclear Blast label approached them with a contract for a European release, a deal which started on the subsequent year. Something Wild was released in late 1997 in Finland and in 1998 worldwide. In early 1998, for promotional purposes, the band recorded a music video of the song Deadnight Warrior. The video was directed by Mika Lindberg and had a slim budget of €1000. It made use of simple scenery, which consisted essentially of an outdoors location after a snowstorm. The band played for a couple of hours at night, with an average temperature of minus fifteen degrees Celsius.



Although Alexi Laiho is very critical of all of the music he has written, he notes that he dislikes Something Wild the most of all of his albums. When recording this album, Laiho had tried to mimic the style of one of his idols, Yngwie Malmsteen, which is why Something Wild is considered one of the most technical albums Children of Bodom have produced. Despite this, he still considers it to be their "most important" record, as it "put them on the map."



Touring for Something Wild:

Children of Bodom's first European tour began in February 1998. They played with bands such as Hypocrisy (at such festivals as Under the Black Sun), The Kovenant and Agathodaimon, but suffered from the absence of Wirman, who was concentrating on finishing his studies. He was replaced by pianist Erna Siikavirta for the duration of the tour.



Months later, the band recorded two new songs again at Astia-studios with producer Anssi Kippo, entitled Towards Dead End and Children of Bodom. The latter was included in a compilation by Spinefarm Records, which after being released remained on the top of Finnish charts for eight consecutive weeks. In late August, the band played the song Forevermore live for the first time during a show in Russia. This song was later renamed Downfall.



Their second European tour occurred in September of that same year, but once more Wirman was not able to perform with them. Laiho's then-girlfriend Kimberly Goss (from Sinergy and formerly of Dimmu Borgir, Ancient and Therion) assumed the keyboards this time. By the end of the tour, Kimberly invited Laiho to join Sinergy, which at the time was still in its early stages. In 1998, Children of Bodom also played the Wacken Open Air festival, where Savatage were the years headliner.



The Formation of Children of Bodom and More About “Something Wild” (1993 - 1996):

Children of Bodom was formed in 1993 by guitarist Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho and drummer Jaska Raatikainen under the name of Inearthed. They had known each other since early childhood and had shared an interest in Heavy Metal, especially Death Metal groups, such as Dissection, Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Autopsy, and Obituary and classic Metal groups such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Dio, and Ozzy Osbourne. Bassist Samuli Miettinen completed the initial line-up of the band. Inearthed recorded its first demo, Implosion of Heaven, during August of the same year.


Samuli was the main composer of the band's lyrics for the two years that he took part in Inearthed, but his family moved to the United States in 1995, making it impossible for him to remain in the band. His last contributions to Inearthed were the lyrics of the songs from their second demo, Ubiquitous Absence of Remission which was the first time they worked with producer Anssi Kippo at Astia-studios (Lappeenranta, Finland). In this demo, keyboards were incorporated into the band's songs for the first time. In order to achieve this, both Laiho and Raatikainen played the keyboards separately and subsequently mixed the recorded track with the other instruments. Laiho, who had previously only composed the melodies of the songs, assumed the role of the band's lyricist.


At the time, Raatikainen played French horn in a local big band, and during a rehearsal, he met Alexander Kuoppala, a trumpet player and also a proficient guitarist. Shortly after the recording of their second demo, Kuoppala was invited to join Inearthed as a rhythm guitarist.


The bassist chosen to replace Samuli was Henkka "Blacksmith" Seppälä, whom Laiho and Raatikainen had previously known from school. Apart from playing the bass, Seppälä also often doubles as the band's backing vocalist. Also, the band recruited a musician to specialize on keyboards, whose name was Jani Pirisjoki. Both joined Inearthed in early 1996.


With this new line-up, Inearthed proceeded to record their third demo, entitled Shining. This demo did not impress record labels any more than the previous ones had, and none took interest in the band. Despite their efforts, their music got little exposure and managed only to play at local events. As a last resort, the band decided to record an independent, self-funded album.


Laiho wanted to make use of the keyboards more effectively, but Pirisjoki was not attending rehearsals. Thus, he was fired and replaced by a friend of Raatikainen's, a Jazz pianist named Janne "Warman" Wirman.


Wirman was the component which was previously missing from Inearthed. His presence allowed the band to assume the style which would later characterize Children of Bodom. With Wirman, the band successfully recorded their first album, Something Wild in 1997.


Their debut, Something Wild, was supposed to be released by a small Belgian label, Shiver Records, but second vocalist Sami Tenetz (from Thy Serpent) acquired a copy of their album through the hands of Kuoppala. They both worked for the same company at the time. Shortly after Inearthed signed this contract, Spinefarm Records' boss became interested in signing them for a country-wide release. The latter deal was much more attractive to the band since the Belgian label was offering them close to no help, to the point where they would have to distribute and sell the album themselves.


The band was required to create a new name to sign up to Spinefarm Records. The contract with Shiver records had already been signed under the name of Inearthed. The answer to that problem came as the members looked for good names in their local phone book. When they stumbled upon Lake Bodom, they realized that it was a name with impact and one which had an interesting story behind it. A long list of possible names involving the word Bodom was then made, and they settled with Children of Bodom. The band's name is derived from the Lake Bodom murders.


R.I.P. Alexi Laiho, born Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho (April 8, 1979 – December 29, 2020)


Critical Reception:

In a review for AllMusic, Jason Anderson stated;

“Children of Bodom came out of the Heavy Metal starting blocks in fine form. The group's debut, Something Wild, attracted much attention, as many listeners and critics marveled at the bandmembers' technical abilities, while others described Children of Bodom's music as fluffy and trite. Ultimately, the Finnish group's success within the commercially limited confines of Progressive Black Metal quelled many naysayers, but not before the band received a few harsh reviews. With the huge amount of Metal being released in Europe and America -- and practically no radio outlets -- good critical response was essential for late-'90s artists like Children of Bodom. And although some weren't impressed by the shifting arrangements and sparse keyboards of Something Wild, others refused to deny the musical accomplishment of the debut. Later studio efforts benefited from superior production, but Something Wild”contains plenty of essential material and performances. Jaska Raatikainen's drumming propels much of the album, especially during the strong middle section of Red Light in My Eyes, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 and Lake Bodom. One negative factor is the short playing time of Something Wild. At around 32 minutes, this record (and all of the group's studio efforts) plays more like an EP than a full-length. But considering the lack of filler material, Something Wild still contains more than its share of impressive Metal.”

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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