Children of Bodom

Rocket-speed melodic metal riffs, ego-infused keyboard and guitar wanking, thrash exploding into power metal one moment and industrial or Southern groove the next — Children of Bodom’s third album is a festival of heavyweight cheese. Pounding attitude provides Hate Crew Deathroll’s momentum right from take off and steamrolls through for almost 40 minutes. Without contrast that kind of sensory bombardment can end up just a paralyzing blur, but thanks to ever-shifting layers of instrumentation and mutating rhythmic approaches the result is far more dynamic. Warning: do not play this album unless you’re prepared for a little bad taste and a lot of head banging fun.