Tokyo Warhearts

Staying in Japan for this post. Noticing a theme yet? This time we'll go with some wild and crazy Fins. Children of Bodom have been making a name in the thrash/melodic metal circuit for a good fifteen years now. Perceived by same as some what of a joke band due to their tendency to cover songs and put the Bodom spin on it. See my post on 'Skeletons In The Closet' for proof on that. The band has put out two live albums to date. For this one though I'm going back to their first one, 'Tokyo Warhearts'.

Initially released in 1999, the album was released on the Finnish label Spinefarm Records and was limited to 10,000 copies. More recently the album got the Picture LP treatment and was reissued. The album was recorded at Club Citta in Tokyo Japan on July 10th and 11th 1999. This album is 11 tracks of blistering guitar solo and keyboard solos from a young band. Young enough that just a year before the bands keyboardist virtuoso Janne Warman was still in school and couldn't tour with the band. The band perfectly captures their two albums to date, 'Something Wild' and 'Hatebreeder' on this Live album. This is where people began to notice the talent of such a young metal band. Of course the band continues to put out material pretty steadily despite issues with frontman Alexi 'Wildchild' Laiho. Not to mention the band has had one lineup change since releasing their debut in '97. That's pretty impressive. Even more impressive is the band actually dates back to '93 when they cut a few demos as Inearthed, before "splitting up" and "reforming" as Bodom. You can kinda see the tongue in cheek here as the Intro samples "Crockett's Theme" from the TV show Miami Vice and at the start of "Touch Like Angel Of Death" it opens with another Jan Hammer gem in "Hummel Gets The Rockets" from the '96 movie The Rock. And in a nod to Japanese Metal, at the end of the Guitar battle, you'll hear a bit of Loudness.

I've been lucky enough to see Bodom twice now. Well sort of. The first encounter was actually a meet and greet. Around the time the bands fourth record 'Hate Crew Deathroll' came out I was at the time on a Thanksgiving vacation with the ex wife to Arizona. Somehow or another I found out they were doing a signing before their gig out there at one of the local record shops. In some miracle of sorts I managed to convince the ex wife to go out and stand it line with a bunch of metal heads to get some CDs signed. She agreed and to this day I proudly display my signed copies of 'Something Wild' and 'Follow The Reaper'. The latter album was actually the first Bodom record I bought. Still love that record too. Forward to '08 and I'm now living in Arizona and the Gigantour Tour made stop in Phoenix, well Mesa, but no one knows where Mesa is, so it's easier to say Phoenix. Solid lineup that year with High on Fire, Job For Cowboy, In Flames, Children Of Bodom and Megadeth. Outdoor shows in Arizona are usually safe. You know it's gonna be hot and you know you gotta stay hydrated. Throw that out the window as that day it decided to rain off and on through out the show. The odd weather even prompted Alexi to quip, "I didn't know you had rain in Arizona". Highlight of Bodom's set that night though, the impromptu sing along to "Don't Stop Believing". Like I said tongue in cheek at it's finest. Despite the rain, which caused me to leave a few songs before the end of Megadeth's set, it was solid show.

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