''Follow the Reaper'' is the third studio album by Finnish

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

band

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of frontman Alexi Laiho, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henkka Seppälä, ...

. It was released in Finland on 30 October 2000 by

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is an international record label. Founded in Finland in 1990, Spinefarm was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2002. History Spinefarm Records began as a mailorder distribution company, founded by Riku Pääkkönen. The c ...

, and on 22 January 2001 internationally by

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

. The album is the first on which the band seriously moved toward a

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

-inspired sound, brought by

Hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...

frontman and new producer

Peter Tägtgren Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain in which he is the only m ...

. Many songs on the album became live setlist favorites, such as "Everytime I Die", "Hate Me!", and the title track. The song "Mask of Sanity" is a remake of the song "Talking of the Trees" from their early demo ''Shining'' (released as ''IneartheD''). A deluxe edition featuring two bonus tracks was released in 2006. ''Follow the Reaper'' was recorded and mixed at Tägtgren's Abyss studio in Sweden. Tägtgren replaced Anssi Kippo, with whom Children of Bodom had recorded all of their previous releases. The songs on the album were all recorded in D standard tuning (D, G, C, F, A, D), which was also used on ''Hatebreeder''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Children of Bodom *

Alexi Laiho Alexi Laiho (; born Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho; 8 April 1979 – 29 December 2020) was a Finnish guitarist, composer, and vocalist. He was best known as the lead guitarist, lead vocalist and founding member of the melodic death metal band Children ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Alexander Kuoppala Alexander Kuoppala (born 11 April 1974) is a Finnish musician who was the guitarist for the melodic death metal band Children of Bodom from 1995 to 2003. He played on their albums '' Something Wild'', ''Hatebreeder'', '' Follow the Reaper'', and ...

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

Janne Wirman Janne Viljami "Warman" Wirman (born 26 April 1979) is a Finnish heavy metal musician. He is the founder and keyboardist of Warmen and was formerly a member of Children of Bodom from 1997 to 2019. Biography 150px, left, Wirman in 2009 Born i ...

–

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

s *

Henkka Seppälä Henri Seppälä (born 7 June 1980), also known as Henkka T. Blacksmith, is the former bassist of the Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom from 1996 to 2019. He is also responsible for backing vocals both in studio and live. In 202 ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Jaska Raatikainen –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

;Production *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

*Children of Bodom – production *Lars Szöke – assistant engineering *Mikko Karmila – additional treatment *Mike "Count" Jussila – mastering ;Additional personnel *King Sami Saramäki – graphic design *J. S. Karjalainen – assistant photographer *Toni Härkönen – band photographs

Charts

References

2000 albums Children of Bodom albums Nuclear Blast albums Spinefarm Records albums Albums produced by Peter Tägtgren {{2000s-death-metal-album-stub