Bonehunter – Children of the Atom (Some Sort of Metal)
Woah WTF so we got this new update to the site backend and I have no idea what I’m looking at… Hey, kind of like the latest from Bonehunter, Children of the Atom, so that works out better than I expected. I mean look at that great cover by Joe Petagno. I have no idea what it has to do with anything, but does it even matter? It’s not my fault, I’m confused. The site just got updated and man are people tossing out way too many tags for this one. Blackened death metal, plain old black metal, thrash metal, blackened metal of your choosing, punk, or, ugh, death n’ roll. The last I’ve always had trouble forcing back into my throat because it reminds me of all the annoying local-area-good bands that scream “are yah ready to rak?!” before playing a song called “Virginal Corpse Entrails Piledriver Copulation.” Bonehunter refer to their music as “devil metal punk,” which is far more accurate that what others have spewed, but it assumes before it defines.
Here is a perfect example of why I look no further beyond the cover before I listen to anything. Assumptions can butcher perception. I completely ignore what the band has to say, what the PR sheet (when provided) has to say, or what others say. I first listen raw, with no preconceptions or even a clue what I’m about to hear. After that I learn. First listening to Children of the Atom I grasped a rather stock form of blackened death metal with a heavy lean towards just plain old black metal with a few moments that rak, but punk? Some punk, but what is devil metal punk exactly? Aren’t we all just children of the Devil? Why specify that in particular? The Devil is always an easy out, see. It politely suggests “this is going to sound evil trust us,” but if you come into Children of the Atom without that tag, it has zero effect. There are a few moments of greatness, such as the excellent sample/riff mix in “Black Star Carcass,” and rather clever titles and lyrics, but musically it fails to provide what its surface claims.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Bonehunter – Children of the Atom
Hells Headbangers
3.8 / 5
