Children of Bodom @ Marquee Theatre

You know, if Bob Larson, the Scottsdale-based exorcist who tried to draw the devil out of Mayhem's bassist last August, were into expelling demons from every metal band that visited Arizona, he'd have a mighty full plate. Arizona loves its metal as much as Larson loves Jesus. But if he's...

By Lauren Wise

February 9, 2012

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You know, if Bob Larson, the Scottsdale-based exorcist who tried to draw the devil out of Mayhem's bassist last August, were into expelling demons from every metal band that visited Arizona, he'd have a mighty full plate. Arizona loves its metal as much as Larson loves Jesus. But if he's compiling a most-wanted list, Finnish heavy metal band Children of Bodom might be near the top. They don't claim to be satanic, but they're plenty creepy, with a name inspired by an infamous 1960 murder at Finland's Lake Bodom. Four teens went camping, three were stabbed to death, and the surviving teen was committed to an asylum, claiming that he saw the visage of the Grim Reaper. Guess what dark figure is the band's mascot? The band's sound is as intriguing — while their early albums were inspired by classical music and death metal ("Red Light in My Eyes Pt. 2" includes sections of Mozart's 25th Symphony), later works like Skeletons in the Closet (which found the band covering Britney Spears) and 2010's Relentless Reckless Forever are more indebted to classic hair and thrash metal. If the scythe-swiping album cover doesn't tip off nut jobs like Larson, titles like "Cry of the Nihilist" certainly will.

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