Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2011

Taking their moniker from the lakeside location of an infamous murder in their native Finland, in which three teenagers were brutally bludgeoned to death, Children of Bodom might seem the archetypal grim and humorless death metal band. But the five-piece, which has released seven studio albums since 1997, also has something of a wicked sense of humor, mixing in unlikely covers of songs by the likes of John Fogerty, Kenny Rogers, and–gulp!–even Britney Spears into its trademark dense, highly technical, and melodic death metal sets. Finnish metal has a fanatical following in Japan so the two shows the band is playing this month at Shibuya O-East should be very intense occasions.

Shibuya O-East, Nov 21-22 (listing).