Follow the Reaper

Follow the Reaper is the third album by Finnish heavy metal band Children of Bodom.

The music continues the musical tradition of the previous album, Hatebreeder, only with a more straight-forward direction. Much of the black metal and symphonic metal elements were present, mainly in the keyboards, vocals, and fast tempos, as well as a stronger emphasis on power metal. Many songs on the album end as live setlist favorites, such as "Everytime I Die", "Hate Me!" and the title track.

Follow the Reaper was recorded and mixed at Peter Tägtgren's Abyss studio in Sweden, instead of the Finnish Astia-studio from Anssi Kippo, in which they had recorded all of their previous releases, including the demos from IneartheD. On this album Children of Bodom used the D standard tuning (D,G,C,F,A,D), which was also used on their previous studio album, Hatebreeder.

A deluxe edition featuring two bonus tracks was released in 2006.

Track listing

 * 1) "Follow the Reaper" – 3:47
 * 2) "Bodom After Midnight" – 3:43
 * 3) "Children of Decadence" – 5:34
 * 4) "Everytime I Die" – 4:03
 * 5) "Mask of Sanity" – 3:58
 * 6) "Taste of My Scythe" – 3:58
 * 7) "Hate Me!" – 4:44
 * 8) "Northern Comfort" – 3:48
 * 9) "Kissing the Shadows" – 4:32

Reissue "Don't Stop at the Top" (Scorpions cover) – 3:24 

Japan Reissue "Shot in the Dark" (Ozzy Osbourne cover) – 3:38 "Hellion" (W.A.S.P. cover) – 3:02 

Note
All songs written and arranged by Alexi Laiho except: Don't Stop at the Top (written by Rudolph Schenker/Klaus Meine/Herman Rarebell), Shot in the Dark (written by Ozzy Osbourne and Phil Soussan), Hellion (written by Blackie Lawless), and Aces High (written by Steve Harris).


 * Numerous versions of Follow the Reaper were released, each pressing with different bonus tracks.
 * The album booklet contains the lyrics of "Everytime I Die", "Hate Me!" and "Kissing The Shadows".

Nuclear Blast Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
 * "Hellion" (W.A.S.P. cover) – 3:02
 * "Aces High" (Iron Maiden cover) – 4:28

Re-release Bonus Tracks
 * "Hate Me!" (Original single version) – 4:47
 * "Hellion" (W.A.S.P. cover) – 3:02
 * "Everytime I Die" (Enhanced video)