Let's be honest now, we had all been kinda meh about the latest outputs from CoB, and while the Relentless Reckless Forever didn't manage to suck too bad (with a nice return of the input given to Warman), it was still far from their glory days. Well, sigh no more CoB fans, for your favourite band is about to unleash yet again on you something wild. No, seriously. It takes more to enthuse me about a genre I half hate, but from the bottom of the place where my heart should be I have to say that this album makes me happy. The old energy we all knew and loved from Something Wild is back, and in a way that not only will remind you that Alexi Laiho s indeed one of the most talented metal musicians of the younger generation, but also give you a serious dose of headbanging. The visceral anger and energy that made COB big is back, and the squeaky clean guitar sound that shows off Alexi's often underrated shredder talent just serves that aggression and sick energy up like a silver platter. The return to their old home at Nuclear Blast is celebrated in style, and what more style could you want than a return to their roots? Halo of Blood just cuts deep, and it's nice to see that the mature Alexi Laiho has managed- after some years of various experimentations- to find yet again his identity and his fire.