Children of Bodom
Hatebreeder (Nuclear Blast)
An interview with vocalist/guitarist Alexi Laiho
by Scott Hefflon
Tell me the story behind the name.
Bodom (pronounced Bow-dem, not bottom like Sodom) is a lake in the town where we live where there was a mass murder in 1968. There were four teenagers camping, sleeping in their tents, and a freak killed them with a knife. He stabbed through the tents and three died instantly, and the other was stabbed but survived. The killer was never caught.
Is there a monument or anything to them?
No, there are three crosses engraved on a tree, but that’s about it. We went looking for it, but we couldn’t find it. I also read a book about it. They had a lot suspects, and one guy, the owner I think, had threatened people who’d camped there, but he had an alibi. But a few years later, they say he confessed to a friend and then killed himself by drowning in the lake.
Where’d the “children” part come in?
We were changing our band name again and we knew we wanted to use Bodom somehow. We wrote down a lot of versions, but I think we chose Children of Bodom because we’d all grown up hearing the story of the murders.
I have both Something Wild and Hatebreeder, and I notice both covers have a cloaked figure: one with an out-stretching hand, standing on a desert plain, the other gesturing toward a lake at night.
I think it’s cool to have a figure or a mascot. Iron Maiden has Eddie, but not a lot of bands do that. We got our first cover from a book, but when we were doing our second album, we contacted the same artist to do something for us.
You seem to like single colors, too. Your first record is very red, and your second is very green.
I like it. I think it makes the records stand out.
What was the band name before Children of Bodom?
Unearthed. We recorded Something Wild as Unearthed and signed with a Belgian label, but it was a really shitty deal. We had to pay for expenses and buy our CDs from the label and sell them or something. But it was what we had. Then we got an offer from Spinefarm, who’d heard our tape from a guy in Thy Serpent. They offered a much better deal, but we were already signed. So we told the guy in Belgium that we’d broken up. Then we changed our name and signed with Spinefarm.
Same band members and everything?
Yes.
How’d you hook up with Nuclear Blast?
It was one of our first shows as Children of Bodom, and a guy from Nuclear Blast was there to see Dimmu Borgir, and he liked us. I think we have a really cool situation because we have a three record deal with Spinefarm, and I think if we were just on Nuclear Blast, there would be pressure and they wouldn’t really do much for us because we’re not so big. But on Spinefarm, we’re one of their best-selling bands and they treat us really well.
How’d you land the show with Dimmu Borgir?
We were signed to Spinefarm – our record was due out about a week after the show – and they bring big bands into the area (Finland), then they get to choose the opener.
What’s the Finnish scene like?
It’s really good. There’s a good metal scene, there’s always something going on. And Finnish metal is known because of bands like Stratovarious. Like we were playing a show in another town with Stratovarious and there were, like, 1200 people there.
I’m glad you brought up Stratovarious. You both use keyboards as something more than just a spooky backdrop.
Yeah, I hate that shit when black metal bands use keyboards just for the sake of eerie sounds, just a few chords.
It’s interesting because you’re one of the only bands that’s extremely musical and technical, yet you use black metal vocals. Musically, you’re not that unlike Stratovarious, but vocally, you’re worlds apart.
A lot of black metal bands have gotten more open-minded, they’ve learned how to play and write melodies, but it’s still different. Not that many bands have the same style as us.
What’s your musical background?
I grew up on classical and heavy metal. I started playing violin when I was seven years old. I was very into it, I wasn’t forced at all. I played for five years, and then I got my first guitar at age 11. It was very good, playing violin helped a lot. By then I was listening to W.A.S.P. and Twisted Sister…
Did you used to play W.A.S.P. and Twisted Sister songs on the violin?
No, but I did listen to metal while still playing violin. But then I got a guitar and there was no way I was going to play anything else. I practiced my ass off everyday.
Did classical teach you a lot of theory and composition?
Yes, definitely. It helped me with composition and arrangement.
What other heavy bands influenced you?
I got into Helloween when I was ten or 11, when I started playing guitar, but after that, I got into more extreme music. Speed metal, then death metal, then black metal.
What bands from each genre?
Speed metal like Anthrax and Slayer, death metal like Obituary, Dismember, Entombed and Pestilence, and black metal, man, there were so many bands. By that time, I was buying a lot of records. Let’s see, Impaled Nazarene, Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem, basically everything you can think of. But when the black metal thing got out of hand and bands didn’t play live, they wanted to sound shitty, and black metal bands were popping up all over the place who couldn’t play, then I got sick of it and got out of it. I got back into classic heavy metal like Manowar, Helloween, Judas Priest, and W.A.S.P.. Now there’re some really good black metal bands, and the fans are more open-minded. But when I was a diehard black metal fan, I would’ve never thought of putting on a Helloween CD. But that was just a phase.
Are there any black metal bands you still like? I think both Arcturus and Borknagar are taking it different places…
I’m not that much into that stuff anymore. I like the first Arcturus and Dimmu Borgir’s Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, but I hate Cradle of Filth, except for their first record which I thought was pretty musical. But when they started screaming, I though it was very annoying.
I think people cut slack to bands they already like. I mean, it’s not as if every song W.A.S.P. and Twisted Sister did was a gem.
I guess so, yeah. But I still listen to W.A.S.P. pretty regularly, mostly the first two.
What about Yngwie J. Malmsteen – love him or hate him?
He used to be my god, but not anymore. When it comes to leads, I’m not really into that neo-classical stuff. I love classical music, and I think he’s a great guitarist, but I don’t want to be yet another copycat.
Who were some of your guitar gods?
One of the reasons I picked up the guitar in the first place was Steve Vai. Passion and Warfare was amazing. And I’ve always liked anyone who’s played for Ozzy: Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, and Zakk Wylde is definitely one of my favorites. And Paul Gilbert, too.
Funny that a guy in a band as aggressive as yours likes guitarists…
From bands like Mr. Big? Yeah, that’s true, but it happens.
What about the other band members? Are they going to cringe when they read this?
No, I think all of them are into the melodic heavy metal as much as I am. We all like Stratovarious, and none of us are really into black metal. Actually, our second guitarist, Ale, has never been into black metal, he was a huge speed metal fan, and then he got out of metal entirely for a while and was a respectable guy until he met me. Our drummer, Henkka, is into death and a bit of black metal. And our keyboardist, Janne, used to be a jazz musician. He’s played in some pretty big jazz bands and didn’t give a shit about metal. But when he joined the band, he really liked Stratovarious because the keyboardist is so good. Now he likes melodic metal.
Does he ever try to slip in some jazz or anything?
I think in the early days he used to slip in some Dream Theater stuff… He’s a cool guy, he just got into metal later than any of the rest of us. He doesn’t have long hair or dress like a headbanger.
So what’s your look?
I dunno… Ripped jeans, leather jackets…
So no studded armbands, face paint, or big fuckin’ battle axes, huh?
No, not for us.
Manowar always impressed me cuz they’re old, man, and they still ride their Harleys, wear animal hide loincloths, and have half-naked chicks hanging all over them…
And when they tour, they take bike mechanics on the road with them. They have a couple tour buses, a couple semis… It’s a huge spectacle and it’s really cool.
Where do you wanna take it from here?
I want to take Harley mechanics on the road… No, I just want to keep going, keep getting better and selling more records.
Any desire for guest vocals, maybe female vocals, or doing a cover or something?
I think female vocals in black metal is really worn out. And we’ve always played a cover of W.A.S.P.’s “Hellion” live, and I hear it’s supposed to be on a comp or something. And we do Ozzy’s “Shot in the Dark.”
Really, it doesn’t seem at all your style.
Yeah, that’s why we like it. Our music is so blasting, it’s good to have a calm song to break it up.
Do you sing it or scream it?
Well, it’s not that I sing it clean, but there’re some non-black metal vocals on Hatebreeder. It’s a mixture of melodic and black metal. And we also do Alice Cooper’s “Man Behind the Mask.”
You did more non-black metal vocals on Hatebreeder than Something Wild, is that something you might expand upon in the future?
I don’t really know. I’m not sick of these songs yet. Hatebreeder is what we’re doing right now. I have no regrets about how it came out. I do have some regrets about Something Wild…
Like what?
I regret pretty much every lead I did on it. I think they suck. They sounded like some stupid guy who wanted to be Yngwie Malmsteen or something. But Hatebreeder, I’m very satisfied with. There are no mistakes at all. Literally. We played each part as many times as necessary to get it right.
