Modern Guitars Interview With Children Of Bodom's Alexi Laiho Posted Online

Band Photo: Children of Bodom (?)

Brian D. Holland of Modern Guitars recently spoke with Children of Bodom frontman, Alexi Laiho, about almost everything Bodom-related.

Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

Talk about the band name, Children of Bodom. Is it descriptive of the band’s music and lyrics? In reference to the lake in Finland where the gruesome murders took place, does the title front the actual theme?

AL: Well, no, not really. We have one Bodom-related song on each album. It’s just a thing we do. Other than that, the music isn’t really related to that incident. Our music is reality-based. It’s based on real feelings and stuff. The name was related to the incident, but it’s only the one song on each album that’s about that subject. It’s the fictional part actually. I’m not really stating fact about what actually happened there; we’re just making up stories about what could’ve happened. As to what actually happened, it’s still just a mystery. You can go on and on about it, but nobody’s ever going to find out what really happened.

Do you take the music and lyrics seriously, or is it more of a theatrical thing?

AL: Well, it’s not like Spinal Tap or anything. Of course we take it seriously, but it’s kind of a thing where we know our limits and how serious it can get. We can laugh at ourselves, and we do, all the time. And we like to have fun, and we’re not afraid to show that to people. There’s humor in some of the songs, too. Like in the song ‘Bodom Beach Terror’; you can’t do that with a straight face, you know. But I don’t know, dude. Even though metal is metal, you have to be able to laugh at yourself. Otherwise you’re just a fuckin’ jerk off. That’s what I think.

I read somewhere that although you’ve been a huge fan of Yngwie Malmsteen, you’ve since gotten away from him and his style of playing.

AL: Yeah, well, Yngwie is Yngwie. I mean, what can you say? He’s fuckin’ bad ass, and that’s like stating the obvious. I was more into that neo-classical guitar thing when I was younger. Yeah, I was a huge Yngwie fan. You can hear that influence, especially on the first two albums. At that time, in Europe, there were so many guitar players, you know, Yngwie-copies running around everywhere. They all wanted to be like Yngwie and sound like Yngwie. It kind of pissed me off, you know. I didn’t want to be one of them. So I kind of turned off to that whole style of playing and decided it wasn’t going to be my thing. That’s Yngwie’ thing. He’s one of the greatest ever. End of story.

Read the full article at Modern Guitars.