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Children of Bodom is a Finnish metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the
group currently consists of Alexi Laiho (vocals, lead guitar), Roope Latvala (rhythm guitar), Janne Wirman (keyboards), Henkka Seppälä (bass), and Jaska Raatikainen (drums). In total they have
released seven studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums
and one DVD.
The band's third studio album, Follow the
Reaper, was their first album to receive a Gold certification in
Finland, and since then, all seven of the band's studio albums have reached the
same status. In Finland, Children of Bodom has released three consecutive
albums that debuted at number one on Finnish album charts,[1] and
has also seen chart positions on the United States Billboard200.
The band has incorporated many different musical
styles, leading critics and fans to label them as melodic death metal,[2] power metal,[3] thrash metal,[4][5] and
early symphonic black
metal and neoclassical metal. They
are one of Finland's
best selling artists of all time with more than 250,000 records
sold there alone.
Formation and early years (1993–1997)
Children of Bodom was formed in 1993 by
guitarist Alexi
"Wildchild" Laiho and drummer Jaska Raatikainen under
the name ofInearthed. Both musicians had known each other since early
childhood and had shared an interest in heavy metal, especially death metal groups,
such as Dissection, Entombed, and Obituary. Bassist Samuli
Miettinen completed the initial line-up of the band. Inearthed recorded its
first demo, Implosion
of Heaven, during August of the same year.
Samuli was the main composer of the band's
lyrics for the two years that he took part in Inearthed, but his family moved
to the United States in
1995, making it impossible for him to remain in the band. His last contributions
to Inearthed were the lyrics of the songs from their second demo, Ubiquitous
Absence of Remission which was the first time they worked with
producer Anssi Kippo at
Astia-studios (Lappeenranta, Finland). In this demo, keyboards were
incorporated into the band's songs for the first time. In order to achieve
this, both Laiho and Raatikainen played the keyboards separately, and
subsequently mixed the recorded track with the other instruments. Laiho, who
had previously only composed the melodies of the songs, assumed the role of the
band's lyricist.
At the time, Raatikainen played French horn in a
local big band, and during a rehearsal he met Alexander Kuoppala,
a trumpet player and
also a proficient guitarist. Shortly after the recording of their second demo,
Kuoppala was invited to join Inearthed as a rhythm guitarist.
The bassist chosen to replace Samuli was Henkka
"Blacksmith" Seppälä, whom Laiho and Raatikainen had previously known
from school. Apart from playing the bass, Seppälä also often doubles as the
band's backing vocalist. Also, the band recruited a musician to specialize on
keyboards, whose name was Jani Pirisjoki. Both joined Inearthed in early 1996.
With this new line-up, Inearthed proceeded to
record their third demo, entitled Shining. This demo did not
impress record labels any more than the previous ones had, and none took
interest in the band.[6] Despite
their efforts, their music got little exposure and managed only to play at
local events. As a last resort, the band decided to record an independent,
self-funded album. Considering that none of the musicians had much money to
begin with, it was an audacious move.
Laiho wanted to make use of the keyboards more
effectively, but Pirisjoki was not attending rehearsals. Thus, he was fired and
replaced by a friend of Raatikainen's, a jazz pianist named Janne
"Warman" Wirman.[6]
Wirman was the component which was previously
missing from Inearthed. His presence allowed the band to assume the style which
would later characterize Children of Bodom. With Wirman, the band successfully
recorded their first album in 1997. Their debut, Something Wild,
was supposed to be released by a small Belgian label, Shiver
Records, but second vocalist Sami Tenetz (from Thy Serpent) acquired a
copy of their album through the hands of Kuoppala. They both worked for the
same company at the time. Shortly after Inearthed signed this contract, Spinefarm Records' boss
immediately became interested in signing them for a country-wide release.[citation needed] The
latter deal was much more attractive to the band, since the Belgian label was
offering them close to no help, to the point where they would have to
distribute and sell the album themselves.
The band was required to create a new name to
sign up to Spinefarm Records. The contract with Shiver records had already been
signed under the name of Inearthed. The answer to that problem came as the
members looked for good names in their local phone book. When they stumbled
upon Lake Bodom,
they realized that it was a name with impact and one which had an interesting
story behind it. A long list of possible names involving the word Bodom was
then made, and they settled with Children of Bodom. The band's name is derived
from the Lake Bodom
murders.[7]
[edit]
Something Wild (1997—1998)
Something Wild was produced, recorded and mixed by Anssi Kippo and
Children of Bodom at Astia-studios (Lappeenranta, Finland). In an attempt to
promote their band, they opened a show for Dimmu Borgir in 1997.
Their success was such that a representative from the Nuclear Blast label
shortly approached them with a contract for a European release, a deal which
started on the subsequent year.[citation needed] Something
Wild was officially released in November 1997, and for promotional
purposes the band recorded amusic video of
the song "Deadnight Warrior". The video was directed by Mika Lindberg
and had a slim budget of €1000. It made use of simple scenery, which consisted
essentially of an outdoors location after a snowstorm. The band played for a
couple of hours at night, with an average temperature of minus fifteen degrees
Celsius.
Although Laiho is very critical of all of the
music he has written, he notes that he dislikes Something Wild the
most of all of his albums. When recording this album, Laiho had tried to mimic
the style of one of his idols, Yngwie Malmsteen, which is
why Something Wild is considered one of the most technical
albums Children of Bodom have ever produced. Despite this, he still considers
it to be their "most important" record, as it "put them on the
map."
Children of Bodom's first European tour began
in February 1998. They played with bands such as Hypocrisy (at such
festivals as Under the Black
Sun), The Kovenant andAgathodaimon, but
suffered from the absence of Wirman, who was concentrating on finishing his
studies.[citation needed] He
was replaced by pianist Erna Siikavirta for
the duration of the tour.
Months later, the band recorded two new songs
again at Astia-studios with producer Anssi Kippo, entitled
"Towards Dead End" and "Children of Bodom". The latter was
included in a compilation by Spinefarm Records, which after being released
remained on the top of Finnish charts for eight consecutive weeks.[citation needed] In
late August, the band played the song "Forevermore" live for the
first time during a show in Russia.
This song was later renamed "Downfall".
Their second European tour occurred in
September of that same year, but once more Wirman was not able to perform with
them. Laiho's then-girlfriend Kimberly Goss (fromSinergy and formerly
of Dimmu Borgir, Ancient and Therion) assumed the
keyboards this time. By the end of the tour, Kimberly invited Laiho to join
Sinergy, which at the time was still in its early stages.
[edit]
Hatebreeder (1998–2000)
The second album, Hatebreeder, was
recorded between the end of 1998 and the beginning of 1999 by Anssi Kippo at
Astia-studios (Lappeenranta, Finland). It was originally entitledTowards
Dead End, but while in studio the members of the band opted for the current
title. To create anticipation in Finland, the '"Downfall" single was
released two weeks prior to the album's release. It was accompanied by a new
music video, once more directed by Mika Lindberg. Hatebreeder ultimately
topped the charts in many European countries. In July 1999, the success of the
"Downfall"
single and Hatebreeder allowed Children of Bodom to schedule
three concerts in Japan with
Sinergy and In Flames.
During two of these concerts, the live album Tokyo Warhearts was
recorded. In it the band managed to seamlessly reproduce and at times improve
on their songs. This was a notable achievement for a band with only two albums
recorded previously. Under their request, no overdubs were used on
the recording of the concert.
[edit]
Follow the Reaper (2000–2002)
For their next release, Children of Bodom
decided to make use of Peter Tägtgren's
Abyss studio in Sweden instead
of the Finnish Astia-studio from Anssi Kippo where
they had recorded all of their previous releases including the demos from
Inearthed. The band wrote eight new songs for this album. While in the studio,
they decided to include an extra track that was hastily composed and featured
lyrics improvised by Laiho; that track would eventually receive the name of
"Kissing the Shadows". The band gave the album the name of Follow the
Reaper and recording sessions took place between August and
September 2000; the album saw a worldwide release in late 2000. A music video
for "Everytime I Die"
was recorded by the Finnish director Tuukka Temonen shortly after.
[edit]
Hate Crew Deathroll (2002–2004)
In February 2002, Children of Bodom began
writing songs for their upcoming album, entitled Hate Crew
Deathroll. They returned to Astia-studio (Lappeenranta, Finland)
to work with producer Anssi Kippo again.
The session ensued during the months of August and September, and the album was
released January 2003 in Finland. It remained on the top of the Finnish charts
for a total of three weeks and subsequently became the band's first gold album.
Eventually all of the band's albums reached this status and Follow the
Reaperreached platinum.
On January 3, 2003, the Finnish Metal Music
Awards were held at Tavastia Club in
Helsinki. Voting was open to all the metal fans and was presented through the
various media outlets that were working with the event's organizers. Children
of Bodom was awarded Finnish Band of the Year.[8]
Children of Bodom's first world tour began in
2003 and lasted until late 2004. The tour had many sold-out concerts and marked
the consolidation of the band in North America, but was
also accompanied by an unexpected announcement: Kuoppala decided to quit
Children of Bodom for personal reasons right in the middle of the tour without
giving previous warning. In an interview, when Laiho was asked why Kuoppala
left the band, he stated that, "Well, I try to be careful about what I say
about him because there is no bad blood between us. He told me that he just got
sick of touring and the whole band/rock 'n roll lifestyle living in hotels and
tour buses and stuff. For me it was really weird because he was always the one
who was SO into it! He was a die hard rock 'n roller and suddenly he made a
quick 180 turn in his whole life. This whole situation involves a new girlfriend."[9]Griffin's
guitarist Kai Nergaard was
invited by Laiho to replace Kuoppala, but did not accept the offer. Thus,
Alexi's bandmate from Sinergy, Roope Latvala (founding
member ofStone,
one of the bands which started the heavy metal movement in Finland) assumed the
guitars as a session player, until a more permanent solution could be found. This
formation was introduced in Moscow on
the 16th of August.
[edit]
Are You Dead Yet? (2004–2007)
Children of Bodom live in Milan 2006.
After successfully finishing the world tour
with Latvala — who then assumed a permanent position in the band's line-up —
Children of Bodom proceeded to record and release the EP Trashed, Lost
& Strungout and the single "In Your Face",
which contained songs from their upcoming album and a parody cover of
"Oops!… I Did It
Again" by Britney Spears. In late
2005, the album Are You Dead
Yet? was released, featuring a style different from what
had been presented by the band on its previous works. Simpler and heavier
guitar riffs were
incorporated into Children of Bodom's sound, as well as elements from industrial music.
Reactions from fans to the release were varied; however, the album remains the
band's most commercially successful. It was awarded gold status in Finland and
reached first place on the Finnish charts, 16th in Germany, 16 in Sweden and 17
in Japan. The next release of
the band was a DVD-single for the song "In Your Face", which included
the music video, backstage footage
from the band and a live recording of the song "Sixpounder" at Wacken
Open Air festival in 2004.
A poster of the band is seen in the television
program CSI: NY in
the episode "Stuck On You".
Children of Bodom's live DVD Chaos Ridden
Years - Stockholm Knockout Live was released on December 5,
2006. It contains a recording of a live concert performed on February 5, 2006
in Stockholm, Sweden, with over 90
minutes of live footage. "Chaos Ridden Years" refers to a documentary
featuring interviews with band members about the history of the band and
footage of the band on tour. It also contains every official music video Children
of Bodom has ever made, except for "Needled 24/7". Guitarist Alexi
Laiho was voted world's best guitarist of 2006 by Metal Hammer magazine.
In June 2006, the band embarked on one of their
biggest tours: The Unholy
Alliance tour, playing alongside Slayer, Lamb of God, Mastodon, In Flames and Thine Eyes Bleed. The
bands toured the US through June and July and Europe through October and
November.
On January 31, 2007, Laiho slid down the lane
at a bowling alley after accidentally stepping over the foul line. He slammed
hard into the wall, breaking his left shoulder. This rendered him unable to
play guitar for six weeks. Due to this incident, Children of Bodom was forced
to cancel their first 2007 tours and a festival that they were slated to
headline.
On March 31, 2007, the band's website released
information on Laiho's condition stating that while Laiho's injury will never
fully heal, it no longer affects his ability to play a guitar. The same notice
also stated that the band had already written some songs for a new album and
would start recording sometime later in 2007.[10]
Children of Bodom was selected to replace Velvet Revolver for
the Monsters of Rock festival,
playing on the same stage as Ozzy Osbourne and Megadeth.
[edit]
Blooddrunk (2007–2009)
Live at 2007's Masters of Rock.
From October to December 2007, Children of
Bodom recorded their sixth studio album, entitled Blooddrunk, which was
released on April 15, 2008.[11] The
album contained 10 songs including a cover of "Ghost Riders in the
Sky." Children of Bodom was featured on the Gigantour 2008 North
American tour with Megadeth, In Flames, Job for a Cowboy and High on Fire.[12] Children
of Bodom was one of the first bands to be confirmed for Wacken Open Air 2008,
where they performed alongside many bands including Iron Maiden,Sonata Arctica and Avantasia.[13] Children
of Bodom played at Donington Download on the 15th of June, playing a mixture of
old and new songs. On March 8, 2008, Children of Bodom did their first ever UK
signing event at the Zavvi music
shop in Oxford Street, London. They signed copies of their new single
"Blooddrunk" in CD, 7 inch and 12 inch vinyls,[14] only
666 copies of the 12 inch vinyls have been made.[15]
On 26 June 2008, Children of Bodom played their
first show in Auckland, New Zealand with support from local scene acts Dawn of
Azazel and Subtract at the Transmission Room.[16] In
2008, Children of Bodom's first three studio albums, as well as Tokyo
Warhearts, were remastered and re-released with bonus tracks. In September
and October 2008, the band toured the USA supportingBlooddrunk with
support from The Black Dahlia
Murder and Between the
Buried and Me. Testament also made a
special guest appearance in the main support slot at the tour's New York City
date. In November and December 2008, the band toured in Europe supporting Slipknot and Machine Head. From
late January to early March 2009, the band also co-headlined the European tour
with Cannibal Corpse with Diablo opening for
them. On April 2, 2009, Children of Bodom embarked on the No Fear Energy Tour
headlined by Lamb of God with
main support from As I Lay Dying and
themselves, and rotating opening slots with God Forbid and Municipal Waste,
but unfortunately dropped off the tour a week before it was finished following
a serious injury Alexi suffered after falling from the top bunk of his tour bus
on April 26, 2009, after the show in Palladium Ballroom, Dallas TX. In addition
to the injury, on May 8, 2009, at Roseland Ballroom in New York City, Alexi and
Children of Bodom were forced to quit playing after a few of their songs
because of Alexi's previous injury. Laiho originally planned to continue
touring despite his injury, but was forced to cancel last six dates when any efforts
to alleviate the pain failed. All summer festival dates went down as planned
and were unaffected by Alexi's injury.[17][18]
In February 2009, Children of Bodom hinted at
plans to release a cover album entitled Skeletons in the
Closet, which was released on September 23, 2009.[19] They
also admitted to being "lazy" when it comes to practicing and talked
about plans to have more songs on future albums.[20] The
band embarked on a tour of South America and Mexico in September 2009. Support
on the trek came from Amorphis.
Also in September and October 2009 the band returned to North America to
headline a massive, month-long tour. On most dates support on the trek came
from The Black Dahlia
Murder and Skeletonwitch. Austrian Death
Machine and Holy Grail made a
special guest appearance in the main support slot at the tour's second Pomona,
California date.[21][22] In
October,18th, 2009, four days after the band's North American tour finale in
Honolulu, Hawaii they performed atJapan's Loudpark Festival along
with Megadeth, Judas Priest, Slayer, Anthrax, Rob Zombie & Arch Enemy. In the
immediate six days following their performance at the Loudpark Festival, they
held three shows in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China respectively. They finished
their two month September to October tour in Moscow, Russia. This concluded
their year and a half long Blooddrunk World Tour.
[edit]
Skeletons in the Closet (2009–2010)
Skeletons in the Closet is a cover album released
on September 22, 2009. It features covers released on
versions of previous albums but also includes four new tracks. Covered artists
include Suicidal
Tendencies, Britney Spears, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Andrew WK, and Billy Idol.
Pre-orders through Children of Bodom's official
website included an autographed copy of the album and a T-shirt with the
album's design on it.[23]
Children of Bodom featured a contest to promote
their new album in which anyone could win prizes featuring an ESP/LTD M-53
electric guitar, the band's entire back catalog, andSkeletons in the Closet. The
contest ran from August 25 to September 21, 2009. The winners were announced
September 28, 2009.
[edit]
Relentless Reckless Forever (2010–2012)
After the Blooddrunk tour
ended, Children of Bodom started recording their new album. During the recording
of the drum tracks there was a small tornado and the power was cut out.
Consequently the recording was delayed until after their tour with Black Label Society.
Children Of Bodom released some information to Metal Hammer magazine
about new album tracks. The three track names they released were entitled:
"Pussyfoot Miss Suicide", "Ugly", and "Was It Worth
It?"[24][25]
In November the band announced "The Ugly World
Tour 2011" which would run from March–May 2011 and would
feature dates around Europe. Opening Acts were Ensiferum,Machinae Supremacy and Amon Amarth (UK
only). On November 24, it was announced that the title of the album would
be Relentless
Reckless Forever. The album was released on March 8, 2011. A
music video for "Was It Worth It?" was produced, featuring
skateboarder Chris Cole as well as noted pro skaters Jamie Thomas, Garrett Hill
and Tom Asta.[26]"Was
It Worth It?" was released as a downloadable track for Guitar Hero:
Warriors of Rock on February 2, 2011 for European PlayStation 3 owners,
and February 8, 2011 for Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii worldwide,
as well as non-European PlayStation 3 owners.
Relentless Reckless Forever was certified gold (sold over 10,000 copies) in Finland on the
first day of its release, March 9.[27] As
of March 10, the album had sold over 100,000 copies worldwide.[28]
[edit]
Eighth studio album (2012–present)
Children Of Bodom are currently in the studio
working on a follow up to 2011's Relentless Reckless Forever, scheduled for a
summer 2013 release.
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