Death metal was never supposed to be fun. Pioneered in Sweden and the US by bands such as Death and Grave, it was a niche built around abrasive noise, with chainsaw-like guitar tones, relentless screaming and rushing rhythms. Its lyrics dealt with gore, fear and satanism. It was meant to be pure horror condensed into sound.
Alexi Laiho clearly didn’t get the memo. In a genre that is predominantly morose, for 22 years the singer/guitarist led the celebrated Finnish band Children of Bodom – co-founded with drummer Jaska Raatikainen in 1997 – through a career of neoclassical melodies and anthemic compositions. During that time, his musical back-and-forths with keyboardist Janne Wirman became the heart and soul of the group, adding new levels of vibrancy to extreme metal. In 2019, Children of Bodom sadly split and, barely a year later, their former frontman has died aged 41.
While his peers seemed to shy away from exuberance, Laiho was an unabashed rock star, flashy and charismatic. His virtuoso guitar playing was a signature even from debut album Something Wild, which he recorded at just 18. In much the same way Ritchie Blackmore and Randy Rhoads had injected classical training into hard rock and heavy metal respectively, Laiho brought that soaring sophistication to even more pummelling music, inspired by such icons as Yngwie Malmsteen. And, of course, Wirman kept up the entire time, resulting in many a gorgeous trade-off between the two technicians on record.
As a songwriter, Laiho played to those harmonic strengths, keeping the seething roars and blistering pace of death metal but also ensuring each Bodom track was an anthem in its own right. Hate Me!, Hatecrew Death Roll and Bodom After Midnight especially were essential inclusions in any of the band’s setlists, all invigorating in their cathartic riffs, earworm choruses and flurrying solos.
When they were performed live, the songs would swagger all the more thanks to Laiho himself: 5ft 8in and skinny, face partially obscured by a flowing mop of red hair, he nevertheless had the presence and authoritative roar of a giant. He was expressive and interactive even when stood static at the mic, guitar in hand; his charisma, precision and showmanship commanded the admiration of his cohorts and helped inspire a new generation of wannabe metal heroes.
Unlike many, Laiho’s rock-star magnetism was no front. Before Bodom even began, the then-teenager was given the nickname “Wild Child”, owing not only to his love of flamboyant US metallers WASP, but also his inimitable restlessness. “It’s pretty fuckin’ lame that I’m in my 30s and still calling myself Wild Child,” the frontman admitted to Metal Hammer’s Joel McIver in 2008 – but it’s impossible to deny the accuracy. At the age of 10, his father taught him how to drive. His drinking in the 2000s and 2010s, before he quit while on the road in 2013, was the stuff of underground metal legend. He once toured with internal bleeding and was spotted vomiting blood backstage.
The only rock star behaviour Laiho didn’t adopt was the untouchable attitude, with family, colleagues and fans remembering him as down-to-earth and a joy to be around. “Alexi Laiho was a monumental talent & a genuine, caring & thoughtful person,” Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton tweeted after Laiho’s death. Kreator vocalist Mille Petrozza called him “the most humble and sweet person”. “Alexi was the most loving and magnificent husband and father,” said wife Kelli Wright-Laiho. “Our hearts are eternally broken.”
The rock’n’roll lifestyle never hindered Children of Bodom’s momentum. Between 1997 and 2000, the band released an impressive three full-lengths; the later fourth (2003’s Hatecrew Death Roll) topped the Finnish album charts. Blooddrunk entered the UK Top 50 in 2008, with a new album following reliably every three years.
In a statement after his death, Children of Bodom’s surviving members said that “Laiho had suffered from long-term health issues during his last years.” However, the musician was able to maintain an impressively prolific schedule, both on tour and in the studio, until the very end. The final Bodom release, Hexed, came out in March 2019 and was followed by extensive tours of Europe and the US. After the group’s dissolution, Laiho quickly focused on a follow-up project, Bodom After Midnight, with former bandmate Daniel Freyberg. Three songs and one music video from the duo will be released posthumously.
In spite of his horribly early death, Alexi Laiho remains a ray of light in the dank nihilism of death metal. His vigour and charisma were rare gifts, but fully exploited, creating a joyous twist on one of heavy music’s most macabre styles.