Children Of Bodom Interview With Alexi Laiho
Singer/Guitarist Frontman Alexi on Blooddrunk, Sinergy and More
Sep 11, 2008
Suite 101: Blooddrunk’s been out for a while now – have you had time to stand back from it now and judge how it stands up against your back catalogue?
Alexi: “I’m definitely happier with Blooddrunk than I was with Are You Dead Yet? musically. And I think that most people agree. As far as album sales go, it’s doing better than any of the previous ones, which is great. We’ve just been touring the album and we’ll keep doing the same thing until the end of this year.”
Children Of Bodom's Blooddrunk
Suite 101: Lyrically a lot of the album’s about self-destructive behaviour. Have you had to reign yourself in over recent years?
Alexi: “Well, self-destructive behaviour doesn’t necessarily mean cutting yourself or anything and it’s maybe a subconscious thing too. With me, sometimes my drinking can get out of hand and at the end of the day stupid shit happens. But, I don’t know, I guess it’s in my nature and I just can’t help it. I’m definitely not for ****ing cutting myself or doing anything stupid like that but sometimes something happens. What are you gonna do?”
Suite 101: You seem quite an accident prone guy as well – has that always been the case?
Alexi: “A little bit, yeah. I’ve definitely calmed down a bit lately. I actually have a black eye right now but I haven’t broken any bones or anything in quite a while.”
Alexi Laiho: Award Winning Guitarist
Suite 101: You’re consistently held up as one of the metal world’s best guitarists. How does it feel when you win awards like the recent Metal Hammer one – does it mean much to you?
Alexi: “It means a lot to me, definitely. It’s flattering of course and it makes me feel really good. It’s like all the work and all the practice pays off in that sort of way that you’re aware that other people appreciate it. But then again, that’s a side of things I try not to think about too much. It’s great to win an award or whatever but at the end of the day it’s all about music and if you’re making music with an eye on winning awards then you’re ****ed. I play the guitar first of all just through a love of music and everything else is extra.”
Alexi on the Long Delayed Sinergy Album
Suite 101: Is Sinergy still an ongoing concern?
Alexi: “Erm…I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t know. We never really decided on anything. We never officially broke up but with these schedules it’s been impossible to do anything. I’m sure we can finish this one album that we started recording like three years ago but…well, we’ll see. Maybe one day, you never know.”
Suite 101: Is it true that the album was mostly recorded at one point but the recordings got lost?
Alexi: “We’ve got drum tracks, rhythm guitars, bass and some vocals as well so there’s only guitar leads and vocals missing. Nothing got lost, any master tapes or anything.”
Suite 101: But for the moment there are no concrete plans to finish it?
Alexi: “Correct.”
Click here for more from Alexi on his stint with goat-loving black metallers Impaled Nazarene.
Or here for more exclusive interviews with Dragonforce and Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury on his 80s metal project Absolute Power.
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