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Alexi Laiho dead at 41

8K views 51 replies 30 participants last post by  Cycletech 
#1 ·
Wasn't a big fan by any stretch, but still sad, and no age to go.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/AlexiLaihoOfficial/

Guitarist Alexi Laiho deceased

One of the most renowned guitarists in the world, Alexi Laiho, has passed away. The musician, most notably known as the front man of Children of Bodom, died in his home in Helsinki, Finland, last week. Laiho had suffered from long-term health issues during his last years.

Alexi Laiho and drummer Jaska Raatikainen founded Children of Bodom in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert in December of 2019. Last year Alexi Laiho put together Bodom After Midnight, who recorded three songs and shot one music video, which will be released later on posthumously.

Besides Children of Bodom, Laiho was known for acts such as Warmen, Sinergy, Kylähullut and The Local Band. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden Gods and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" - a massive concert piece he composed.

"We are crushed by the sudden passing of our dear friend and band member. Words cannot describe this shock and the profound sadness that we feel", Daniel Freyberg, Mitja Toivonen and Waltteri Väyrynen from Bodom After Midnight state.

The talented guitarist and musician relished his roles as stepdad in his patchwork family, and as uncle and godfather. Especially during the last years, the important family ties brought a welcomed balance to his life and the active touring. Laiho was particularly close with his big sister, parents and his sister's daughter. Laiho's sister says:

"We are all absolutely shocked and devastated. We ask for privacy and understanding during these hard times. My little brother's funeral will take place privately."

Alexi Laiho will also be deeply missed by his family in Australia.
"Alexi was the most loving and magnificent husband and father. Our hearts are eternally broken", Kelli Wright-Laiho says.

The remaining members of Bodom After Midnight do not give any interviews at this time.

Jouni Markkanen
Bodom After Midnight management
 
#2 ·
Damn...I loved Follow the Reaper and the albums from that time and always loved his playing style. Only saw COB live once around 2006 and they were really good that night. I can't say I'm hugely surprised to read this, unfortunately, because he didn't look well at all in the last interview I saw with him. :(
 
#9 ·
Fuck. I know he struggled with substance abuse for decades, but that is just tragic.

Huge inspiration for a lot of people. Massive guitar hero. Came around at a time when there weren't many guitar heroes either. I don't even remember the number of JE units I have sold to people who specifically wanted it because of him.

Hatebreeder is an all time classic. I haven't followed them since Blooddrunk, thought I have to admit, I actually like the title track of that record a lot.





 
#10 ·
No exaggeration to say he (and RL obviously) single handidly popularized Rhoads in modern metal. Most of the cool 80s US Rhoads are over in Scandinavia because of Roope and him. No joke. Obviously he's been with ESP for a long ass time, but if you go on a site like Jackson Guitar Palace it's a bunch of Stone and Alexi fanboys buying all the coolest Rhoads.

Great team with Roope too. I know Roope left a while ago, but it was really cool that he was this younger guy who got his own personal guitar hero to join his band.

He was totally his own thing when they hit the scene too. Like, ten years after him it was pretty common to see modern metal guys doing the 80s shred hero guitar flair, but it's pretty much only popular because of their first four albums. He pretty much blazed the trail for guys in modern metal bands who wanted to show off fiery throwback 80s metal chops. Half the modern metal dudes I know who have that kind of an ear for that sort of shreddy tonality only got into it when they started listening to CoB. Hard to overstate how massively emulated he is.

He's been a sort of sad shadow of his peak for a while now, and it was crushing to see him get kicked out of a band that he was undoubtedly the main member of, but it's hard to overstate how influential he was for a ton of people my age.
 
#18 ·
Crazy shit. Condolences to his friends, family and fans.

I’ve got a couple COB albums and while I never got into them a lot, I never skipped them when they’d pop on shuffle and would usually end up cranking the stereo a bit. For me, they were like the fun thrash/drinking metal band. There was a certain energy in their songs that didn’t make them feel gloomy or dreary to me, I suppose it’s the same energy I get from Pantera.
 
#21 ·
Absolutely gutted by this news. I was waaaaaay into Bodom's first three albums, they probably still have a lasting influence on the way I play even though I haven't listened in forever. I saw them live a few times, but the very time was my favorite. They played with Trivium and Amon Amarth; all 3 were great but COB stole the show.

RIP
 
#23 ·
When I saw them live in 2006, they put on a totally kickass show and played my all-time favorite song of theirs, before which Alexi said "This is a song we haven't played in a few years," which made me feel extra lucky to be there to hear it live. They always had so much energy when they played. I loved their first 5 albums and even though I stopped listening to them that often for a while, I ended up rewatching their Stockholm Knockout Live DVD I bought in 2006 or 2007 and after that relistened to all the albums I had of there and ended up listening to them more often once again after that.
 
#25 ·
I don't claim to be a big COB fan or anything of the sort.

However, you can't deny Alexi's greatness and my friend's love him. My heart hurts for them today because he was like E.V.H. to them as E.V.H. was to me.

I always thought Alexi had the slickest choices in guitars, I always wanted one of his pink signature models, so sick.

Praying for his family, friends and fans. Sad to see this...


BTW someone said he was kicked out of Bodom? I thought he created Bodom?
 
#30 · (Edited)
Total shame. Still a pretty young dude. Sadly, not totally surprised as when I saw a vid going back a year or so ago I was absolutely stunned by how frail and sickly he looked.

I actually really dug 'Hatebreeders'. Thought it was some pretty sick melodic DM with a nice bit of neo-classical-bach-and-roll whatever you want call it. One of my top favs for '99.

I give my condolences here, his music brings back memories for me and even a bit of inspiration. Man, not a great start or great news to hear for early 2021.
 
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