Alexi Laiho was one of the most famous and most influential metal guitarists in the recent past. With Children of Bodom, he significantly shaped the Melodic Death Metal genre. Laiho was known for his characteristic and virtuoso guitar style – technically refined and at the same time aggressive. Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick once praised him: “He opened the extreme metal new possibilities with technically demanding solos that were able to assert themselves alongside the best of the more popular metal genres.” Until his early death in 2020, Laiho was one of the most popular and respected guitarists in the scene.
Alexi Laiho: His childhood
Alexi Laiho was born on April 8, 1979 in Espoo, Finland. His parents, Päivi and Olli Laiho, worked as a nurse and union representatives. The family was interested in musically – everyone played an instrument, the father organ, the mother flute, the sister piano – and they supported Alexi early in his musical interests. “My parents still sing in choirs all over Finland,” he said Metal Hammer UK. Even as a child, he was fascinated by everything that looked loud, rebellious and dangerous. “My older sister got me on it. When I was seven years old, she played her cassettes from Guns N’roses, Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe and Skid Row. Everyone was so damn attractive: The sound of the guitars looked like the boys looked like.
Influences and first bands
Laiho was impressed early on by virtuoso guitarists like Yngwie Malmsteen or Steve Vai, but also from classic composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach. In interviews, he regularly emphasized that negative emotions are creatively driving him the most: “I definitely have this dark side in me. I try to channel the music instead of building shit.” He described composing as his therapy – not in the metaphorical, but in the literal sense: “It may sound like a platitude, but in my case it is damn true again.”
In youth, Alexi founded the band Inearthed with school friend Jaska Raatikainen, who moved stylistically between Thrash, Death and Power Metal. Laiho quickly took over creative control – guitars, vocals, songwriting. The later nickname “Wild Child”, which was originally given to him on teenagers, already seemed here. “It is somehow embarrassing to say that at 30 – but deeply I will always stay a wild child.”
Foundation of Children of Bodom
In 1997 it became from Inearthed Children of Bodom – named after an unsolved murder case. The line -up with Laiho, Raatikainen, Kuoppala, Seppälä and Wirman remained stable for many years. Even the debut album “Something Wild” attracted attention, but only with Hatebredoer and Follow the Reaper was the band perceived internationally. Laiho later remembered: “The moment when I knew we had done it was when I was able to quit my job – before I worked on the building and even did phone marketing. I had to turn dictionaries on people on Saturdays. That was hell.”
Alexi Laiho: Successes & Conflicts
The international breakthrough came with “Hate Crew” (2003), which also hit the United States. This was followed by touring with Slayer, Megadth and Lamb of God – a time when Laiho himself saw himself in the role of the outsider. “If you play in front of Slayer, you know who the big boys are. But at some point you just say to yourself: Fuck it, we’ll do our thing – and that’s exactly what I loved.” At the same time, Laiho was praised by scene sizes such as Kirk Hammett or Kerry King. “This is flattering, but I shouldn’t deal too much with it – that just messes up. I don’t make it for compliments. I do it for the music. End of the damn story.”
Despite the success, there were tensions. Roope Latvala left the band in 2015 only days before the studio recording – a setback that Laiho took sporty: “I just had to record twice guitar. But the album Tighter sounds than ever.” According to Laiho, the decision to take the album “I wore of chaos” darker and deeper came from the impulse of “not getting comfortable – I don’t want to repeat myself.” He was also not always mentally stable. At the end of the 90s he tried to take his life. “I was really finished back then. Besides, I didn’t believe it, I had to get out of it myself. I did therapy and was instructed – but only when I wanted to change.”
Side projects
Despite the full COB time plan, Alexi found Zeit for numerous side projects-often as a creative valve away from the Melodic Death Metal. “I have an 80s cover band with which we even took pictures. I have just completed my guitar tracks,” he said in 2015. Kylähullut, a punk band with Finnish music colleagues, was a welcome compensation for him: “It was never serious. I could either hang around at the PlayStation or make punk rock with my best friends-the decision was easy.”
A special heart project was 100 Guitars from Hel, in which Laiho in 2015 performed with a hundred guitarist: inside the Senate Square in Helsinki. “It was stressful, but it was worth it. When we were on stage, it was just overwhelming.” Most recently, Laiho started a new chapter with Bodom After Midnight – the debut concert took place in Seinäjoki in October 2020, a music video was published posthumously. It should be a fresh start. Instead, it became his epilogue.
Alexi Laiho: Death
Health problems have become noticeable in recent years. Alcohol had demanded its toll over the years. In an interview with Metal Hammer Germany, he said: “It used to be crazy on tour. Today it is just brutal. The hangover takes the fun of everything. And if I have no fun on stage, it is time to change.” And further: “I almost stopped drinking when we are on the go. This is my job. My life. I can’t allow myself to get alcohol or anything in between.”
Alexi Laiho died on December 29, 2020 in his house in Helsinki- officially from complications from liver and pancreas. He was 41 years old. At the time of his death he was married to the Australian singer Kelli Wright-Laiho. The sympathy was huge. Musicians like Dave Mustaine, Floor Jansen, Matt Heafy or Marty Friedman publicly remembered a charismatic colleague who was a figure of identification for many. Laiho himself had never looked for this role: “I don’t need prices. I don’t need titles. I need chaos, music and my guitar. No more.”
Reactions to his death
The news of Alexi Laiho’s death on December 29, 2020 triggered dismay worldwide. Within a few hours, musicians shared: inside from all corners of the metal world. “Alexi is a modern guitar hero. He deserves every praise he receives today,” wrote Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto. Brian Fair (Shadow’s case) remembered together tour experiences: “He was an incredible soul. We had so much fun with him. I am really devastated.” Toto guitarist Steve Lukather also reported in simple words: “Very sad … I was a fan.”
Condolized on Instagram. Mille Petrozza (Kreator), David Ellefson (Megadth), Kiko Loureiro (Megadth), Gary Holt (Exodus, Slayer), Shagrath (Dimmu Borgir), Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth) and musicians: Inside Sonata Arctica, Amorphis, Queensrÿche and Annihilator. Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) posted a photo with a black heart. Metal Blade Records and Century Media praised him with pictures and quotations from his career. Many simply called him “one of the greatest”.
His former bandmates of Children of Bodom, Jaska Raatikainen, Henkka Seppälä and Janne Wirman, also published a statement: “More than 25 years of friendship. We have lost a brother. The world has lost a phenomenal songwriter and one of the greatest guitarist ever. Memories and Alexis Music will live on.”