In 1993 in Finland the band Children of Bodom was formed when the vocalist and guitar player Alexi Laiho, keyboard player Janne Wilman, bass guitar player Henkka Seppala, drummer Jaska Raatikainen and guitar player Daniel Freyberg joined forces to become one of Europe’s largest heavy metal band. Currently they have recorded and released nine studio albums as well as releasing two live albums and numerous compilation DVDs. Guitarist Alexi Laiho has also been part of a number of guitar tutorial videos which he partook in as a side project in his spare time to teach budding students the techniques that he uses when shredding away at guitar.
Children of Bodom got their first big break in 1997 when they opened as a support act for the band Dummo Borgir. Their performance was so successful that after the concert they were approached by a representative for the record label Nuc
lear Blast and they were offered a contract for a European release for their previously recorded album, “Something Wild”.
Despite the success of their album, lead guitarist Alexi Laiho is known for being extremely critical of his own work and has stated during a number of interviews that he dislikes Something Wild the most out of all the work he has done with the band. But despite his dislike for the technical quality of the work, he still acknowledges the importance of the album for launching their career and ensuring the long term success of the band.
Their followup album, “Hatebreeder”, was released in 1999 and achieved good commercial success within Europe, making to make it high up on many album charts in a number of European countries. In 2007 Children of Bodom released their album, “Blooddrunk” that saw them achieve success in America also, and they joined the Gigantour tour in America in 2008.