AMOPRHIS guitarist Esa Holopainen spoke about late guitarist Alexi Laiho in a new interview with Metal Injection.
Former CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman passed away on December 29 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. The 41-year-old had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.
I spoke with Alexi, I think it was two weeks before he died,” Esa said. “He was so full of energy and he was so happy with his new band. You know, we shared the same keyboard player who played keyboards for my Silver Lake project and was also a session player for BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT. So Alexi was really keen to hear what my music is like, what it is about. And I sent him some songs and he sent me the Bodom After Midnight songs they recorded. I told him that it’s like CHILDREN OF BODOM, but in a more hybrid version. It was unbelievable.
And it’s such a loss that we lost him because I think there would have been so much for him to give the metal community,” he continued. “A great guitar player. And he influenced a lot of people, and especially the kids. Kids started to play guitar. You just have to look at what kind of guitars kids and the people who are getting into guitar playing are using. All these V-shaped Alexi Laiho ESP models that the youngsters are using. So I think that tells pretty much how important he was for people.
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.
