Interviews : “…this is what I do” – An Interview with Alexi Laiho

Before Children of Bodom arrive and begin their massive ‘Halo of Blood over Australia’ tour this May (Melbourne on the 7th, Sydney on the 9th and Brisbane on the 10th) with Eye of the Enemy and Emergency Gate, they’ve been touring on almost every continent around the world. Metal Obsession were lucky enough to find a spare moment in the band’s hectic schedule to interview the one and only Alexi Laiho; a certified guitar legend by Guitar World and Roadrunner Records, and the metal community as a whole.

What people may not realize is that Alexi has a wicked sense of humour; when asked if, after spending over 20 years in the Bodom clan, if there’s any chance that Alexi’s going to leave anytime soon to pursue something else, he replied (with tongue in cheek) “Oh hell yeah. Was just discussing filling out a McDonalds application in Russia in fact. No this is what I grew up with and this is what I do.” However, given the chance, Alexi would give up his rockstar dream lifestyle to front one of Australia’s most beloved rock bands as he states he’d take the helm of “Men At Work. I would totally do it for real.” It’s obvious that he has a fondness for Australian rock royalty, as his favourite Australian artists include: “Midnight Oil, Men At Work, AC/DC, [and The] Angels”.

Following on this lighter note, there have been rumours that Skwisgaar Skwigelf, the Swedish fictional guitar God of Dethklok from the hilarious Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse, was actually based off Alexi’s skill on the guitar. But Alexi was quick to state that “[I’ve] watched a couple episodes and people have said that. But he’s from Sweden so obviously he’s an impostor.” The vocalist’s humour shines through when he’s asked an innocuous question about which trends will come next in metal, and subsequently answers that “turtleneck sweaters” are what we’ll all be sporting in the future. So obviously Steve Jobs was ahead of the curve in more than just the electronics world. In relation to his new foray into the electronic world of Facebook, there seems to be a secret reason as to why he finally joined the social media giant earlier this year as “it’s a long story but you’ll find out soon.” Obviously it’s time to start scrutinising every single post he puts up then.

On the topic of touring, and his insane schedule, it turns out that Alexi doesn’t relax any differently than the rest of us; he just likes to hang in his “hotel room or tour bus and watch movies.” When they’re not chilling out, Children of Bodom are known for their insane live shows and their diehard fanbase. It turns out that “maybe Canada at the moment” is the best place to play “cause the crowds are fucking insane.” At these ridiculously heavy and sweaty shows, the crowd are obviously willing to hear anything the band wants to throw at them as “Hate Me and Downfall are classics but new ones like Halo and Scream get good reactions too.” What keeps him going through every night of relentless touring is when the crowd fires up and they’re “Just going nuts. Crazier the better.” Unfortunately, the Australian crowds on the upcoming ‘Halo of Blood’ tour won’t be hearing any sneak previews of new material since the band “would love to but… We don’t try out new stuff live anymore cause some cocksucking motherfuck’n douchebag puts it on youtube”. So if we all put our phones down during the concert and actually watch the band we’ve paid to see, then we’ll get new Bodom material. It’s a win win people.

With this reviewer personally loving Children of Bodom’s cover of ‘Oops, I did it again!’ the opportunity to ask him about which song they wanted to cover next was too good to pass up. It seems that Alexi is a fan of meat suits and bizarre behavior in general as Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” was the direct answer. However, he also contributed a headline worthy quote that “since Britney all pop music has gone to shit, true story.” Continuing on the Britney tangent, when asked about his guilty listening pleasure, he responded, “you would think I would feel guilty for listening to Britney but I don’t. I just don’t give a fuck.”

If you want to see Alexi not giving a fuck in person, then make sure you grab tickets to a Children of Bodom show near you, because you definitely don’t want to miss your chance of seeing a Finnish man spitting “I’m not that innocent!” right in your face.

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