Despite a gruesome moniker and a decidedly convoluted neo-classical style, metallers Children Of Bodom have become Finland’s most successful musical export outside of Lordi. With a new album entitled Blooddrunk on the shelves, Rip It Up sat down with bass player Henkka Seppälä to find out the alcohol content of O positive. Here are the results.
On a freezing cold night in 1960, three teenagers were brutally killed by Lake Bodom in Finland. Still unsolved, this Friday The 13th-ike crime has become ingrained in the national psyche. It’s no wonder then that in 1997 a young group of Finnish metal fanatics appropriated their nation’s deepest fears for the name of their fledgling band. Almost 15 years on, Children Of Bodom seem to have returned to the macabre for the title of their sixth album, Blooddrunk. Or have they?
“It may not seem it on the surface but Blooddrunk is actually a very positive name for the album,” explains Henkka. “The title actually comes from how our guitarist Alexi Laiho was living his life there for a while when he was younger. He was pretty messed up and engaging in really destructive behaviour where he would cut himself just to bleed. It got so bad that he almost couldn’t play guitar.
“But he managed to overcome this with his love for playing the guitar – so Blooddrunk is all about overcoming the negative with the positive things in your life.”
And there’s no doubt that Alexi and his band mates have achieved great things through their music. Unleashing their debut album Something Wild in 1997, the group were instantly hailed across the metal world for a unique style that combined melodic death metal and the stunning musical virtuosity of neo-classical prog. Bodom continued to employ this winning formula for a number of albums before taking something of a musical left turn on 2005’s quizzically titled Are You Dead Yet?. Gone were the overblown keyboards and spiralling melodies that characterised the Bodom sound. In their place was stripped down riffs and groove – elements that alienated a large part of Bodom’s fanatical fanbase. But according to Henkka these kinds of reactions come with the territory.
“I think this reaction to change is very normal for fans of any band. I remember that when I was young I thought exactly the same thing about bands that I liked who changed their sound. But the bottom line is that we’re not here to make the same record over and over again. We make music that we like: we create what we see fit to create – if we didn’t there would be no Children Of Bodom.
“That said, I think there’s something on the new album for all of our fans,” he continues. “In some ways Blooddrunk sees us go back to our roots with some great melodic riffs and a more prominent role for Janne [Warman]’s incredible keyboard skills. But with this is a real aggressiveness – like on our last album - and I think this works really well with the more traditional arrangements.”
As for the band’s recording process, Hennka claims that it is a million miles away from the intricate nature of their material.
“We never plan anything ahead,” he laughs. “We just do!”
While this cavalier attitude may sound counter-productive, it’s made possible by the precious musical talent of the boys from Bodom.
“We are all fans of classical music and all have some form of classical music training. In Finland there are plenty of music schools which really helps musicians to develop their skills early. I think this could be one of the reasons you get so many great bands coming out of Finland and other similar Scandinavian countries.”
So this also explains Scandinavia’s reputation as a hotbed of heavy metal innovation?
“I think so. Scandinavia really pioneered a whole range of metal – especially different styles of melodic metal. Children Of Bodom are part of that tradition – although we didn’t start it, we fit in after some of the pioneers.”
“With all these bands has come a huge popularity for metal here in Finland. We have Spinefarm Records who signed so many great bands – and created a real infrastructure for metal. In Finland we’ve had grindcore bands hit the top 10 – it’s crazy.”
And how do Children Of Bodom feel about leaving the frozen climbs of Finland for a jaunt to our fair shores? Pretty damn good if Henkka is telling the truth.
“Australia is an incredible place and we’re all looking forward to coming down. At this stage I think we’re doing three or four shows, which is really cool. If there was one city that would make me want to leave Helsinki it would be Sydney!”
Children Of Bodom play Fowler’s Live on Sat Jun 28 with Nothing. Purchase your Children of Bodom tickets from <justsayrock.com.au> and go in the draw to win official tour memorabilia.