Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo, formed in 1993. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Alexi Laiho (vocals/lead guitar), Roope Latvala (guitar), Janne Wirman (keyboards), Henkka Seppälä (bass), and Jaska Raatikainen (drums). Since its inception, Children of Bodom has released six studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, and one DVD.
Children of Bodom's third studio album, Follow The Reaper, was the band's first album to receive a Gold certification in Finland, and since then, all six of the band's studio albums have reached the same status. In Finland, Children of Bodom has released three consecutive albums that debuted at number one on Finnish album charts, and has also seen chart positions on the United States Billboard 200.
Throughout its career, the band has been known to incorporate many different musical styles, leading critics and fans to label them as everything from melodic death metal and black metal to thrash metal and progressive metal.
Genre debate
Children of Bodom's genre classification is debated amongst fans and critics. The band could be part of several musical genres, among them power metal, neo-classical metal, speed metal and melodic death metal. Their more recent material, such as Blooddrunk, has been said to contain thrash metal elements. The term "Tuonela Metal", recently introduced by Finnish press, albeit rare should be taken into some consideration, due to its expressiveness (such as its reference to the Ade, the Reign of Shadows) and to its implicit tribute to Jean Sibelius, the most representative Finnish composer. Laiho says that he prefers to just be called a metal group and nothing other. However, in a recent interview for the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Laiho states that the band's genre is extreme metal, since he feels that all other alternatives are too restrictive.
Band members
- Alexi Laiho – lead guitar, lead vocals (1993 onward)
- Roope Latvala – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2003 onward)
- Henkka Seppälä – bass, backing vocals (1996 onward)
- Janne Wirman – keyboards (1997 onward)
- Jaska Raatikainen – drums, percussion (1993 onward)
Former members
- Alexander Kuoppala – rhythm guitar (1995–2003)
- Jani Pirisjoki – keyboards (1995–1997)
- Samuli Miettinen – bass guitar (1993–1995)
Albums
- 1997: Something Wild
- 1999: Hatebreeder
- 2000: Follow the Reaper
- 2003: Hate Crew Deathroll
- 2005: Are You Dead Yet?
- 2008: Blooddrunk
- 2009: Skeletons in the Closet