Alexi Laiho dead: Children of Bodom rocker dies 'suddenly' aged 41
Rokna: Band members from Alexi Laiho's supergroup Bodom After Midnight broke the news to fans with 'heavy hearts'
Alexi Laiho the legendary guitarist and singer of Children of Bodom has died at the age of 41.According to his label Napalm, Alex passed away at home in Helsinki last week after suffering 'long term health issues.'
He was regarded as one of the greatest - and fastest - heavy metal guitarists of all time by industry experts.
A statement from the musicians Bodom After Midnight today said: "It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that we have to announce the passing of Alexi Laiho. We are absolutely devastated and heartbroken for the sudden loss of our dear friend and band member. "
Laiho’s wife, Kelli Laiho-Wright, said: "Alexi was the most loving and magnificent husband and father. Our hearts are eternally broken."
Alex formed Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom in 1993, with the group going on to become of Finland's best selling acts of all time before splitting in 2019.
They recorded ten studio albums and two live albums and scored chart positions on the Billboard 200 in America.
They held their last concert - A Chapter Called: Children of Bodom - in Helsinki in 2019 before disbanding.
Alexi and bandmate Daniel Freyberg continued as Bodom After Midnight in 2020 - along with Paradise Lost drummer Waltteri Väyrynen and bassist Mitja Toivonen, who played with Santa Cruz, with touring keyboardist Lauri Salomaa completing the line-up.
They recorded three songs and shot one music video which will be released later on this year posthumously.
"I have at least learned to keep better care of myself. I kind of f***ing nutter that I learned almost everything through the hard way. It took a long time to realize that a person also needs rest and recharging batteries. Otherwise there will be a crash," he told Ilta-Sanomat in 2019.
In 2012 Children of Bodom had to cancel two European shows when Alexi was taken to hospital.
In a statement at the time the band said: "Alexi was rushed to the Oslo hospital earlier this evening with extreme stomach pain. The doctors in the emergency unit checked him and while we are still waiting for a diagnosis, they made clear that he will not be able to perform within the next 48 hours."
Days later they shared another update: "This is not an easy letter for us to write. Alexi is suffering from a serious infection. He is still in hospital in Oslo under supervision of the doctors and we don’t know yet when they will release him."
Alexi also played guitar for a number of other bands including Sinergy, The Local Band, Thy Serpent and Impaled Nazarene.
In 2011 he was ranked in the top 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World, who also praised him as one of the 50 fastest guitarists in the world.
Alexi also topped a vote for the top metal guitarists of all time in a public voting poll by Total Guitar after securing over 20% of the overall vote.
He had started out playing the violin at the age of seven before learning the guitar at 11 after being gifted a Tokai Stratocaster.
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