CHILDREN OF BODOM's LAIHO Explains Guitarist's Departure

November 2, 2003

CHILDREN OF BODOM mainman Alexi Laiho recently spoke to Outburn magazine about the departure of rhythm guitarist Alexander "Aku" Kuoppa and the impact it's had on the band's morale. "I gotta be honest, it did affect us a lot," he said. "He was an important part of the band, just like every other member. He was part of CHILDREN OF BODOM and my best friend, definitely. There's no bad blood between us or anything like that. The whole thing was like, overnight, a 180-degree turn, what he did with his whole life. It's kind of the legendary thing: he hooked up with a chick and now he wants to be a family man. We've always had a steady lineup, and that's been our strength and how we want to keep it. Right now, we're going to have this one guy [Roope Latvala] be a session member for the rest of the touring. He's actually the guy who plays in the other band I play in, SINERGY, and after that, we'll have more time to really sit down and think about who it's going to be. There are so many people who could do it playing-wise. That's not the problem — it has to be the personality that fits in, the whole attitude. There's so much more than just playing."

CHILDREN OF BODOM will team up with DIMMU BORGIR, NEVERMORE and HYPOCRISY for a North American tour that will kick off on November 7 in Buffalo, New York.

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