CHILDREN OF BODOM's ALEXI LAIHO On Split With ROOPE LATVALA: It Just Wasn't Working Out With Him

Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM in May announced the departure of the band's guitarist of the past decade, Roope Latvala. He has since been replaced on the road by Antti Wirman, the younger brother of the group's keyboardist, Janne Wirman.

Speaking about Roope's exit from CHILDREN OF BODOM, frontman Alexi Laiho told Artisan News: "Well, without going into too many details, you know, I think that… Well, basically, what it was… was that, you know, we had… We were at a phase where we wanted to, sort of, have a new beginning and reinvent ourselves, on a certain level. And everybody — all four of us — were pushing it harder and putting more effort on the band and just working extra, extra hard. And he wasn't quite there with us, you know, as far as the level of work ethics and, you know, stuff like that. So we felt like everyone's better off if we part ways at this point, and that's what happened. And, yeah, it [happened] three days before we hit the studio [to record the new CHILDREN OF BODOM album, 'I Worship Chaos'], but it was not… I mean, it was something that everybody was sort of anticipating already. And I had… To be honest, I had decided, a month or so before that, that I was gonna do all the guitars on the album. Because, like I said, it wasn't just working out with him."

He continued: "I don't wanna talk shit or anything; it's just that that happens. It's life. And you can't dwell on it. It sucks. It really does, man. He was around for twelve years, and, for us, the band, it really is a family, and losing a member, it's a big deal for us. 'Cause we're not the type of band [where] we change members every other week. But, you know, you've gotta move on. And that's that, really."

You can watch the clip on the Artisan News YouTube channel.

Antti, who has been a member of Janne's band WARMEN since 2001, made his live debut with CHILDREN OF BODOM on May 30 when the group played a surprise six-song set at Nosturi in Helsinki, Finland.

"We wanted to go with someone close to the band we can count on and who can nail these songs. Antti was the obvious choice," said Janne.

Antti will play with CHILDREN OF BODOM through the end of the year. The group will then decide what to do about the second-guitarist position on a more permanent basis.

CHILDREN OF BODOM's first official concert with Antti took place on June 4 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

"I Worship Chaos" will be released on October 2 via Nuclear Blast. The artwork for the CD was created by Finnish artist Tuomas Korpi.

"I Worship Chaos" was once again recorded at Helsinki, Finland's Danger Johnny Studios and was produced by CHILDREN OF BODOM and Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their earlier albums "Halo Of Blood", "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll". The CD was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

"I Worship Chaos" will be available in following formats:

* CD + DVD digibook (incl. bonus DVD and three bonustracks!)
* CD
* 2LP (black, clear, silver, yellow, picture)
* digibook + canvas (Nuclear Blast mailorder edition)

The album can be pre-ordered at this location.