CHILDREN OF BODOM's JANNE WIRMAN On 'I Worship Chaos': 'It Has A Pretty Dark Atmosphere'

Keyboardist Janne Wirman of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM was interviewed at this year's edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting, which was held last month in Dessel, Belgium. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On CHILDREN OF BODOM's upcoming ninth studio album, "I Worship Chaos":

"The new album, people have called it 'dark.' It has a pretty dark atmosphere. Not like our music has ever been very happy [laughs], but compared to our [previous] stuff, it has a pretty dark atmosphere. I like it. So it's a bit different. It's always different. I mean, we try not to record the same album over and over again anyways, but it has a different approach, and I like it."

On the songwriting process in CHILDREN OF BODOM:

"Yeah, Alexi [Laiho, guitar/vocals] writes riffs at home, and then… It's the part when we kind of… It's like having a real job, 'cause we go every day, five days a week, we go to the rehearsal room and do that for months. And Alexi shows up with his riffs, and we, together as a band, arrange the songs. I like that part, 'cause that's the only part, in my profession, playing in a band, when I have a normal schedule. I go to work every day. [Laughs] 'Cause, otherwise, you know, it's just flying around the world and touring and festivals, but when we're writing music, I go to work every day."

"I Worship Chaos" will be releassed worldwide on October 2 via Nuclear Blast. The artwork for the CD was created by Finnish artist Tuomas Korpi and can be seen below.

"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.

"I Worship Chaos" track listing:

01. IHurt
02. My Bodom (I Am The Only One)
03. Morrigan
04. Horns
05. Prayer For The Afflicted
06. I Worship Chaos
07. Hold Your Tongue
08. Suicide Bomber
09. All for Nothing
10. Widdershins

Bonus tracks (digibook only):

11. Mistress Of Taboo (PLASMATICS cover)
12. Danger Zone (KENNY LOGGINS cover)
13. Black Winter Day (AMORPHIS cover)

The song "Morrigan" can be streamed below.

CHILDREN OF BODOM has recruited Antti Wirman, the younger brother of the band's keyboardist Janne Wirman, to handle second-guitar duties for their upcoming shows.

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 continue playing with CHILDREN OF BODOM through the band's appearance at the Kuopio RockCock festival on August 1. 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.

CHILDREN OF BODOM in May announced the departure of the band's guitarist of the past decade, Roope Latvala.