CHILDREN OF BODOM's Final Concert To Be Released As Live Album

CHILDREN OF BODOM's final concert, which took place on December 15, 2019 at the Black Box in Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland, will be released next year as a live album.

Earlier today, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henri "Henkka T. Blacksmith" Seppälä and keyboardist Janne Wirman released the following statement via the band's social media: "Exactly three years ago 15th December 2019 CHILDREN OF BODOM played their last show at the Helsinki Ice Hall. To keep this precious last moment alive and also available to everyone who couldn't make it to see the show, Alexi's [Laiho, late CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman] estate, Daniel [Freyberg, CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist], Henkka, Janne and Jaska will release the show next year as a live album.

"To make it more special we'd love to have photos from YOU to be included in the album booklet. What we're looking for is any BODOM related memories, from any era. We would like the Hate Crew to be part of the album, as the Hate Crew was always the essential part of the phenomenon called CHILDREN OF BODOM. That's why we are asking you to be part of this!

"If you feel like taking part in this project please submit your photo via email to [email protected] by 31st December 2022.

"Looking forward to see you what you guys have in your archives and stay tuned for more news.

"Please note that we have to be sure that the photos are ok for us to use, hence we kindly ask you to read this: By submitting a photo you agree that you will grant us the irreversible compensation free and royalty free right to use the material in our album materials. We can't guarantee that we will use your photos but we will go thru all of them and pick the ones suitable. By submitting a photo you guarantee that you have all the rights to do so and that you have the consent of all the persons that can be recognized in the photo."

Alexi passed away on December 29, 2020 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. He died of alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue. Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system. He had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Laiho and Raatikainen founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert. In 2020, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, all of which were released posthumously.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" — a massive concert piece he composed.

Earlier this year, Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman discussed publicly for the first time the circumstances that led to the band's split and ultimately Laiho's death. In an interview with Finland's Helsingin Sanomat, the three surviving members of CHILDREN OF BODOM said the real reason for the band's breakup was not that they wanted to stop touring in order to spend more time with their families, which is how Laiho explained it to Helsingin Sanomat in November 2019. Instead, what caused the group to split was Laiho's substance abuse, and that is also what eventually killed him a year after they went their separate ways.