The producer turned solo artist was captivated by his dad covering Steve Howe’s intricate riff, ultimately triggering his own obsession with guitar.

On March 9, former CHILDREN OF BODOM members Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henri “Henkka T. Blacksmith” Seppälä (bass) and Janne Wirman (keyboards) were interviewed by Chaoszine about the band’s second beer collaboration with Fat Lizard brewery titled Murder Point. During the chat, they were asked if they would consider playing a tribute concert for their former bandmate, late CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho, who died in December 2020 at the age of 41.

“Well, it’s a tricky question, and then even the three of us, we have not really discussed about it,” Janne said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

“The way I personally feel about this is Alexi would not like a tribute show. Alexi would like just CHILDREN OF BODOM playing a show. And even though he would be replaced, which is a really hard thing for us, and it’s a really hard thing in the whole world of heavy metal vocals and guitar playing… I know from experience with Alexi and going to tribute shows and stuff like that that he wouldn’t [want there to be a tribute show for him].

“So, we have no passion to try to put together a tribute show for Alexi,” Janne explained. “We might play a show someday. Never say never… But for us, it would not feel natural to try to put a [tribute] show together right now.”

Henkka concurred, saying: “It would be weird to play a tribute show for Alexi. And like [Janne] said, I’m pretty sure that he would want somebody else to be there to play a tribute show for him. It would feel awkward to play a tribute show. I’m not against if some other people play CHILDREN OF BODOM music for his memory… And every time I see somebody [covering our songs], we always share them because that’s the best thing to do. Alexi’s music will live forever.”

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.

Alexi’s ashes were buried in December 2021 — nearly a year after his tragic passing. He was laid to rest at the Malmi Cemetery, a large cemetery located in the Malmi district in Helsinki, Finland.

Alexi and Jaska 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 December of 2019. 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.

Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman announced their departures from CHILDREN OF BODOM in October 2019. Two months later, they confirmed that they were the rightful owners of the CHILDREN OF BODOM brand.

CHILDREN OF BODOM played its final show on December 15, 2019 at the Black Box in Helsinki Ice Hall. A short time later, Finnish music magazine Soundi reported that the rights to the CHILDREN OF BODOM name are held by AA & Sewira Consulting Oy, the company owned by Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman. In June 2019, the trio filed an application with the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland, and their application was subsequently granted for a five-year period starting on October 1, 2019. As a result, Laiho, who was CHILDREN OF BODOM’s singer, guitarist and main songwriter, wasn’t authorized to use the band’s name without permission from Wirman, Raatikainen and Seppälä.

A guitar intended for jazz playing and gigging, set on a smaller profile for comfort and playability.Veillette Guitars, based in Woodstock, NY, introduces the Lyric guitar. Veilette’s vision was to embody the wonderful elements of those big jazz guitars into a smaller profile that offers extreme playability, comfort, weight, balance and perfect intonation throughout its entire neck. The single pickup is voiced to ensure a wide dynamic range and amplify every subtle nuance of the player.Intended for jazz players as a possible replacement for their go-to gigging and recording instrument, it has received positive response from guitarists who sing, write and perform live who have declared it a wonderful accompanying guitar for when they wish to go a step beyond their typical acoustic approach.FeaturesSitka Spruce TopMahogany Back and SidesMahogany NeckEbony Fingerboard and BridgeCompensated Zero-fret25″ Scale Length14″ Fingerboard Radius1-3/4″ Neck Width at Nut20 Frets14” Lower BoutSeymour Duncan Jazz HumbuckerHipshot TunersBlack & Chrome Hardware$3520 MSRPMore info at veilletteguitars.com.

Eddie Van Halen’s ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli discussed her new book, “Enough Already: Learning To Love The Way I Am Today”, in a recent interview with the “A Spoonful Of Paolo” online talk show. Bertinelli reflected on the special connection she had with her late ex-husband, saying: “Ed and I had our relationship — ups and downs. We treated each other badly; we treated each other wonderfully. It was a very full 40 years. And we have an amazing son [Wolfgang Van Halen] that we both adored. I still adore him, and I know that Ed still does too. I get to be here for both of us, to support Wolfie.”

Regarding Wolfgang’s nomination for a Grammy Award for his band MAMMOTH WVH’s song “Distance”, Valerie said: “When he was nominated, it was just so hard because I really wanted to talk to Ed, because I know how proud… If anybody was prouder of Wolfie than me, then it was gonna be Ed. We were in competition for who could be more proud.”

Valerie also talked about how she got goosebumps feeling Eddie’s presence one morning in a flock of birds outside her home.

“I still don’t think that I’ve seen signs from my mom or my dad, but maybe I have and I didn’t realize it or I wasn’t keeping an eye out for it,” she said. “But I think the signs are always there and we don’t even realize it.

“Yeah, that flock of birds kind of freaked me out,” she continued. “Because when I made the little pact with Ed about we’re gonna see two birds, or was it three? Then I forgot. Was it two? Or was it three? When I said, ‘Screw it. Then send a whole flock of birds.’ And literally a whole flock of birds just went right before my eyes. [I was, like,] ‘Okay, okay. I get it. You’re here.’ And then the dreams that happened. It’s kind of amazing.

“I do feel his presence, and then I don’t,” Bertinelli added. “So I’m hoping that he’s in a place where he’s being able to go over his magical life that he had and not beat himself up so much, and think of all the good things that he did, and not be in pain any longer — physical or emotional — because he was in a lot of emotional pain.”

Bertinelli split with Van Halen in 2002 after 21 years of marriage. They officially divorced in 2007. Eddie then went on to marry Janie Liszewski in 2009, while Valerie also remarried, tying the knot with Tom Vitale in 2011. Valerie told People magazine that both marriages were struggling before Eddie’s death. She eventually filed for separation from Vitale in November 2021.

In “Enough Already: Learning To Love The Way I Am Today”, Valerie writes about saying goodbye to Eddie when the legendary guitarist died from cancer. She and Wolfgang, 31, were by his side in his final moments.

“I love you are the last words Ed says to Wolfie and me and they are the last words we say to him before he stops breathing,” Bertinelli writes.

Eddie died in October 2020 at the age of 65. The legendary VAN HALEN guitarist passed away at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

Eddie was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had tongue surgery. He later battled lung cancer and had been receiving radiation treatment in Germany. Things took a turn for the worse in early 2019 when Eddie got in a motorcycle accident. He was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor, and received gamma knife radiosurgery to treat the illness.

This week Demo:listen shakes and rattles with the thunderous death-doom of cyclopean Canadian act Bone Eater.
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