Children of Bodom

Children of Bodom, the influential Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo, exploded onto the scene in 1993, initially operating under the name Inearthed. Their final lineup, before a highly publicized 2019 split, featured the iconic Alexi Laiho (vocals, guitar), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Seppälä (bass), Janne Wirman (keyboards), and Daniel Freyberg (rhythm guitar).

This powerhouse quintet left an undeniable mark, releasing a prolific catalog including ten studio albums, three live albums, two EPs, two compilations, and a DVD. Their breakthrough came with Follow the Reaper, their third studio album, which achieved gold certification in Finland – a feat subsequently mirrored by every subsequent studio release. Four consecutive albums even debuted at #1 on the Finnish album charts, with significant chart placements on the US Billboard 200 also under their belts. Their commercial success cemented their position as one of Finland`s best-selling artists of all time, boasting sales exceeding 250,000 records domestically.

The bands final performance, a poignant farewell concert titled "A Chapter Called Children of Bodom," took place in Helsinki in 2019. Laiho and Freyberg later formed Bodom After Midnight in 2020, but the project was tragically cut short by the death of Laiho, the bands founding member and primary songwriter, in December 2020. The legacy of Children of Bodom, however, remains a cornerstone of melodic death metal, influenced by death metal titans like Dissection, Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Autopsy, and Obituary, as well as classic metal giants such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Dio, and Ozzy Osbourne.