Alexi Laiho Interview on Impaled Nazarene
Children Of Bodom Frontman on his Stint with Black Metal Band
Oct 5, 2008
Having once described Children Of Bodom's earlier albums as 'too black metal for the heavy metal fans and too heavy metal for the black metal fans', singer/guitarist Alexi Laiho has made no secret of his love of all things black metal. In addition to those elements that crept into his music via Children Of Bodom, the frontman has also played with Thy Serpent and Impaled Nazarene, providing guitar on the latter's 2000 album Nihil.
Alexi Laiho and Impaled Nazarene
Suite 101: How did you get involved with Impaled Nazarene in the first place?
Alexi: “It was, I think, 1998 and we played a show in Saint Petersburg in Russia with Impaled Nazarene. I’d never even met the guys before but I had always been a fan of theirs. I thought it was pretty cool that we got to play with them and then after the show we went to the hotel and there was us and them drinking and partying. I was talking to the singer and he said they were thinking of getting in another guitar player and then all of a sudden he asked me if I wanted to do it. Back then I was up for anything pretty much so I jumped at it. I did that one album and I did some touring with them but eventually my schedules got so ****ed up. At one point I had three bands constantly touring and making albums and that was too much. Eventually I had to talk it over with the Impaled Nazarene guys and we decided it was better that they got someone else in.”
Impaled Nazarene's Black Metal Style
Suite 101: Was it fun to play more a straight black metal style – something you couldn’t wholly do with Children Of Bodom or your side project Sinergy?
Alexi: “Oh yeah, definitely. That’s why I did it, because I enjoy playing this stuff. It’s so much fun because you don’t really have to concentrate that much. You’re just slamming chords and that’s about it – you don’t have to worry about anything really.”
Suite 101: How seriously should Impaled NazareneI lyrics be taken? Zero Tolerance in particular came in for criticism for its homophobic content…
Alexi: “Well I’m not in charge of the lyrics, so you’ll have to take it up with the singer. With Children Of Bodom it's a different thing but when I play guitar for a band like Impaled Nazarene or Sinergy then my parts or my playing is the thing I'll concentrate on.”
Impaled Nazarene: They Love Their Goats
Suite 101: What is it with Impaled Nazarene and goats?
Alexi: “(Laughs). I don't know - it just became their own inside joke. They noticed that they had goats on their first couple of albums and then they made a rule that every album would have at least one goat song.”
Click here for more from Alexi on Children Of Bodom and Blooddrunk.
Or here for an interview with Cronos on Venom's influence on the black metal scene.
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