You guys, in my opinion, did something very unique by combining black metal vocals, heavy doses of 80's power metal as well as Malmsteen and Satriani type soloing. Was this a goal of the band from the start or is this just how the songs turned out?

When this band started like in '93, it was more a pure death metal style music and more straightforward. It has developed to what it is nowadays. We haven't made any radical changes. We have always just made music and made songs and demo tapes and stuff like that and it has developed to this more melodic style that it is today. I think most of the people want to call us a black metal band because of the vocals, but musically there are so many elements from different kinds of music like you mentioned 80's heavy metal and also death metal, a little bit of black metal, but it's a mixture of different elements so you can't say it's only one or the other. We like to just call it heavy metal. Aggressive and energetic.

I'm not a fan of the Malmsteen/Vai/Satriani type soloing stuff, but presented over music that you guys create with the vocals and the pure heaviness and melody makes for a great listening experience.

Yea, solos and stuff are not the main thing in our music, but Alexi is a great guitar player and Janne is a great keyboard player so we just like to do a few technical parts, but the basics are in the melodic heavy metal style. The only thing is, I don't know if the vocals are going to change in the future, but the most important thing is the energy and the aggressive style and that is what we are going to do live when we play. We are going to provide that energy to the audience.

How were each of the band members trained musically?

Me and Alexi are the guitar players and we have both taken lessons in different things, even blues and jazz. I think it's very important that you play different kinds of music because then you know more music theory. Jazz, for example, is a very improvised music and it gives you many ideas for solos and stuff like that. Our keyboard player is really a jazzy piano player. He has never played heavy metal before this band. He has been in this band two years now and he is very into heavy metal and plays a more heavy metal style. We have been listening to and playing heavy metal, but we have been trained to play everything. That is very important.

How does the band go about composing a song and about how long does it take to complete a song?

Now we are writing songs for the next album. Alexi usually makes the songs at home and they are almost ready when he comes. Every part is ready from the beginning to the end. Of course, everybody is bringing their own aspect to the music when he comes to the rehearsal room and we start to play them. All the riffs and solo parts are ready when they get to the studio. It takes us like about two weeks for Alexi to do one song from beginning to end. Then, he makes the lyrics usually in the studio.

I've heard that before. Supposedly, that's the reason they aren't in the booklet that comes with the CD.

Yea, yea. In the first album, we had this problem. The lyrics weren't ready and we didn't want to print any shit in the booklet. When we did the "Hatebreeder" album, then he made all the lyrics like two weeks before we went to the studio and even some in the studio so it was kind of a weak process.

Any info on that new CD you mentioned?

We are going into the studio in June or July. We are recording in Sweden, in Abyss Studios, where Dimmu Borgir has been. It's going to be like 4 or 5 weeks in the Summer that we will do the next album. So we have almost like 5 months now to complete all the songs and make everything ready. We have to have everything ready when we go into the studio this time. When we did the "Hatebreeder" album, we did several arrangements and lyrics in the studio so it was a lot of pressure because it wasn't ready.

How many songs do you already have written?

We have now 2 or 3 complete songs and hundreds of riffs. We have been working on 2 complete songs with the whole band, so we have time, but the Summer comes soon. Let's see what happens. Alexi's way of making songs...he has tons and tons of riffs and he just has to piece them together. The music will change a little bit.

Besides the 80's metal and "guitar gods" that you mention in nearly every interview, what other types of music and bands do the members listen to and are influenced by?

I like to listen to Ozzy Osbourne because of the guitar work and overall music. Manowar is my long-time favorite band. Bands like Slayer, Judas Priest, King Diamond. I don't like to listen to black metal much these days because it has gone to the extreme limits for that style and I think the whole thing is suffocating. There are tons of black metal bands. Of course, there are tons of power metal bands like Hammerfall. I like to watch what is going on in the scene all the time, but I don't like to listen to the bands. I think my roots are in the 80's, they were the best.

Any US tour plans?

Well, right now we are focusing all our energies on the new album. But we would love to come to the United States. Alexi has been on vacation over there for like a month. There has been discussions of playing some festivals like Milwaukee Metal Fest but of course nothing is certain. I've never been in the States so it would be great just to see the place, but even better to play there.

I know a TON of people that would love to see you guys over here.

I don't have any idea what kind of metal scene is in the States. I've heard that it is very underground.

That's an understatement.

But it would be a dream come true to play there. I don't know if would be some festival dates or touring with some bigger bands. It would be great to first play some metal fest and then tour. I think it would be like after the Summer, maybe in September.

You know, our festivals are usually held in auditoriums, they aren't quite the same as these huge outdoor events that you have over there.

I don't know. I've heard a few bands, they've had discussions about going touring in the States but then everything goes wrong with either financial things or political things. So tours in the States need to be planned pretty well. I don't think we are big enough to headline a tour in the States so we'd have to go with a bigger band, although maybe in Europe after the next album.

The keyboard is really it's own instrument in Children of Bodom more so than in other bands. The keyboard solos are basically guitar solos played by keyboards.

That's because we want to use the keyboard more like it's own instrument not just as a background instrument like most black metal bands do. Janne is a very great player. Millions of bands have double guitar melodies and solos, but we are considering more guitar and keyboard solos because it's an aspect that not many bands do these days. Why should we put the keyboards in the background because it's a very important and useful instrument so we put it in the front.

Who arranges the keyboard solos? Does Alexi do it on guitar and then transfer it to keyboards or does Janne take care of it?

They usually do it together. Alexi usually shows Janne "play this and this" and they figure out the harmonies in the rehearsal room. Mostly Alexi does the guitar parts and the keyboard parts in his head and then it is arranged. Of course, if Janne has a better idea, Alexi is not any kind of dictator. Everyone is allowed to bring ideas into the music which is good because if Alexi was like that then it wouldn't work out.

Was it easy to find a keyboardist that possessed such skills or did you have to search a lot to find him?

No, actually, when we went to record the first album we kicked out our old keyboard player. Janne was a friend of our drummer's from school and our drummer asked him to come play. It was just amazing how the guy could play. We were like "whoa"! So immediately, it was him. We didn't have to try out any players because there aren't that many good keyboard players that could play like that.

And you said he wasn't into metal when you met him and he first started playing?

He doesn't even have long hair. (laughs). He was studying music in school when we met. He was into more this jazz improvising keyboard playing. I think this is why when we are like "ok, this is your part, play something" it comes quick because he is used to improvising because he played jazz earlier. He doesn't have to think too much when writing solos. Of course if the solo is shitty then we say "hey, try again" but we have no difficulties with him. He always figures out something great.

Some people in the metal scene feel that your name and your album covers keep you guys from having a larger following than you could have. How do you feel about that?

We wanted to have this reaper thing as a concept of the band. He was on the first album with a red cover, on the second album with a green cover and now on this new CD the reaper is like destroying Tokyo. (laughs). We will definitely keep him alive somehow on the next album.

Anyone that does take the chance to pick up your music is usually happy, but I can understand how if you saw the band name or something and didn't know the story of how you picked it, they might not understand you were a metal band or anything.

Oh yea. You mean the name of the band? That's a question we have been answering very much. Have you heard the story about Lake Bodom?

Yes. (editor's note: if you don't know it, inquire, but really if you like the band, it's not too hard to find out where they got their name).

Yea, when people first see our name "Children of Bodom" they are like "what the fuck is this? it doesn't mean anything" but after we explain it they are like "whoa, this is great". We wanted to have a national Finnish aspect by using that name. Every person here in Finland knows what is going on, but it is sometimes hard to explain to foreign what it means, but I think it's a cool name.

Just curious, does the name offend people in Finland since it revolves around such a tragedy (of course, whether it's a tragedy or not depends who you ask, but for the purpose of the question I asked it like this)?

It's not offensive. Lyrics in the songs are also about Bodom. In one part it goes "among the victims who died, something wild has survived" and we are trying to be mysterious in a way. We are an energetic band on albums and live and that is the wildness that has survived. It's that kind of aspect.

You are pretty young guys. Does this affect the band with writing / rehearsing / recording / touring?

Every metal band these days are pretty young guys. I also think we aren't so much young guys anymore. We are all about 20. Some people say that if you are too young you cannot write good music, but that is very not true. A lot of young guys here in Europe and Finland write good music nowadays. It has nothing to do with how old are you are. It doesn't matter if you are 10, 15 or 50.

For the new live disc, any reason why you chose Tokyo over any other city you played?

Actually, it was our record label's idea. They were with us in Tokyo. We played three shows in Japan with In Flames. It was a good place to record because their equipment was great and one of the reasons was because we played in Tokyo two nights so we had two chances of playing good. If the first one went wrong, then don't play the same part wrong on the next evening.

Alright, I think I'm out of questions.

Ah, well, figure something out. (laughs).

Ok, let's see.

There was one interviewer from the States who asked me if I could be any character from Star Wars who would you be?

(laughs). What did you answer? (sorry for stealing that question to whomever asked, but I was hard pressed hehe).

(laughs). Han Solo because he kind of like this drifter who doesn't know much of anything, but he keeps going on and handling himself. He is kind of like a Mr. Nobody. I don't want to say I want to be Darth Vader because he is good or Luke Skywalker because he is good or the hero or anything, but Han Solo but is in the middle.

Alright, I thought of one more. List your top 5 albums.

Ok. King Diamond's "Conspiracy" album, Slayer "Hell Awaits", Manowar "Kings of Metal", Ozzy Osbourne "No Rest For the Wicked", Judas Priest "Painkiller". That is such a fucking raw album, it's definitely heavy metal with a capital H.