Tag Archives: Alexi Laiho

Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Alexi Laiho 1979 – 2021

Dead at 41.

Alexi Laiho picked up the guitar after seeing the clip for Steve Vai’s “For the Love of God” on MTV. And along with Zakk Wylde, Jake E. Lee, Randy Rhoads, Dimebag, Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert, these are the guitarists he looked up to.

I’m not a fan of the extreme vocals but the music always had me interested. Steve Vai on his Twitter tribute to Alexi credits him for introducing a brand of “hi octane, intense Metal at its most brutal and beautiful.”

Laiho and Vai even shared a Guitar World cover together.

Extreme melodic death metal is not the o everyone’s liking so here are a few selections in which the riffs and the lead breaks showcase his talent.

“Punch Me I Bleed” from the “Are You Dead Yet?” album released in 2005. The riffs remind me of the Pantera groove metal and the lead breaks from Alexi showcase his ability.

“Angels Don’t Kill” from the “Hate Crew Deathroll” album is like a traditional metal cut in the music department. But the solo is a must listen.

“Triple Corpse Hammer-blow” is also from the “Hate Crew Deathroll” album and it has a solo section that came from “Over The Mountain”.

“Not My Funeral” from the “Relentless Revkless Forever” album released in 2011 is one my favourite solos. Go to the 3.30 mark to hear it.

To me, he’s basically an 80s guitar hero in the 2000’s and he will be missed.

Check out this ESP Guitars 2 minute short on YouTube. If you haven’t heard his riffs and leads, you will hear em on this video and some cool stories.

Did you notice the style and look of his guitars.

Or this from the EMG YouTube site.

Another guitar hero gone too soon.

Rest In Peace.

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Music, Unsung Heroes

Seriously When Did The Machine Head vs Children of Bodom War Start?

I just finished reading the latest blog post from Robb Flynn. Seriously I don’t know what the hell is wrong with a lot of people. I showed everyone in my circle of friends the previous blog post about “Children of Bodom” and everyone laughed their fucken arses off. The same deal happened with the Avenged Sevenfold post from last year.

I cannot understand how people don’t see the funny things in life. Seriously any person that has lived and experienced life, had children, seen births and deaths will appreciate that there are more important things in life.

But that is how life is today. The rock and metal communities are so fragmented it’s not even funny. People that I associate with cannot understand how I can go and watch a Bon Jovi concert and then go and watch a Coheed and Cambria concert and then go watch a Dream Theater concert and then go watch a Trivium concert and so on. But that’s how it was when I was growing up. We liked music. While labels and media outlets liked to give it tags like glam rock, hard rock, heavy metal, thrash metal, power metal, melodic metal, AOR, blah blah rock and something something metal. In the end the fans saw it all as rock music. And it worked.

There was no elitism in metal. There was no “I don’t like that band because they are not heavy enough”. Music was music and going to the show was exactly that, going to the show. It was an event. It was an experience. Somewhere along the line it all changed.

For the record I like Machine Head and I like Children Of Bodom. Machine Head is higher up on the list. I own all of the Machine Head albums and I only own a few Children Of Bodom releases. As far as I am concerned there styles are so far apart that each band satisfies a certain section of my musical brain.

To be honest, if you’re trying to be everybody’s friend, chances are you’re not making a difference. Everyone’s afraid to lose friends. Everyone’s afraid to stand out. Everyone’s afraid of criticism. That is why the world has been taken over by the nerds. The nerds are the outcasts of the day, the bullied ones. But once upon a time it wasn’t like that.

Dare to be unpopular. That is when true popularity begins.

Robb Flynn speaks a truth that he knows and people freak out. Seriously how funny are they both. Laiho refers to the Children of Bodom as “cob” and Flynn calls the rabid Machine Head fans “Headcases”.  All I could do was laugh. I love the world. It’s comedy gold.

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