Children of Bodom started way back in 1993 when friends Alexi Laiho and Jaska Raatikainen formed a death metal band called Inearthed in Espoo, Finland. Alexi played guitar and also did the vocals, and Jaska played the drums. A friend of theirs, Samuli Miettinen, joined on bass. The band released three demos as Inearthed, after the second was recorded guitarist Alexander Kuoppala joined and Samuli had to leave because his family was moving to the United States. Around the end of 1995 current bassist Henkka Seppälä joined along with keyboardist Jani Pera Pirisjoki, who eventually flaked out and was replaced by Janne Wirman, who remains there to this day.

With this lineup, they were ready to record their first album, Something Wild, even though they weren’t signed to a label yet. They were rejected by every label they sent demos to, except for a record label in Belgium, so Inearthed signed with them even though it was a terrible deal that didn’t pay for the studio and they would have to promote the album themselves. Not long after the album was recorded, Spinefarm Records received a copy of Something Wild from a friend of Alexander’s. The Spinefarm guys thought it was so awesome that they wanted to sign Inearthed right away, but since they already had the deal with the Belgian label, they had to pull a trick. The band told the Belgian label they “broke up”, and then they formed a new band with a new name (that coincidentally “just happened” to be releasing a new album called Something Wild), and that band was signed to Spinefarm.
Everybody always wants to know what the meaning behind the band name Children of Bodom is. When Inearthed was picking a new name, there happened to be a phone book lying there, open to a map of the Lake Bodom area by Espoo. And there happens to be a dark story concerning Lake Bodom…

...Would you like to know more about Lake Bodom?

Anyway…Children of Bodom has had a solid lineup for over ten years, with the only major change being when Alexander Kuoppala left in July 2003 in the middle of a tour. Despite this wasn’t the best way things could have ended, his band mates understood and let him go his separate way without tearing him apart in the media. This left the rest of the band a few weeks to find someone who could learn twenty songs and play them well…and this is how none other than Roope Latvala joined the band.
Ever since then, things have been great, tours are always fun and there is not any senseless drama like in some other bands today. These guys are like brothers and it shows.