Children of Bodom is a Finnish extreme metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group consists of Alexi Laiho (Lead vocals, guitar), Janne Wirman (keyboards), Henkka Seppala (bass), Jaska Raatikainen (drums) and Daniel Freyberg (guitar). They have released nine studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD. The band's third studio album, Follow the Reaper, was their first album to receive a Gold certification in Finland, and subsequent studio albums have acquired the same status.
Something Wild (1997-1998)
Something Wild was produced, recorded and mixed by Anssi Kippo and Children of Bodom at Astia-studios (Lappeenranta, Finland). In an attempt to promote their band, they opened a show for Dimmu Borgir in 1997. Their success was such that a representative from the Nuclear Blast label approached them with a contract for a European release, a deal which started on the subsequent year. Something Wild was released in late 1997 in Finland and in 1998 worldwide. In early 1998, for promotional purposes the band recorded a music video of the song "Deadnight Warrior". The video was directed by Mika Lindberg and had a slim budget of EUR1000. It made use of simple scenery, which consisted essentially of an outdoors location after a snowstorm. The band played for a couple of hours at night, with an average temperature of minus fifteen degrees Celsius.  Although Laiho is very critical of all of the music he has written, he notes that he dislikes Something Wild the most of all of his albums. When recording this album, Laiho had tried to mimic the style of one of his idols, Yngwie Malmsteen, which is why Something Wild is considered one of the most technical albums Children of Bodom have produced. Despite this, he still considers it to be their "most important" record, as it "put them on the map."  Children of Bodom's first European tour began in February 1998. They played with bands such as Hypocrisy (at such festivals as Under the Black Sun), The Kovenant and Agathodaimon, but suffered from the absence of Wirman, who was concentrating on finishing his studies. He was replaced by pianist Erna Siikavirta for the duration of the tour.  Months later, the band recorded two new songs again at Astia-studios with producer Anssi Kippo, entitled "Towards Dead End" and "Children of Bodom". The latter was included in a compilation by Spinefarm Records, which after being released remained on the top of Finnish charts for eight consecutive weeks. In late August, the band played the song "Forevermore" live for the first time during a show in Russia. This song was later renamed "Downfall".  Their second European tour occurred in September of that same year, but once more Wirman was not able to perform with them. Laiho's then-girlfriend Kimberly Goss (from Sinergy and formerly of Dimmu Borgir, Ancient and Therion) assumed the keyboards this time. By the end of the tour, Kimberly invited Laiho to join Sinergy, which at the time was still in its early stages.
what is something wild?
Something Wild was produced, recorded and mixed by Anssi Kippo and Children of Bodom
Something Wild was produced, recorded and mixed by Anssi Kippo and Children of Bodom