Exclusive: Former Children Of Bodom guitarist Alexander Kuoppala interview about Thyrargo

Former Children Of Bodom guitarist Alexander Kuoppala being interviewed about his past, present and future.
Interviews, news, articles, reviews and more: chaoszine.net
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► Interview: Arto Mäenpää
► Editing: Santeri Kujala
► Thumbnail: John Wins
#AlexanderKuoppala #ChildrenOfBodom

[@jucci69]

Back in the day I played with Alexander in a cover band for a while. We did weddings and parties. Ale played the trumpet, but he could play pretty much anything, he is that musical. I had no idea he was a bloody guitar titan, he never mentioned it. Until one day he asked if he could try my ESP telecaster out and shredded the shit out of it. I was absolutely devastated, took me a while to be able to pick the thing up, knowing that there is a virtuoso guitarist in the band goofing in the horn section. Once our keyboard player missed a ferry on a wedding gig and the wedding waltz was a piano piece. Ale took the notes and played it prima vista. Never bothered to mention he could play the piano too. But I suppose that was just him being Alexander. Never made a fuss about himself. He was there to have fun and enjoy music. I wish him and Thyrargo all the best!

[@Ramon-gg3bd]

Lovely story, thanks for sharing :)

[@hyorinmaruthug9172]

Holy fuck! I never thought I would ever hear a word from this guy! The original guitarist of COB in the greatest era of COB!

[@dayanmcar7578]

Wow So many years without knowing anything about him, important guitarist in a great era of bodom.

[@Ballovirta]

Yeah he was a great guitarist and had some awesome leads/solos on something wild

[@MrT1o9P9i2]

COB did their best albums with him imo

[@Ballovirta]

@@MrT1o9P9i2 totally agree with you 🎸

[@KevinGsWK]

Ikr? The only recent thing about him was a decade ago

[@benthomas8765]

BEST era of bodom

[@NarviMusic]

So nice to hear from him. I would also love to see an interview with Roope

[@humppa5]

I was exactly thinking the same thing when I heard him. 🤘🏻

[@NarviMusic]

@@humppa5 Yeah, would be nice to hear the story from his point of view. And I mean, it's Roope, who wouldn't want to see that guy, we all miss him, would be interesting to know what he is up to nowadays

[@NorgGrimm]

@@NarviMusic Roope became a heavy drinker after getting kicked out of CoB.

[@prehistoricgentlemanbird9131]

@@NorgGrimm didn’t become a heavy drinker. He always was a heavy drinker which resulted in him being booted from CoB.

[@lkkfkKJK]

I got to play with Ale few weeks back, an awesome experiense

[@OnkelTomAngelripper1]

Seeing Alexander doing well is honestly the best thing this year

[@al69420]

I know right brother. I hope you are doing well too my friend. Only love \m/

[@danieloconnell4225]

Co-wrote some of the greatest death metal music of all time, but now (and for years) works with special needs kids? This guy is amazing, and deserves so much respect. Really.

[@GarrettTurneyMrTremelo]

Alexander sounds like a super standup guy. There has never been a lot of content focusing on him from his time in the band, and hearing how he carries himself in this interview is amazing from a fan's perspective. I'm happy more has been brought to light!

[@oxtoxes]

@RGGuy4Laiho roope was a better guitarist tho just check out sinergy for example

[@melgibsonfan9082]

The quality of CRY's was garbage all around. Roope was a monster in Sinergy and the few rare videos you can find online where he plays by himself.

[@melgibsonfan9082]

@RGGuy4Laiho I saw them live 5 times before that DVD was made and never once heard that awful tone. I love the band but their live recordings later on sounded muddy to me. Alexi and Roope both sounded like sloppy drunks around 2010 onward. Sinergy was perfect form.

[@oxtoxes]

@RGGuy4Laiho i was talking about technique as well. But I agree, they didnt play that clean later on because practise was replaced by something else 🍻

[@simonarsenault3298]

Roope was great too! But for cob. I prefered Alexanders. Roopes slopiness might come from the fact he was rly a drunk

[@rogeliocamachoosuna2666]

THANKS ALEXANDER. BODOM'S FIRST FOUR ALBUMS ARE PURE GOLD.

[@laurentdupont-gagnon7889]

they are all gold!

[@BLACKDIVISION1]

And so are AYDY and BD only that they have other style and production. That has started with the HCDR.

[@oxtoxes]

Dude is very humble and down to earth and yet a straight up legend

[@reappear89]

If you still haven´t realised ,those features are in his blood. He is a finn goddamitt.

[@P3KaX]

This interview is pure gold. We, the ones who were there listening to those guys, 20+ years ago, have been waiting for his real reasons to leave the band. It was said that quit the band due to his family things, but it is better to hear it coming out of his mouth, instead of reading the same thing on the media. So, congratulations for this.

[@babbonatale276]

Wow, he looks like a really good man with a clear mind. So sorry for Alexi, Rope and all those rock/metal musicians with alchol issues. Alexander shows that you can be a great musician, then teach, do side projects, have a family and basically make all the choices you want in your life. Just don't be stupid, don't drink your life away.

[@video_ouija7114]

This guy was on the best bodom albums

[@bonkosuckacocka983]

Guys I'm still devastated that alexi is gone. If you're hurt too, I love you okay?

[@sebastiansiemaszko1976]

:///

[@evanhayes5891]

Prove your love to me.

[@jonppu-sf224]

Alexander is a teacher at my school

[@DionysLucifer]

What a great interview. Alexander is a legend. And good job by the interviewer to actually let Alexander speak instead of interrupting him the whole time (that pretty much annoys me with most of the interviewers).

[@kaaoszine_virallinen]

It is also a lot about the interviewed person. If he replies in a way that there is short pause after each sentence it is something really fucking hard to know when he actually stops replying to a question and when he wants to continue answering it. :D In this case it was easy as he replied and then when he had said what he had to say he stopped and let me ask the next one. It is not always the interviewers fault really as some people are just hard to read :D

[@TrulyStucker]

@@kaaoszine_virallinen great job on that interview, please consider making one with Roope. In case he is available.

[@pupu6oi74]

Alexander is very humble. Great player.

[@briars-atlas]

Legend. Responsible for a few of the great metal albums of the late 90's / early 00's. Hope he's happy and healthy and can't wait to see this interview.

[@Ddhxii]

Never thought I’d see this. It’s amazing after all this time

[@danieleizaga3589]

Right ? LOVE this guy

[@sinistermephisto65]

What a pleasant man. Anyone that works with special needs kids is a hero in my eyes. So humble

[@ozakki8719]

What a dude. Thank you, Alexander.

[@stevehunt914]

Oh my actual god..... Alexander fucking Kuoppala! i have MISSED you dude!! You were the secret ingredient that made Bodom RULE. You left a dent that couldn't be filled. Thank you SO MUCH for this interview i've often wondered about how you're doing. that final Tuska gig was one of the greatest things i've ever witnessed. i LOVE that you still have/use the Hatecrew guitar. REALLY looking forward to hearing Thyrargo!! ♥

[@aeugnewtype]

Such a great interview from such an influential guitarist. It seems most people never mention him when talking about COB and attention is always on Alexi, but Alexander played some of the meanest and tightest rhythm guitars in all of metal music for those four albums he was there. And the fact that the music quality declined after he left says a lot about how strong the musical collaboration was between him and Alexi and how it made all their music that much better. Thyrargo is also awesome and brutal, so I hope to hear more from Alexander in the future.

[@CryonicDragon]

Alexander seems like a cool guy and I understand his decision to leave. A real legend

[@fishtitz6830]

Very interesting to hear why he left CoB. I always wondered why he did that, but his reason is completely understandable. Respect to him for going his own way, and thanks for doing the interview in english! Will absolutely check out his band when they release an EP.

[@cosmos0916]

Thanks Alexander! Alexi maybe smile watching this interview in heaven:)

[@iirohapponen]

Interview with roope!

[@chaoszine]

Lets see if that happens. =)

[@MightyALX]

Yes!

[@RobboElRobbo]

please!!

[@jpnou8454]

Totally!!

[@cinzamiasma]

Alexander is a nice guy, amazing guitarist and a person who seems to understand the simple meanings of life. Cheers from Brasil!

[@hulluu.elf007]

Sooo nice to know about you Alexander! We are a lot who totally comprehend as Henkka the reason why you left the band. Keep doing good stuff!

[@OldManDoom]

Man it is good to see Alex. The band wasn’t the same when he left, the albums up to when Alex left the band are some of my all-time favorite metal albums. I don’t know if he was just the lucky charm or something, but the difference between Hate.Crew and Are You Dead Yet? was like the end of an era for me. I hope Alex is doing well

[@cky2k3]

It was blood drunk that ruined it for me until i heard 'Morrigan" & the album I worship chaos! The following album Hex is good as well, subliminal messaging on Alexi's fate seems riddled within tho, and Halo of Blood i skipped and found that it was also ok when i went back. But the album 'Follow the reaper' and previous are the Best by far!! Kissing the Shadows is still some of the most melodic craziness ive ever heard from a guitarist!! While being some of the smoothest, most precise, effortless, and fastest notes in a riff, chorus, solo, and outro that I've ever heard executed in one song!! The entire song is shredding riffs as if solo'ing for the entire song at your absolute limits! The back and forth solo between guitar and synth is a masterpiece, and the outro solo is insane

[@Ramon-gg3bd]

Fully agree, those first 8 years were their absolute best. I lost interest in them after Alexander left. Maybe he kept the band grounded?

[@KromheimOfficial]

Such a humble guy! Really interesting stories as well

[@adamdavid8579]

Respect to the interviewer for doing such an organic job of directing the interview back and forth between Alexander's non-COB work and his history with the band!

[@chaoszine]

Thanks dude. 😊🤘

[@usaguitarmaniac]

Alexi had his own style and sound. I could recognize his sound/technique out of thousand other guitarists. He was absolute unique. R.I.P. Nice interview.

[@consonaadversapars]

I was at a COB concert during their Hate Crew Deathroll days and Alexander was great, he stayed after the show, giving autographs and taking photos even after all the other band members left. :D Thank you for the interview and good luck with your projects!

[@ahmedsgallery3507]

Its beyond legendary how Alexi was able to learn so fast and accomplish so many music abilities so so fast!! its talent that God put in him and his incredible dedication to the guitar. VERY RARE type of individual RIP King Laiho ... just wow

[@peteredwards2318]

I'm a big fan of the Bodom era that contained this mans guitar work. Saw them live in London when I was 16, my first proper metal gig, and it blew my mind.

[@Rockersrule1011]

I also saw them on their 20 Years Down And Dirty tour in London in 2017. Best gig I've ever been too! Mainly because they played mostly songs from their first 3 albums. The cherry on top was playing Towards Dead End as the final song.

[@caiobotrel5458]

Such a nice guy and interview! KaaosTV always bringing out the best.

[@chaoszine]

Thanks dude. 😊🤘

[@NoName-t7e]

5:10 years ago I was talking to the guys from Impaled Nazarene about Alexi Laiho and they pretty much said word for word what Alexander said, that Alexi just lived for music, that he totally dedicated himself to that. Good interview btw.

[@nn4299]

Yesterday watched this and really happy and proud Alexander doing well and kudos and thank you Alexander for being kind to those people with disabilities to give something from your end so that they can enjoy life ❤️ heart of gold and hope to see you more often with music you may have upcoming

[@MichaelHolmgaard]

Amazing to finally hear from this guy! In my opinion, Alexander is the most iconic rhythm guitarist in COB, having featured on all of their classic and best albums. He was part of COB at their peak and was such a great fit. Alexander clearly had a very close connection with Alexi and I think it hit hard when he left. Probably also had something to do with the band's decline...

[@craigwoudstra2932]

Decline? Who are you

[@Kalkschwarz]

KaaosTV, I hope you know that this interview is a real treat for us long time CoB-fans.Thank you very much!

[@Monochromatic666]

Alexander, thank you so much for all the things you did for the band!

[@UnderratedRiffs]

Thank you for this interview! CoB's first 3 albums are such classics! They were the last "new" metal band that I fell in love with when they came out!

[@opusamens]

Same! I got to know the band with Hatebreeder and loved it immediately. But I stopped listening to it after Hatecrew Deathrow

[@NahtramMetal]

Great interview! The first four albums were definitely my favourites!

[@Lofausto66]

Great man and true legend. Thanks for the music Alex.

[@DevanArya]

​Yeah! I've been waiting for news about him for so long! Thank you for this!

[@chaoszine]

I was also interested about what he is doing musically so I reached out and he said he would love to do it so we made it happen. 😊🤘

[@DevanArya]

@@chaoszine I would love to see an interview with Latvala as well, that would be really great!

[@chaoszine]

@@DevanArya lets see if that would be doable at some point. Dont have direct contact to him so its a bit more trickier to organize than this was. =)

[@hellrazzer23]

@@chaoszine Can you interview Jaska too? He's known Alexi since they were teens.

[@chaoszine]

@@hellrazzer23 there will be time for that when his new band will release new music for sure. 😊

[@ironbar5786]

Its so great to see an interview with Alexander. We dont see him in interveiws and he seems like a very cool guy

[@asentientpatchofhaze]

Alexander is such a cool guy, thanks for doing an interview with him! And also thanks KaaosTV for making content also in English - I understand enough Finnish to be able to watch interviews with my fav Finnish musicians in their mother tongue but this way I can also share this stuff with my friends who don't speak it at all, so thank you for that :)

[@C_GOODIES]

He is a stand-up dude. Never actually have heard him talk before. Also, super appreciative with them talking english. They are super good at talking too haha

[@djahjeband7249]

Alexander sounds like a real chill dude..awesome interview & RIP Alexi..

[@СергейДубровин-ы7к]

In 1997-2003 was best albums COB

[@Nakkiteline]

wow. i had no idea alexander is as cool cat as he is! such a good dude. and damn great guitarist! i wish i could get guitar lessons with him some day, i wanna play their songs so bad! he is really musically talented too. grear interview!

[@Vestu]

I've been waiting for a Kuoppala interview for 16 years or so :D a CoB fan since 2000

[@chriszaferes5984]

What a GREAT interview! Really respect Alexander, and agree with some of the comments on here. A lot has come to light hearing what actually happened.

[@paty666]

Nice to hear from him! Alexander seems to be a really nice guy!

[@yarpenzirgin]

That was great to watch. He is such a nice guy. Good he said what was him leaving about. Oh, and I will check Thyrargo when it's out. It is heartbreaking his band will not meet CoB / BaM at some stage.

[@fatsuperfly]

The fans still love Alex! Man! Keep making music, ill keep listening bro! Ppl sometimes don’t realize, you can love your job, but family is always first.

[@al69420]

What a fucjin amazing interview. Thank you bro. I love chaoszine

[@chaoszine]

Thanks!

[@GOS61]

Another great player !!! - awesome to here from Alexander !!!!!

[@LaObraDeMarteLODM]

I loved the fact that you guys uploaded this interview. I have been waiting for years to hear Alexander's side of the story. I have a great appreciation for Alexander because COB with him was when I started listening to the band.

[@mikeg6913]

He’s sounds super kind and a nice guy glad he’s doing great 👍

[@humppa5]

Thank you for this interview KaaosTV, any fans at any doubt would appreciate this. Alexander the Great 🖤

[@Penisdoll]

He was on all my favorite Bodom albums!

[@stevew5211]

Alexander seems like such a great bloke, I'm always curious about projects he's been in. Can't wait to hear Thyrargo. Greetings from Australia!

[@sucersdungeon]

An important man. A crucial piece in the Bodom magic puzzle. Was good to see this interview.

[@Renaisance01990]

This guy very honest in explaining his jorney tq Alex

[@HenryGosuen]

this interview was so important to my life

[@demigod1013]

Early era COB with Alex was their best work - legendary/ groundbreaking. They peaked with Hate Crew Deathroll, if not Hatebreeder🤘

[@leandrovasquezvega6003]

Thanks for the interview, it's really good to see and know about Alexander.

[@lowbow9028]

Good to hear about him 👌🏻

[@chaoszine]

He was part of in my opinion the best albums the band put out. They are all great though but I consider first 4 the best. 😊

[@mokuscsik]

Thank you for this! Really nice interview. Alexander seems to be such a down to earth guy. Would be nice to have him as an uncle. Kitos for making it in English! 👍🏻

[@hyramjackson]

Thanks for this interview, his guitar work in the early Bodom albums is amazing

[@martintucci8609]

Such a down to earth dude, it's really cool listening him talk about Bodom years.

[@vironized8606]

Great to see and hear Ale. Thanks for the interview!

[@jessiemajeskie8821]

Holy shit I never thought I'd see him in recent years. 😮 Good to see he's doing well.

[@MissJacqification]

Arto is such an excellent interviewer.

[@darkstar19]

100% will be supporting Alexander and Thyrargo. Dudes a legend.

[@CR-tw7hc]

Much respect for this guy. COB will live on!

[@craigwoudstra2932]

That was the interview I wanted and the interview I needed

[@eviekroos431]

Great interview, thank you for making this.

[@chaoszine]

Thanks for the nice words. We will prolly do another one in the fall when his new band has new music out. 😊

[@nicolasmaugy4253]

Alexander played on the best albums !

[@rollos71]

Thanks a lot for this interview ! CoB has been the biggest "felt in love with band" of my life, and in fact, the four first albums where my favorites... So many master pieces in these... When I discorvered the band, Alexander had already left and I was like, who is this mysterious guy who participate to create these incredible albums... So it's very cool to listen to his thoughts about this period, the split, and after. This man seems to be super nice and cool ! And thank to him for these four albums !

[@ulaska2516]

KaaosTV thank you very much, millions were waiting for this interview !!!

[@chaoszine]

Seems that I wasnt the only one yes. 🤣 There is plenty of Finnish musicians who I would like to interview like for example Jukka Nevalainen / Sami Vänskä from NW fame etc. along with few other names. Lets see if I can get these sorted some day. 😊🤔

[@vinaymulukutla358]

Really enjoy hearing that strong Finnish accent in both Alexander and the interviewer. It's a very distinctive accent and my roommate (also from Finland) has it.

[@franknada8235]

Finnish language has somewhat limited types of sounds, but also such that aren't used in English. The sounds are very clearly pronounced (drunkards&fast talkers the exception), unlike in English in so many cases. A Finnish person would need to "reprogram" his wiring of strong and dominantly guttural sounds (less tongue action) to a very different kind of fast but _relaxed_ tongue action and sounds coming more from the front of the mouth. Many Finns have even difficult to pronounce a B which is soft and relaxed (they pronounce it as P), G (->becomes K), D (becoming T).... and the R is strong so the soft variations of R are difficult. Finnish language has connections to the proto-Indian languages and other surprising languages too.

[@WarmthandMischeif]

This was a great interview! I'm so glad that we got to hear from Alexander. Thank you for this!

[@Jason-ut8wc]

Such a nice snd humble guy. Thank you!

[@Mastela00]

thank you so much for posting this, great interview

[@filipevieira3343]

This guy and Alexi made beautiful music together!

[@Underp4ntz_Gaming_Channel]

Roope and Alexi were the duo... sadly they backstabbed him. Alexi only got so much credit is because he also was the singer.

[@nfrankiksa4596]

nope he was the main writer, even in sinergy. Don't talk nonsense @@Underp4ntz_Gaming_Channel

[@yellowlightingbolt]

He seems like a nice guy and his English is excellent to be based in Finland. I hope he catches up with the other member when he has the chance before something like what happened to Alexi happens to any of them.We never know what is waiting around the corner

[@ottomaani1322]

ROOPE LATVALA INTERVIEW!

[@ilikevideos4868]

YES PLEASE

[@ironbar5786]

yeeeeeeesss

[@michaelk4896]

Needs to happen!

[@atteljas]

Alexander is brilliant to be interviewed. Roope isnt as outspoken. Also after Bodom he has been laying low which we should respect. Also main focus on Roope would be why he wasnt in the Bodom, which would most likely be hard for him. Remember when he came out late 80s he was first metal guitar superhero and he was influence on Laiho.

[@ryssijussi1]

I hope Roope is doing well, he is a hell of a guitarist but also a thirsty one.

[@MickyVegaMusic]

It is so good to hear Alexander explaining the reasons why he left. I can totally understand his situation at that point. He seems to be like a super nice guy. If I ever meet him, I will thank him for those epic albums he made with COB, you definitely can tell the passion the whole band felt at that time. If the passion goes away, you must stop. There are other ways to enjoy music. That is the most honest thing you can do.

[@inashentears]

The best Bodom Years were when Alexander was in the Band... i remember as it was yesterday when i saw "Something Wild" in the NEW Releases Section in our local record store and i grabbed the cd and gave it a listen... instant fell in love... Something Wild/Hatebreeder/Follow The Reaper/Hate crew Deathroll - The big 4!

Great to hear what he has been up to. Always liked Alexander in COB and it's cool he is so down to earth.

[@achillesamusic]

Such a kind guy, thank you so much for your words

[@benthomas8765]

This is great! Best Bodom albums were when he was in the band.... no disrespect to Roope. I have wondered for 18 years what Alexander was up to. I think this interview covered all my questions

[@thepredator666qc4]

nice to hear from this legend!!!

[@AlexSnapeMusic]

Thank you so much for this interview!! It was lovely to hear from Alexander! KaaosTV always has the best interviews.

[@achromatic1]

Great interview!! Thanks so much to everyone involved!

[@JorgeLeitner]

Awesome to finally see an interview from the man himself

[@petercybercop5918]

what a heart-warming interview :')

[@pbmdh]

Alexander sounds like such a cool, smart dude.