Alexi Laiho: The Wildchild who influenced a generation of metal guitarists
It was on the instruction of Alexi Laiho that I did one of the stupidest and most dangerous things I’ve ever done. In the middle of the night, in the middle of December, just outside Helsinki – a city where freezing temperatures are such A Thing that many of the centre’s walkways are in tunnels to stop you turning into a snowman – I and a group of others gamely climbed off a pontoon into the Baltic sea in the pitch dark. Having been in a sauna in the middle of the night (there is no good answer to the ‘Why?’ here), part dare, part matter of fact statement, the man pointed to the huge expanse of water a short, naked jog from the nice, warm shed as the ideal place to cool off. Alexi stood on the sidelines and laughed his head off as it slowly daw...
