BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, the band launched by ex-CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho, has inked a deal with Napalm Recordsfor all territories excluding Japan. Joining Alexi in the group are drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (PARADISE LOST), guitarist Daniel Freyberg (ex-CHILDREN OF BODOM), bassist Mitja Toivonen (ex-SANTA CRUZ) and touring keyboardist Vili Itäpelto. BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT said in a statement: "We are far beyond thrilled to start working with Napalm Records. We feel that they can provide the best possible temple for a boulder called BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT to roll over all the archeologists who claim that metal music is on the brink of extinction. "Since the world is more or less in a standstill state right now, we are spending all the time we'd normally spend on the road making new music. Our new family at Napalm is giving us the liberty to make music that you can bang your head to very soon." Thomas Caser, managing director of Napalm Records, added: "Welcome BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT. I have been following the career of Alexi Laiho since the first CHILDREN OF BODOM albums and have always been a huge fan. It's needless to say that we are delighted to finally work with such a talent and we cannot wait for the first bits of music to be unleashed to the metal world. This will be BIG!" Named after a track on CHILDREN OF BODOM's "Follow The Reaper" album, BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT recently entered Finnvox studios in Helsinki, Finland to record its first music. The band said: "As most of our gigs and touring plans for 2020 got canceled, meanwhile we've been working hard on our upcoming full-length album that's supposed to see the light of the day in late 2021. To make the wait a little easier, we want to give a treat to our fans and announce that we've just finished the recordings for two brand new bone-crushing and neck-breaking BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT songs! Needless to say, we're absolutely thrilled about this and we can guarantee there's killer stuff coming up your way! Cheers and stay tuned for more info!" BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT made its live debut on October 23 at Rytmikorjaamo in Seinäjoki, Finland. The 17-song show consisted entirely of CHILDREN OF BODOM material. Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henri "Henkka T. Blacksmith" Seppälä (bass) and Janne Wirman (keyboards) announced their departures from CHILDREN OF BODOM in October 2019. Two months later, they confirmed that they were the rightful owners of the CHILDREN OF BODOM brand. CHILDREN OF BODOM played its final show on December 15, 2019 at the Black Box in Helsinki Ice Hall. A short time later, Finnish music magazine Soundi reported that the rights to the CHILDREN OF BODOM name are held by AA & Sewira Consulting Oy, the company owned by Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman. In June 2019, the trio filed an application with the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland, and their application was subsequently granted for a five-year period starting on October 1, 2019. As a result, Laiho, who was CHILDREN OF BODOM's singer, guitarist and main songwriter, isn't authorized to use the band's name without permission from Wirman, Raatikainen and Seppälä. In November 2019, Laiho admitted to Helsingin Sanomat that there had been tensions in the BODOM camp for quite some time. "The original decision [to end the band in its current form] came when the other guys said they just couldn't do it anymore," he said. "There were family reasons for it. I respect their decision. I myself have a wife and stepdaughter in Australia, and my wife understands my lifestyle. I'm pretty much gone [most of the time], but always I come back and I give them my all. Nothing is more important to me." According to Laiho, things came to a head when CHILDREN OF BODOM performed in Russia in October 2019. "We fought a lot within the band, and I can honestly admit that those fights were mainly my fault," he said. "They always started with some misunderstanding." Relations within the band apparently got so bad during the Russian tour that it looked as if CHILDREN OF BODOM would break up right there and then. But cooler heads prevailed, and the group decided that the shows in Finland would be their last with the most recent formation. CHILDREN OF BODOM's last album, "Hexed", came out in March 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records. Photo credit: Samu Ruotsalainen
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