CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho was honored with a posthumous lifetime achievement award by the Finnish radio station SuomiRock. Accepting the award on Alexi‘s behalf was his sister Anna, who said in her speech: “Thank you very much, both from Alexi and from the whole family. It’s really great that Alexi‘s precious musical heritage is being honored in such a wonderful way.”

The Finnish metal musician passed away in December 2020 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. He died of alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue. Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system. The 41-year-old had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Alexi and drummer Jaska Raatikainen founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert in December of 2019. Last year, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, all of which were released posthumously.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in “100 Guitars From Hel” — a massive concert piece he composed.

At the time of his death, Alexi was still legally married to his former SINERGY bandmate Kimberly Goss. In January 2021, Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reported that Laiho tied the knot with Goss in February 2002, and the couple never officially divorced. Although Laiho filed for divorce in November 2002, he quickly withdrew the petition and never filed another.

Three years before his passing, Alexi reportedly married Australian-born music publicist Kelli Wright. However, according to Finnish law, Laiho and Wright would not have been able to wed, as Laiho and Goss had never terminated their marriage.