Children of Bodom electric guitar great Alexi Laiho passed away at the age of 41 in December.
Now, the final music from Laiho, recorded with his post-Bodom supergroup, Bodom After Midnight, is set for release on April 23 via Napalm Records.
The three-track EP, Paint the Sky With Blood, was recorded in Laiho’s native Finland in 2020, and was meant to be the first taste of the Bodom After Midnight project, with a full-length to follow.
Said the remaining band members in a statement, "Like ourselves, Alexi was beyond stoked about these songs and anxious to get these out so we are happy that we can fulfill his wish.
"Needless to say that we are honored and proud to be a part of his very last creative work and unleash it the way he wanted it to. It’s time to let the beast out of the cage one more time as a celebration of Alexi’s music, legacy and the man himself."
The EP features the title track, described as “strikingly reminiscent of early-Children of Bodom elements, while also adding exciting modern influences into the fold,” as well as the songs Payback’s a Bitch and a cover of Dissection’s Where Dead Angels Lie.
In addition to Laiho, the Bodom After Midnight lineup includes guitarist Daniel Freyberg, drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost), bassist Mitja Toivonen (ex-Santa Cruz) and keyboardist Vili Itäpelto.
Paint the Sky With Blood is available for preorder via Napalm Records.