When you were a child, did you ever guess when your date with destiny would finally arrive? Did you expect to have a nice, long life or did you expect to burn like a road flare, full-fire until there was nothing left to burn? I had my suspicions growing up that I wouldn’t last long, I must admit. I’m not kidding, the latest I expected to be alive was 2018. I figured that if I made it past the age of 35, then I had hope moving forward. It’s not like I didn’t try…my teenage years were ones for the record books, I spent several years in a hellish desert surrounded by people who wanted me dead and pilots who would forget to turn off the weapons controls before accidentally popping a rocket off when I’m in danger-close proximity. My alcohol exploits are legendary (I’m sure Lohnes still thinks I’m mental after one of my more infamous dives into the bottle) and that’s just what I’m bothered to write about at the moment. Somehow, in the years I’ve lived, I’ve managed to not get killed. Trust me, I’m as surprised as everyone else who knows me is.
The story behind this song isn’t simply a ton of noise and Alexi Laiho tearing the silence into shreds with his guitar work. Laiho wound up going for broke one night with cheap vodka and the next thing he knew, wound up with broken bones, stitches in his forehead and a newfound point in his life, the moment where he finally stopped, looked into a mirror, and wondered if it was time to wind it down a bit. I had that moment…today I might have the equivalent of five shots of liquor a year, and I don’t drink beer at all, never have. I might still get rowdy when I find an empty backroad but I’m not trying to walk a car sideways at every last intersection. For every hour of music like this, there’s at least a few minutes of quiet, calm stuff to offset it. Everything in moderation is more than just health-speak, it’s the proper way. Just take my word for it, okay?
Laiho passed on recently at his home in Finland at the age of 41 after battling health issues for years. Remember, no matter what you will die, but until then don’t forget to live a little. Here’s to you, Alexi.
