Roope Latvala: Children Of Bodom stabbed me in the back

Latvala, far right, with Children Of Bodom
Latvala, far right, with Children Of Bodom

Former Children Of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala says his old bandmates stabbed him in the back.

He was brought into the Finnish outfit in the middle of the group’s world tour in 2003 following the departure of Alexander Kuoppala and made his studio debut on Children Of Bodom’s 2005 album Are You Dead Yet?

Latvala left the band in May 2015, with the group saying at the time: “As we parted ways with no bad blood we wish him nothing but the best and thank him for allowing us to share the last 12 years of our lives with him.”

But the guitarist says he thinks he was treated unfairly and reports he was dismissed on the day sessions for latest album I Worship Chaos were due to begin.

He tells Finnish website YLE (via Blabbermouth): “I really feel stabbed in the back by those guys. I’ve been bitter at those guys – I was fired without an explanation.”

As a result of his shock exit, Latvala says he “started to focus on drinking” and didn’t pick up his instruments for two years. He says: “I couldn’t touch my guitars. It was as if it was forbidden for me to play guitar.”

However, Latvala reports that he’s turned a corner and is now firmly focused on making music and has been working on several new tracks.

Latvala was replaced in the Children Of Bodom lineup by Naildown frontman and guitarist Daniel Freyberg.

Children Of Bodom: Metal Detector

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.