Riff Tone

Everytime I Die

Children of Bodom

Guitarmetal2000s

Original Gear

GuitarESP Alexi Laiho Signature (likely ESP Alexi-600 or ESP Alexi-200, as used in studio for this era)

AmpPeavey 5150 (studio recording amp for 'Follow the Reaper' era, confirmed for main riff tones)

PickupsEMG HZ-FH2 (passive humbucker, bridge position, with preamp booster)

Amp Settings

gain9.5

bass7

mid3.5

treble7

reverb0

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 2000 (Follow the Reaper album). Alexi Laiho used his ESP Alexi signature with EMG HZ passive pickups and a Peavey 5150 head for main rhythm/riff sections. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff section; minimal pedal use confirmed in interviews. Settings based on forum posts and typical genre/era usage.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationrazor-sharp attackarticulate note separationcrisp, cutting trebleminimal ambiencefocused low endmodern metal clarity

Difficulty

The main riff requires fast, accurate alternate picking, tight palm muting, and precise rhythm changes typical of melodic death metal. The tempo and technical demands make it challenging for most players.

Sources

Children of Bodom Amp Settings - forum topic - Ultimate Guitar Questions about Alexi's guitar tone : r/ChildrenOfBodom - Reddit

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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