CHILDREN OF BODOM's LAIHO Named 'Best Metal Guitarist' In GUITAR WORLD's Readers' Poll

Alexi Laiho, guitarist and front man for the award-winning Finnish metal band CHILDREN OF BODOM, has been named "Best Metal Guitarist" in Guitar World magazine's 15th annual readers' poll.

Laiho "trounced the competition" to win the coveted award, according to the respected publication, besting well-known players such as Kirk Hammett of METALLICA, Alex Skolnick of TESTAMENT, Ihsahn of EMPEROR and more.

Laiho has been called "a guitar hero for the new millennium" by the magazine, and his playing on COB's 2003 release "Hate Crew Deathroll" earned the album a place in Guitar World's "50 Greatest Guitar Albums" alongside records by JIMI HENDRIX, VAN HALEN and METALLICA.

Guitar World recently published a special CHILDREN OF BODOM "Blooddrunk" guitar lesson featuring Laiho and fellow COB guitarist Roope Latvala explaining how to play the title track from the band's new album. The lesson has also been posted online and features video instruction. See it now at this location. The video lesson is available now via Comcast Digital Cable "On Demand."

Laiho will be featured alongside fellow guitar hero George Lynch on the cover of Guitar Center's "June Guitar Buyers Guide." In the publication, Laiho discusses his ESP signature series guitar as well as CHILDREN OF BODOM. Over 1.3 million copies of the buyers guide are set to hit homes beginning June 1 with additional Laiho-related content scheduled for Guitar Center's web site, GuitarCenter.com.

CHILDREN OF BODOM kicked off a North American tour alongside LAMB OF GOD on April 2. The massive, six-week jaunt is slated to run through May 15. The band continues to tour in support of "Blooddrunk", which skyrocketed to #22 on The Billboard 200 chart last April, shifting nearly 20,000 units in its first week of sales. The Top 25 Billboard debut capped a string of exceptional worldwide charting positions for the band, highlighted by a #1 debut in the group's native Finland.