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.