In the world of heavy metal, collaborations between legendary musicians are always a source of intrigue—especially the ones that almost happened. One such near-miss was the potential union between Joey Jordison, best known as the powerhouse drummer for SLIPKNOT, and Alexi Laiho, the virtuosic frontman of Finnish melodic death metal band CHILDREN OF BODOM.
According to MURDERDOLLS vocalist Wednesday 13, Laiho was at one point seriously considering joining the MURDERDOLLS, Jordison’s horror-punk side project that gained a cult following in the early 2000s. The revelation came in a teaser for an upcoming Guitar World interview, which leaked online.
Wednesday 13 said: “At the beginning stages of the second album, Alexi Laiho from CHILDREN OF BODOM was going to be the new guitarist in the band. It would have been Joey, me, and Alexi. Damn, that guy could shred. That was almost a thing. Can you imagine what that would have sounded like?”
Although the reason for the unrealized collaboration remains unknown, Wednesday 13 explained the initial considerations behind it.
“Joey wanted to be as crazy on guitar as he was on drums,” said Wednesday 13, adding that they both “wanted to shred” but he nor Joey were shredders by nature. However, if Alexi had joined before the second album, his addition would have opened up that possibility.
While the collaboration never ultimately came to fruition, the band itself did go on to release two albums, carving out its own unique niche in the rock and metal scenes. Still, the idea of Laiho‘s blistering guitar work paired with Jordison‘s ferocious drumming is enough to make any metalhead wonder what might have been.
Tragically, both musicians have since passed away. Joey Jordison died on July 26, 2021, at the age of 46. His death marked the loss of one of the most influential drummers of his generation. Alexi Laiho passed away just months earlier, on December 29, 2020, at the age of 41, following years of health issues.
Source: metaladdicts.com
