Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho in 2010
KEVIN NIXON/FUTURE
AS GUITAR WORLD Crosses into its fifth decade of existence, we’ve certainly had to grapple with our fair share of deaths over the years. We’ve said goodbye to countless six-string heroes, including Randy Rhoads, Chuck Berry, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Malcolm Young, Prince, Tom Petty and Chris Cornell, among many others. Truth be told, it always stings a bit more when we have to bid farewell to one of our own, someone who not only had an impact on us musically, but who we were proud to consider part of our family. Dimebag Darrell, Chuck Schuldiner and Eddie Van Halen are a few who fall into that esteemed category — and it is with a heavy heart that we add Alexi Laiho to our list of friends who left us much too soon.