Ryoji Shinomoto, vocalist/guitarist of samurai metal band Ryujin, will be releasing a new album of Children Of Bodom covers on April 18th. His tribute to the works of that defunct Finnish melodic death metal band and their late vocalist/guitarist Alexi Laiho has been dubbed “Children Of Bushido“. It will be released through Napalm Records. In an additional nod to Laiho, the album will arrive on what would have been his 46th birthday.
Shinomoto‘s decision to cover the band’s material this extensively stems from his long-running fandom for the group, which he first discovered when he was still a teenager. It’s also not entirely out of Shinomoto‘s wheelhouse, given that he once performed in a Children Of Bodom covers band.
His take on “Lake Bodom” is the first out of the gate, with Shinomoto injecting some Japanese influences into the track. He stated of that:
“This song is from Children Of Bodom’s first album ‘Something Wild’ and is very popular in Japan. I remember back in high school, I saw Alexi teaching the intro in a Japanese guitar magazine, and I practiced it like crazy.
For my arrangement, I gave it a ‘Samurai Metal’ twist—blending shamisen, traditional Japanese flutes, and a heavier orchestral arrangement to create a more symphonic feel. I also adapted the guitar solos and obbligatos by replacing the original scales with hirajoshi and other traditional Japanese scales, making them more in line with the kind of solos I play in Ryujin. There’s even a little homage to the traditional Japanese song ‘Sakura’ hidden in one part of the solo.”
As for his approach to this tribute album overall, he offered:
“Alexi Laiho—an extraordinary rock star, guitar hero, and composer (Children Of Bodom, Bodom After Midnight)—passed away in 2020. His influence was immense, not just in the west but also in Japan. Anyone who sees me now as a lead guitarist and vocalist in a metal band can easily understand how much he impacted my musical journey.
Last year, when I released Raijin & Fujin with Matt from Trivium, I came across a comment on Napalm’s video calling it Children Of Bushido. That sparked an idea—what if I played COB’s music in Ryujin’s signature Samurai Metal style?
I envisioned replacing the synthesizers with shamisen, koto, and traditional flutes, adding taiko drums to create an even more symphonic sound. I also thought about transforming the harmonic minor and pentatonic scales into unique Japanese scales, like Hira-choshi, which I often use in Ryujin’s music.
The songs I chose for this album are the very same ones I played on stage as a student, long before Ryujin—back when my band was still called Gyze, and even before that, when we were known as Suicide Heaven, performing as a COB cover band.
Alexi’s music continues to live on, even in Japan, far from Finland. Children Of Bushido is a testament to that.”
“Children Of Bushido” track listing:
01 – “Lake Bodom”
02 – “Living Dead Beat”
03 – “Mask Of Sanity”
04 – “Hate Me!”
05 – “Silent Night Bodom Night”
06 – “Follow The Reaper”
07 – “Bodom After Midnight”
08 – “Needled 24/7”
09 – “Downfall”
Pre-orders are available now through lnk.to/RyojiShinomoto-ChildrenofBushido.
