Children Of Bodom Are Returning Again In 2027, And What Started As A Tribute May Be Becoming Something Bigger

What began as a farewell celebration of a legacy is beginning to feel like something more enduring.

Children Of Bodom have confirmed they’ll reunite once again next year, returning to the stage for a co headlining performance at Finland’s annual Tuska Festival in Helsinki.

The appearance marks another chapter in a revival few fans expected to see after the band effectively ended in 2019 and the devastating loss of frontman and guitarist Alexi Laiho in 2020 (per The PRP).

A Celebration Of Music

Earlier this year, surviving members reunited publicly for the first time across two special performances described as A Celebration Of Music, tribute shows designed to honour Laiho and the catalogue the band built across more than two decades.

Those February performances carried enormous emotional weight, original guitarist Alexander Kuoppala, bassist Henkka Seppälä, keyboardist Janne Wirman and drummer Jaska Raatikainen returned to perform Children Of Bodom songs together again, with Lost Society frontman Samy Elbanna stepping into the difficult role of handling Laiho’s parts.

For many fans, the biggest question wasn’t whether the songs could still work without their iconic frontman, It was whether returning to them would feel right and early reactions suggested the answer was yes.

The shows leaned heavily into classic era material and approached the performances less as replacement and more as celebration, acknowledging that Alexi Laiho’s presence remains inseparable from the identity of Children Of Bodom while still allowing the music to exist in a live setting.

The setlists reached deep into the catalogue with tracks including Living Dead Beat, Sixpounder, Silent Night, Bodom Night, Needled 24/7, Blooddrunk, Follow The Reaper and Downfall.

With Tuska 2027 officially locked in, the reunion no longer feels like a one off moment, there’s still no indication that new music is planned and no suggestion the group is returning as a permanent full time band.

But after years of silence, Children Of Bodom are proving there’s still space for these songs to live, and for fans to celebrate them together.

For now, Helsinki gets the next chapter.