Henkka Seppälä | |
---|---|
Henkka Seppälä at the Ilosaarirock 2009 festival
|
|
Background information | |
Birth name | Henri Samuli Seppälä |
Born |
Espoo, Finland |
7 June 1980
Genres | Melodic death metal Power Metal |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | bass guitar, vocals, guitar, drums |
Years active | 1995–present |
Labels | Nuclear Blast, Spinefarm, Century Media |
Associated acts | Children of Bodom |
Website | cobhc |
Henri "Henkka T. Blacksmith" Seppälä (Born 7 June 1980), is the bassist of the Finnish metal band Children of Bodom. He is also responsible for backing vocals both in studio and live.
Henkka is a very common nickname for Henri and seppä means blacksmith in English. The reason he has a T. in the middle of his name is his nickname being Torso.
Seppälä was born in 1980 in Espoo, Finland. He first started playing guitar at the age of eleven. He got into the heavy metal scene through his brother, who listened to bands such as Slayer and Pantera with his friends. Before that, he had only had contact with glam metal/hard rock bands such as Guns N' Roses and Poison. As time passed, his interest started leaning towards heavier bands, until in the early 1990s he discovered black metal and death metal bands of the likes of Burzum, Dissection and Cannibal Corpse.
He played drums in his first band at the age of 13. The band was called Aivokasvain (Brain Tumour). He was part of the band for two years, and then quit, switching his main instrument to the bass.
When Samuli Miettinen quit Inearthed (the original name of Children of Bodom) in 1996, Seppälä joined the band, (asked by lead guitarist and singer, Alexi Laiho) he then adopted the 5-string bass.
He is the frontman of the band when it comes to interviews and public appearances. Other than the fact that he can speak Russian, Finnish, English, Swedish and some Spanish and French, he is also the most equilibrated member of the band, in a general way.
He studies development studies and political history at the University of Helsinki when he has time, which is not too often. He is also into sports, and has a passion for (European) football. However, he also enjoys swimming. Musically, Seppälä is completely dedicated to Children of Bodom, and is the only member who does not have any side-projects. According to him, the most important things in his life are his family and his band.