Even Scandinavian shred metallers love Toto's Africa it seems. Finland's Children Of Bodom are celebrating 15 years since the release their debut Something Wild and frontman Alexi Laiho has been looking back on their tumultuous career with Total Guitar in the current issue of the magazine.
One of the topics of discussion is the true secret of the guitar playing prowess of the man who Total Guitar readers voted as the Greatest Metal Guitarist Ever in March 2011:
"What I sometimes do is put a CD on," explains Alexi. "Some Bon Jovi or Poison and just shred on top of it, or even crazier shit like Toto or Boston and jam on top of those CDs. Doing that teaches you how to deal with key changes.
"Usually that comes naturally for me, but when you're jamming on top of a Toto CD, it shows you how to save your ass if you fuck up! If I start playing the wrong key I know which note to play or how to use the whammy bar."
Read more of Alexi's memories in the latest issue of Total Guitar - also available for iPad and iPhone from Apple Newsstand.
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