Children of Bodom Frontman Details Worst Experience of 2009

It wasn't the first time Children of Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho was injured after drinking himself into a stupor, and it might not have even been the most embarrassing. That honor probably goes to the 2007 mishap in which he tripped while bowling, and had to put down his guitar for six weeks while he recovered. But the injury he sustained after an April 26 show in Dallas, when he fell out of his bus bunk and landed on his shoulder, was Laiho's low point of the year.

"I was passed out in the bunk, lying there kind of half-assed, and the bus took a really hard turn, and I went down really hard," Laiho told Noisecreep. "I broke my shoulder and one of my ribs, too. But I did 10 shows with the broken bones. I was on medication and I was in a lot of pain. It was killing me and I don't know how I did it, but I still played."

Laiho's luck ran out on the 11th show in New York City. Four songs into the band's set on the No Fear Tour (with Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying and Municipal Waste), the guitarist was in such agony he had to leave the stage. "I think my rib was sticking one of my muscles," he said. "I felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife into my lungs and heart. I just couldn't keep going."

Many in the crowd could tell Laiho was hurting and sympathized with his plight. Some, however, thought the guitarist was on a rock star trip and responded like angry football fans whose team just missed a crucial extra point.

"It's not a great f---ing feeling when you're playing in front of 3,000 people in New York, and all of a sudden you're behind the drum riser not being able to breathe and vomiting blood while people are chanting 'bulls---, bulls---,'" Laiho recalled. "I'm sure most of the people didn't know what the hell was going on, so they just thought I would take off in the middle of the set and not come back. But I'm glad that [vocalist Tony Foresta] from Municipal went up there and explained to the crowd what was going on. After that, we just decided to go home. There were only four shows left anyway."

Children of Bodom immediately returned to Finland, and Laiho rested for two weeks. When he returned to the doctor for an X-ray, the shoulder had healed properly and there was no permanent damage.

"My rib was still broken, but that just takes more time to heal," Laiho said. "But now that's fine as well. I was just lucky."