Henri Samuli Seppälä (Born June 7, 1980), better known as Henkka T. Blacksmith, is the bassist of the Finnish metal band Children of Bodom. Henkka is responsible for backing vocals both on 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.
Biography[]
Henkka 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 90s he discovered black metal and death metal bands of the likes of Burzum, Dissection and Cannibal Corpse.
He played at his first band at the age of 13. It 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, Henkka joined the band, (asked by lead guitarist and singer, Alexi Laiho) adopting 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 Finnish, English, Swedish and some French, he is also the most equilibrated member of the band, in a general way.
He studies political science and political history in 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. Henkka is completely dedicated to Children of Bodom, and is the only member who doesn't have any side-projects. According to him, the most important things in his life are his family and his band.