I guess every metalhead knows about Children Of Bodom by now, and I think everyone that knows them has an opinion about them. I started out liking them at first, but that feeling gradually diminished over the years. Fact is that this is one hell of a skilled metal band with a sound of their own and a huge fan base. And after the digital teaser EP version of this record, here comes the full cover compilation album by these Finnish drunks. Time to get the Skeletons Out Of The Closet!!

The songs on this record are from a range of pop, rock, hardcore and metal bands and are mostly of songs that the band has a huge respect for. Some of the songs have been covered by the band a long time ago already, like ‘Don’t Stop At The Top’ by The Scorpions, ‘Silent Scream’ by Slayer and ‘Hellion’ by W.A.S.P. In average the band pays a decent amount of respect to the original versions, yet still manages to make it sound like a Bodom song. This makes it a fun listen for real fans of the band.

 

Some songs seem like a logical choice for this band to cover, like of course Sepultura, Slayer, Anthrax (they cover ‘Anti-Social’, which in their turn is also a cover from the band Trust), Suicidal Tendencies, Alice Cooper, Poison, Iron Maiden, Stone (the thrash metal band from Finland) and W.A.S.P. Yet the more surprising songs are the ones that make this record really interesting, like their homage to one of the greatest movies ever; The Big Lebowski. They decided to cover both ‘Lookin’ Out My Back Door’ from Creedence Clearwater Revival and ‘Just Dropped In’ by Kenny Rogers, the latter of which supposedly has Alexi blowing chunks somewhere in the second verse because of a severe hangover. Of course their classics cannot be skipped for this one either, like their cover of Britney Spears’ ‘Ooops!…I Did It Again’ and The Ramones’ ‘Somebody Put Something In My Drink’, both good for a fun laugh. Other weird cover choices are ‘Rebel Yell’ by Billy Idol and ‘Hell Is For Children’ by Pat Benatar, which they manage to convert into metal versions quite successfully.

 

And if the seventeen listed songs weren’t enough yet, there is also a hidden track from the one, the only, King Diamond and his song ‘Waiting’. Expect your nuts to shrivel up when listening to it! All in all this disc is definitely worth checking out if you’re a true member of the Hate Crew. If not, don’t bother. Personally I had a good time checking it out and listening to what they did to some of the songs, although a couple of them were already in my possession. Nevertheless a very entertaining release from these Finnish hellbastards!