A prerequisite of many Finnish bands is being dour and drunk. Children Of Bodom may well have lived up to the drunken side of things but have always had a sense of humour, one that was partly conveyed in their music by various cover versions popping up on the end of albums and EP’s. Now they are all gathered up together on one disc, a whopping 17 of them. To go with some you have heard before are others that you will not, including the odd choice of Kenny Rogers ‘Just Dropped In (To See What My Condition Was In).’ The particular reason for this one being included is due to the fact that it was on the Soundtrack to the completely overrated film ‘The Big Lebowski’ by completely overrated directors The Coen Brothers (there I said it and realise that this statement will piss off many including friends and even fellow writers to this site who hold it in high regard). It also gave the daft Finns the opportunity to dress up for a photo shoot in character from the movie. Nothing saves the cover for being cheesy coated crud either and they might as well have had Alex team up with Tarja for a rendition of ‘Islands In The Stream’ and been done with it. Speaking of utter shite, before I move on to better things on the album I have to also mention Andrew WanKer and ‘She Is Beautiful. I honestly do not see the infatuation with this overrated tosspot and his crap music, you may as well stick with something like Poison and ‘Talk Dirty To Me’ speaking of which…
Some on here are not at all obvious, Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Lookin Out My Back Door’ opens the album with an infectious jig more akin to the Wurzels trapped in a barnyard dance with Korpiklaani, it’s impossible not to enjoy. They also do a good job with Ramones classic ‘Somebody Put Something In My Drink’ complete with a bubble popping in the middle of it and hitting you like champagne flying out the nose. I suppose the purists out there are going to be craving some real heavy meathead metal and you are not totally let down as there are some very obvious choices to be found here. Amongst them is a mangled Sepultura ‘Mass Hypnosis’ which is gnarly as hell but amusingly sounds as though Warmen has thrown a sudden crunch straight out of ‘Bodom After Midnight’ into the mix. There is also ‘Aces High’ by some British band you might have heard about and a good infectious crossover smash up of Suicidal Tendencies ‘War Inside My Head.’
I could personally have done without ‘Rebel Yell’ but not sure if Billy Idol could. He must be sneering all the way to the bank from all the covers done by metal stars of his blisteringly annoying hits of yesteryear. An interesting number is ‘No Commands’ by Stone, a band once featuring guitarist Roope. It’s nothing remarkable but a nice touch. Something that is remarkable however is the fantastic cover of ‘Hellion’ by W.A.S.P. this is up there with the best covers I have ever heard and is a riotous tribute to the god of chainsaw cock rock. To finish things off there is the unexpected but most amusing and infectious ode to that famous song about getting out a car and forgetting to have covered up your spotty minge ‘Oops I Did It Again’ by our favourite scatty strumpet Britney Spears.
So basically what you get here is what you would honestly expect, a mixed bag and one best consumed with plenty of beer and air guitar movements after closing time. Those whacky Finns eh, guaranteed to start a party and puke in your cat at the end of it!
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