Children of Bodom

Think back to your childhood. Remember all of those commercials for flashy new toys? How great they seemed due to youthful innocence, great camera angles and better editing? You'd save your hard-earned allowance or bug the crap out of your parents until they conceded and finally bought it for you. Excitement and anticipation drove your heartbeat to the point of dizziness. And then, tearing open the package, deflation, as you realize what seemed like a plaything you'd cherish until senility was actually a piece of junk, something else to collect dust in the bin of good marketing for shitty products. Welcome to thrash metal outfit Children Of Bodom's Skeletons In The Closet. Reading the list of these previously recorded covers, such as CCR's "Lookin' Out My Back Door," Sepultura's "Mass Hypnosis" and tracks from the likes of Kenny Rogers, Suicidal Tendencies, Billy Idol and Britney Spears, this album looks like it should be great, an endlessly entertaining laugh riot. However, the band do little to revise or re-imagine any track and, quite frankly, they're not the kind of band that can pull off anodizing country or pop tunes. It all feels flat and kind of lame. COB lack the ingenuity to give these covers that something extra, resulting in another bout of self-deprecation at being fooled again.