THAT WASN’T THEM – VOLUME 2: STEALING FROM CHILDREN

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Today we have yet another guest post by ElvisShotJFK — this one being the second installment in a series he created in his last post.]

Don’t you hate it when you hear a good song but don’t know who’s it’s by? Sometimes it’s more frustrating when the song is a cover and you can’t figure out who’s actually playing it. The more obscure the song or band, the harder it is to figure out where to look. Even with the wealth of knowledge to be found online these days, Napster Syndrome is alive and well, making some songs difficult to accurately track down. People still get it wrong, no matter how many times someone who knows what they’re talking about says something.

Like Cradle Of Filth (who I mentioned earlier in Volume 1), Children Of Bodom have recorded several covers over their career, going so far as to release an album’s worth of covers, some of them recorded specifically for the album. Not only that, but they used midgets to help promote the album.

Heavy metal midgets. Awesome.

Where was I? Oh yeah . . . even though they’ve done a fair amount of covers, there are songs that have been credited to them that were actually done by other bands.

Let’s get Blooddrunk and dive right in . . .

“The Final Countdown”

Anyone with a pulse and hearing in the 80’s should know the song by heart – or at least the basic melody. It remains a staple of Europe’s live show, has been used in commercials, at live sporting events and other uses. It has also been covered (and also butchered) many times over the years.

But this is not among the covers that Children Of Bodom have recorded. There are two versions that have been credited to them, neither of which really sound like CoB.

First, there’s the one by Dispatched:

Note: There are versions of this on YouTube that have the Dispatched song playing to one of CoB’s videos, which may have caused the confusion – or worsened it.

Next there’s this cover by Norther:

I will spare you any of the horrible versions of the song. IF you’re a glutton for punishment, several versions (including the preceding two) can be found here.

“Powerslave”

Sorry, try again. It’s not Children Of Bodom. It’s actually Ancient Wisdom.

By the way, Dimmu Borgir is sometimes credited with this cover instead.

“The Trooper”

Hey, it’s Maiden again! But alas, this is not Children of Bodom. This is actually from early Sentenced, released in 1993.

Never fear, Children Of Bodom actually have covered Iron Maiden. Here’s “Aces High” for your enjoyment:

With that, I’ll bring this installment to a close. I have something different in mind for the next volume, but chances are I’ll return to covers at a later date. Until next time, do your homework, fools!