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By JEFF MAKI
For those who don't yet know this band of monster-costume-wearing-Fins, Lordi is gonna do all they can to fix that with The Arockalypse (March 20, 2007). Lordi has a horror-movie-inspired, theatrical stage show along the lines of GWAR featuring swords, pyrotechnics, exploding baby dolls and meat. The band members don costumes, with lead monster man, Mr. Lordi, having eight-foot retractable Satan wings. Check out the rest of the band members: Kita the alien man-beast, Amen the unstoppable mummy, Awa the vampire countess and Ox the hellbull. Mr. Lordi is described on the band's official web site as “The on-treader, the unholy overlord of tremors. The most fearsome khan of all/Count nosferatu/the bastard son of a thousand megalomaniacs. Bio-mechanic man. Fanged giant monster, glowing red eyes, dressed in symbiotic armour. Cyberundertaker, the hulk of hell.” Got all that? The band also urges its fans to live the “Monsterican Dream,” which they adopted to describe their sound.
Lordi combines the loud and boisterous ’80s hair metal choruses with edgy guitar rock somewhere between the Scorpions and Rob Zombie. The band has had success in their native country, as well as the United Kingdom and Sweden. They took home the Eurovision award for their song “Hard Rock Hallelujah.” Eurovision is a contest which in the past helped jump-start the careers of Abba and Celine Dion, so Lordi's winning was surprising to say the least. There also has been a fair share of controversy involving protests from Christian groups over the band's “Satanic image” and religious leaders in Finland warning that listening to Lordi could inspire Satanic worship.
So most of this sounds somewhat familiar, huh? Well, it is. Lordi is not treading any new ground here. Costumes, theatrical stage show, controversy—all very familiar in rock and metal. And no, I don't think for a second that Lordi are Satanists, and, furthermore, something so silly shouldn't even attract attention from religious groups and protesters. I mean, they are wearing latex masks and have song titles like “The Kids Who Wanna Play With the Dead,” “Would You Love a Monsterman!” and “Night of the Loving Dead,” for god's sake! Any normal and reasonable person can make a fair judgment that this band is strictly for fun and has little, if anything, to do with the occult.
But is there anything here to get into, aside from the band's outrageousness? Yes. Apparently, Lordi has earned some respect from some big names in rock, including Dee Snider and Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister), Bruce Kulick (KISS) and Udo Dirkschneider (Accept), who all appear on the album. However, if you're expecting something dark and extremely heavy, look elsewhere because Lordi's ’80s-driven sound is neither. What you do get is loud, singalong choruses, guitar riffs and a certain novelty that will most likely bring a smile to your face on more than a few occasions.
Some especially memorable songs include the Rob Zombie-esque opener and heaviest track, “Bringing Back the Balls To Rock,” the power-metal ballad “It Snows In Hell,” “They Only Come Out At Night,” a Halloween-themed anthem which sounds like it could have been on a slasher soundtrack circa 1986, and “Chainsaw Buffet.” With The Arockalypse you get 15 songs, including three bonus tracks. The special edition also includes a DVD featuring videos, live footage, and documentaries.
What the record company and band have done here is quite clever. You have to kind of hand it to them. They have taken a concept and image that has been used time and time again to lure in fans of ’80s rock and hair metal and have tried to combine it with modernized style and controversial image to attract a younger crowd. It appears to be working in Finland and in Europe. Will this fly over here in the United States? My best guess is no. Though Lordi's music is catchier and more accessible than say, GWAR's, is there room for another monster-costumed band here? GWAR had damn near fell off the face of the map, before their inclusion in the Sounds of the Underground tour, so where does that leave Lordi?
The Arockalypse is a great party-rock album, however, and the band should find at least a small level of success in America. This is a fun, over-the-top band with enough humor and cheese for a stadium full of nacho-eating metal dudes. Though, like any novelty, Lordi's music and image will grow thin and wear off eventually. For now, Lordi indeed proves that “monsters have more fun.”
LORDI
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