Everyone has that one band that got them into heavy music. For some it was BLACK SABBATH, for others it was METALLICA or maybe even a band like SLIPKNOT. For me, it was LORDI. I used to be a huge fanboy and I was all about all things LORDI back in the day. Don’t forget to check out our interview with Mr. Lordi.
I believe somewhere around the end of high school I started to branch out elsewhere, and I wasn’t the biggest LORDI fan in town anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I have always followed their career, listened to every new piece of music and bought their albums when they come out. I love them and owe them my whole musical journey.
The newest record ”Killection” from the Finnish beasts sees the monster squad doing something they have been basically doing more and more in recent years, and that is experimenting. No LORDI album sounds the same and they never take the easy and comfortable route when it comes down to crafting albums with individuality.
This time around the latex mask and platform shoes wearing unit has come up with a fictional compilation album, which is supposed to contain all these different LORDI-ESQUE songs from different decades. This is both a hilarious and a unique idea, which I don’t really recall being done before, and if it is, it can’t be better than a monster metal band doing it.
The idea is great, and LORDI, of course, has the songs and the production to back it up. The first proper song ”Horror for hire” is LORDI par excellence: melodic hard rock with soaring chorus sure to get caught in your ears. Fitting to the theme, the song also has a slight 80’s edge with fast riffing reminiscent of bands like ACCEPT, DIO and JUDAS PRIEST. One thing constant throughout the band’s whole discography is the fact, that they always manage to have a killer song (pun semi intended) opening the album.
Immediately following is a 90’s sounding, ROB ZOMBIE type rave ”Shake The Baby Silent,” which finally sees LORDI return to their roots. As LORDI fans probably know, this type of heavy industrial metal was the original vision of Mr. Lordi, and it, sure enough, plays out very authentic. This song – and I hate to use this word with this type of music – is a true banger.
With a band like LORDI, you are probably thinking, ”Songs from different decades, huh? Well, there must be some awesome tunes from the eighties!” And you are not wrong. LORDI truly has mastered the sound of the hairiest and most rock and roll era of human history. ”Like A Bee To The Honey” truly sounds like a lost gem of the eighties, and that is mostly because of the composers of this track. Yes, it was indeed composed by Paul Stanley of KISS himself with Jean Beauvoir, who is responsible for a lot of great 80’s songs. Throw in a saxophone solo by Michael Monroe and you got the cheesiest song ever recorded by a Finnish band. In my mind, LORDI was the best choice to perform this track.
Now, one of my favorite moments on the record is the track ”Apollyon,” which drips of the late 70’s. This particular witches brew is composed of some progressive rock, ABBA (or more like Abbaddon am I right? I’ll see myself out), ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA and horn sections that hardly fit, but end up adding to the songs authenticity. If you would have played me this song when I was in elementary school I would have never believed it was LORDI. I hardly believe still.
Digging even further back in the sands of time, ”Blow My Fuse” is a rattling and fuzzy 60’s rock and roll number in the style of CREAM and LED ZEPPELIN. While I don’t like to just list off songs, it would be a huge mistake not to mention the track ”Zombimbo.” First of all, the name is both the worst and the best thing on earth, and secondly, who doesn’t love a literal monster disco hell? Put your dancing shoes on and be ready for a Saturday night slaughter, because LORDI is here to boogie.
I love the amount of effort and detail on this album by the band and the producer(s). The songs are composed so that they really have a lot of the tropes of different decades so that when you hear them, you will recognize the time it’s supposed to be from. This does not apply only to the compositions and instrumentation themselves, but to the whole production as well. I mean, I love the fact that each song has its own unique production. They don’t it like that anymore, so it is super refreshing. The concept is also served by the stable ”SCG” -interludes serving as short radio skits – in typical LORDI fashion, of course.
While not every song is a gem, ”Killection” sees LORDI once again putting out a more than decent record full of witty and not so witty song titles, rocking riffs, amazing hooks, horror galore and attitude to match. It baffles me how underrated LORDI is in Finland considering how unique sounding and looking the band are, and how great a lot of their songs are. We should all be ashamed for how we have treated the band in the past.
During the writing process of this review, I realized, that the reason I stopped being the big LORDI fanboy I once was, is the fact, that I started to find a lot of their songs simply too cheesy for me. I mean, what happened to the once badass monster band with songs about monsters, demons and chainsaw buffets? Who would have thought, that a band of literally monster characters singing about all the things grotesque would be a bit too cheesy, right?
It was not LORDI who changed, it was me. After ”Killection,” I am happy to say, that I am back to my old ways.
Lineup
Mr. Lordi -vocals
Mr. Amen – guitars
Mr. Hiisi – bass
Mr. Mana – drums
Ms. Hella – keyboards
Tracklist
- Radio SCG 10
- Horror For Hire
- Shake The Baby Silent
- Like A Bee To The Honey
- Apollyon
- SCG 10 The Last Hour
- Blow My Fuse
- I Dug A Hole In The Yard For You
- Zombimbo
- Up To No Good
- SCG 10 Demonic Semitones
- Cutterfly
- Evil
- Scream Demon
- SCG 10 I Am Here
Label
AFM Records
Links
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