No Life 'til Metal - CD Gallery

1. Scarctic Circle Gathering (1:02)
2. Get Heavy (3:00)
3. Devil Is a Loser (3:29)
4. Rock the Hell Outta You (3:06)
5. Would You Love a Monsterman? (3:04)
6. Icon of Dominance (4:35)
7. Not the Nicest Guy (3:12)
8. Hellbender Turbulence (2:46)
9. Biomechanic Man (3:22)
10. Last Kiss Goodbye (3:08)
11. Dynamite Tonite (3:14)
12. Monster Monster (3:23)
13. 13. (1:06)
14. Does Your Mother Know (3:32)

Lordi are a theatrical heavy metal band from Rovaniemi, Finland and "Get Heavy" is their debut release. Lordi's sound is unapologetically inspired by legendary anthemic hard rock and heavy metal bands such as KISS, Alice Cooper, W.A.S.P. and Twisted Sister. Kiss in particular are one of their biggest inspirations, as several members are part of the Finnish KISS Army. As such it should be no surprise that their sound is straight-forward hard rock with sing-along choruses and melodic musical hooks. Songs like "Get Heavy", "Devil Is A Loser" and "Would You Love A Monsterman" are the kind of songs that will stick in your brain all day long. Of course the cheese factor is high, but that's just part of the fun of the whole thing. The music isn't overly technical or complex but it doesn't really need to be. This band is not about complexity, rather they are bringing the fun back to heavy metal.

The 2008 re-release of "Get Heavy"on The End Records includes the original track listing plus one bonus track.

1. "SCG3 Special Report" (3:46)
2. "Bringing Back The Balls To Rock" (3:31)
3. "The Deadite Girls Gone Wild" (3:45)
4. "The Kids Who Wanna Play With The Dead" (4:07)
5. "It Snows In Hell" (3:37)
6. "Who's Your Daddy" (3:38)
7. "Hard Rock Hallelujah" (4:07)
8. "They Only Come Out At Night" (3:49)
9. "Chainsaw Buffet" (3:47)
10. "Good To Be Bad" (3:31)
11. "The Night Of The Loving Dead" (3:09)
12. "Supermonstars (The Anthem Of The Phantoms)" (4:04)
BONUS TRACKS
13. "Would You Love A Monsterman" [2006 Version] (3:03)
14. "Mr. Killjoy" (3:24)
15. "EviLove" (3:59)

My first exposure to the monsters from Finland was when I saw a video for "Would You Love A Monsterman" on YouTube. I was instantly hooked. The song had an instant hook. The band had a a fantastic look and of course there was lots of pyro. What more can you ask for from a band? Thankfully the band isn't trying to follow modern trends in music, instead choosing to write solid, hooky, hard rock and heavy metal. Their sound is a combination of Kiss (who I am sure are a big influence on this band), Twisted Sister and a bit of W.A.S.P. as well. The music isn't complex, but doesn't need to be. This band is not about complexity or technique, rather they are bringing the fun back to heavy metal. I mean with songs titles like "Chainsaw Buffet" and "Bringing Back The Balls To Rock", what would anyone expect? Lordi's vocals sound a bit like Lemmy from Motorhead, although he is not a carbon copy either. He does has a similar raspy, whiskey soaked sound though. The original ten songs are all excellent, but the big hit of the bunch is "Hard Rock Hallelujah". A monster hit indeed! I was also pleasantly surprised to hear one of my favorite vocalists doing some guest vocals on "They Only Come Out At Night", Udo Dirkschneider. Other guest included Dee Snider & Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister and Bruce Kulick formerly of Kiss. Anyone missing the glory days of KISS, Twisted Sister and AC/DC need to look no further than Lordi. These monsters are delivering the goods.

This CD was re-released as a special edition with a DVD of live footage, a documentary, and music videos. Also there the three bonus tracks, featuring a revamped version of "Would You Love a Monsterman?". Well worth it to invest in the Special Edition version from The End Records. I picked up mine new for under $15.

1. "Scarctic Circle Gathering IV" (:42)

2. "Girls Go Chopping" (4:03)

3. "Bite It Like A Bulldog" (3:28)

4. "Monsters Keep Me Company" (5:29)

5. "Man Skin Boots" (3:42)

6. "Dr. Sin Is In" (3:48)

7. "The Ghosts Of The Heceta Head" (3:41)

8. "Evilyn" (4:01)

9. "The Rebirth Of The Countess" (1:59)

10. "Raise Hell In Heaven" (3:32)

11. "Deadache" (3:30)

12. "The Devil Hides Behind Her Smile" (4:12)

13. "Missing Miss Charlene" (5:12)

Lordi have become pretty well known world wide. Their combination of insane costumes, catchy hard rock tunes, dark themes and their big Kiss influences have worked quite well together. "Deadache" is the band's fourth full length album and continues in a similar mode as past albums. With success comes bigger budgets and production. Unfortunately the production here seems a bit more slick, robbing the band of their raw edge a bit. Personally, I found this to be a little disappointing as the raw edge combined with the simple, catchy songs are what I liked about their past albums. However, that is not to say that "Deadache" is bad. Far from it. Actually, I would imagine that most fans of this band will like this just as much as their past albums. The songs still have those throaty vocals by Tomi "Mr. Lordi" Putaansuu. The lyrical themes are still based on b-grade horror flicks and related topics The lyrics are suppose to be tongue-in-cheek comedic while mixing in the scare factor. Opening track "Girls Go Chopping" is about woman on a killing spree. Oddly enough, this song is also one of the best and most memorable songs here. "Monsters Keep Me Company" is a ballad-like song with a hooky, sing-along chorus. Visions of Cookie Monster signing on Sesame Street come to my mind every time I hear the chorus. "Man Skin Boots" has an almost punk-like opening before breaking into a straight forward hard rocker with a slight industrial edge at times, mostly due to the eerie keyboards. "Dr. Sin Is In" is a simple Kiss-inspired hard rocker as well. "The Devil Hides Behind Her Smile" is yet another hard rock number with a sing-along chorus and those pop "woooahhh-ohhh-ohhh" chants throughout. The album finishes off with a final straight forward, melodic hard rocker in "Missing Miss Charelene". Really, "Deadache" is exactly what anyone should expect from this band. Despite my complaints about the slick production, Lordi continue to write their simple, catchy, hard rock songs complete with the monster themes.