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Rating: “What? 4 stars to a band with those horrid masks? To that singer with the raspy voice? To a ridiculous parody? It must surely be a horror!”
Calm down. Surely many might have thought this, but let me explain. Lordi is certainly not one of those bands whose albums are difficult to assimilate, one of those bands that loves virtuosity and long, complicated songs, or that makes voice changes its trademark, quite the opposite. Their sound is characterized by easily digestible songs, catchy and very simple choruses, in full 80s style, with Kiss as the main inspiration. Take a cauldron, throw in early W.A.S.P., the attitude and indifference of Twisted Sister, a bit of Mötley Crüe and Ratt, a pinch of nostalgia for the times gone by, and the result will be Lordi.
Emerging in the early 2000s with albums that fully reflected the characteristics listed above, among which it is worth mentioning “The Arockalypse” and “To Beast Or Not To Beast”, the Finnish monster group left us in 2014 with “Scare Force One”, a usual album with the band's characteristics, but which showed the first signs of monotony, especially in a genre in which, at a certain point, there's not much more to give except serving the same warmed-over soup. Aware of this "obstacle", Lordi decided to propose an album in which a sort of story will be inserted, so a kind of half concept. Half of the record will indeed feature six songs in the band's full style, while the other six will present a story that, although cartoonish in a certain sense, succeeded fully in its experiment.
Two fundamental elements that make this album stand out as one of the best in the Finnish combo's discography are the decisive contribution of the keyboards, played by keyboardist Hella, who manages to create the right atmosphere in every song without ever going overboard, and the excellent performance behind the drums by drummer Mana, who had already shown his skill in "Scare Force Zone."
Among the tracks in full band style, it's impossible not to mention the driving "Let's Go Slaughter He-Man" and "Sick Flick", with the former relying almost entirely on the keyboards and the chorus, surely devastating live, and the latter based on the raspy and abrasive voice of Mr. Lordi, which personally reminds me at times of Chris Boltendahl of Grave Digger. Also curious is "Mary Is Dead", a slow song that to many may seem boring and monotonous but that in turn calls back as a sort of tribute to the master of shock rock, Alice Cooper. Moving on to the next songs, which will narrate the story, there is a different approach. Let's start from the fact that this "story" is centered on territorial control among different monsters, a werewolf, a zombie, a witch, and a vampire, and as mentioned before, although poorly structured and with a strong cartoonish appeal, in the end, it manages to earn a pass. For the first time, every single song is structured in multiple parts, alternating between slow and sophisticated parts, and others where the guitars scratch as if possessed and Mr. Lordi's voice is rougher than ever. This is the case for "And The Zombie Says" or "Heaven Sente Hell On Earth." The final track "The Night The Monsters Died" is characterized instead by a very slow tempo in the first part, which is also reflected in the chorus, while in the second part there is a sudden acceleration, also dictated by the lyrics that see the resurrection of the monsters' bodies, and therefore fits perfectly. Special mention goes to the lyrics, quite amusing regarding the first 6 songs, but as for the remaining 6, they are damned effective in telling the story precisely, but without boring the listener, with also a few moments of sarcasm.
The perfect score would be 3 and a half stars, but if there's one thing I've always admired in bands, whatever genre they offer, it is the courage and determination to want to change their attitude, to avoid the risk of falling into the most absurd banality and boredom (did someone say Krokus, AC/DC, Steel Panther? No? No one? Well..). For this reason, I consider this album truly excellent, and I hope that this step further towards a sort of change can continue with increasingly better results.
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