Live review and photo credit: Adrian Hextall (Journalist/Writer/Contributor) Myglobalmind Webzine
The monsters are out in force tonight. To be fair, it resembles a normal Sunday night in London but adding to the mayhem are Finnish horror movie aficionados Lordi. Returning to the UK in support of latest release “Scare Force One”, they present a wonderful mash up of Alice Cooper, KISS, classic vintage horror movies and a dash of vaudeville theatre. Even if you’re not a fan of their music, there’s no denying the band know how to put on a show. Although to be honest it’s difficult to understand how anyone cannot like Lordi’s music. As well as the stage show, their sound comprises the best elements of the artists mentioned above and yet brings something totally unique to the mix that makes them stand out from the crowd.
Standing out from the crowd is something that’s very easy to do of course if you stand at well over 7 feet tall thanks to massive platformed boots that make Gene Simmons’ Demon look short! Given the band arrive on stage with the PA blasting out “God of Thunder”, it’s no surprise that KISS has inspired Mr Lordi’s outfits over the years.
By coincidence, the European tour has happened at the same time as the 60th Anniversary of the Eurovision song contest. Lordi, of course, won in 2006 with record points thanks to “Hard Rock Hallelujah”, their anthemic masterpiece from the “Arockalypse” album. A celebratory show for past winners in London 2 days earlier, including Lordi brings them back into the public eye courtesy of national TV coverage. Thus, a full venue in Islington stomps and cheers along as the band launch into lead single from SFO “Nailed By The Hammer of Frankenstein”.
“This is Heavy Metal” and that single.. follow with Ox, Amen and Mr Lordi fill the front of the Academy stage with their towering, majestic monster outfits. Lead guitarist Amen, looking like a mummified Pharaoh is almost dwarfed by Ox and Mr Lordi whose platform boots raise them in excess of 12″ in height.
At various stages throughout the show we get characters appearing to add to the visual aspects of the show. Asylum patients, air stewardesses and weird hybrid mix of Dee Snider / Gene Simmons / Blackie Lawless all appear at different points to cause mayhem and havoc before disappearing again.
Of course, the show is not all about the theatrics, it’s about the quality of the music as well and Mr Lordi & Co. do know how to write a song that sticks in your head. If it were the 19080s, then the lyrical content of the those songs would be raising red flags with the PMRC. Case in point is “How To Slice a Whore” with the lines;
“Scoop out those eyes this way, For seeing other guys, Carve off her lips for telling all those lies
Scissor off her finger tips, For gutting hang her by this, Butchers hook inserted through the spine”
Horror movie and comic book fans alike will laugh and simply enjoy material like this in the spirit for which it is intended. Those with no sense of humour or those that simply do not “get” Lordi will miss the point completely and still be up in arms about the tracks that often pay homage to a multitude of classic movies from years gone by. “Blood Red Sandman” is a great example where the accompanying video was a fabulous homage to Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” movies and was one of the first tracks to get the band noticed in the UK thanks to the clever inclusion by Classic Rock magazine of the video on a cover DVD. “Sandman” does of course get an airing and sees Mr Lordi sporting a slightly different outfit flinging sawdust and other ‘items’ from a sack over the crowd.
It’s amazing just how much effort the band can put into a show given the layers of clothing and amount of latex they each wear during every performance. At one point, Mr Lordi raises an arm \ claw to the ceiling and sweat literally pours from his suit onto the floor. Credit to the band for putting everything into delivering a visually and musically spectacular show to the assembled crowd.
Hella on keyobards perhaps has the best job as her outfit is not as heavy as those used by the three men at the front of the stage. What is notable about Hella’s outfit though is that it is genuinely creepy. Horror movies often use children toys as focal points for spirits and possession. Hella is the personification of an evil doll. Her lifeless eyes and tilted head bore into your soul and make you wonder just what you’ve captured in your camera lens and whether it may just follow you home…..
Drum, Bass and Guitar solos from Mana, Ox and Amen are great fun at one point a clever use of “Seven Nation Army” from The White Stripes is used to get a chant going with the crowd.
All of the fan favourites are aired tonight and various Alice Cooper-esqe stage theatrics help move the show along at a rapid pace. Before we know it, “Devil is a Loser” is closing the main set before the band return to the intro from SFO and finish the show with “Would You Love A Monsterman”.
If you’ve never seen Lordi but can appreciate the showmanship of KISS, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Marylin Manson, W.A.S.P and others then do yourselves a favour a go and watch them perform.
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SETLIST:
INTRO: God of Thunder (KISS song)
Nailed by the Hammer of Frankenstein,
This Is Heavy Metal,
Hard Rock Hallelujah,
Deadache,
Hella’s Kitchen,
Hell Sent in the Clowns,
Blood Red Sandman,
Drum Solo ,
Give Your Life for Rock ‘n’ Roll,
Don’t Let My Mother Know,
Bass Solo ,
How to Slice a Whore,
It Snows in Hell,
The Riff,
Sincerely With Love,
Amen’s Lament to Ra II,
Not the Nicest Guy,
Devil Is a Loser,
Encore:,
SCG7: Arm Your Doors and Cross Check,
Scare Force One,
Who’s Your Daddy?,
Would You Love a Monsterman?,
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