Lordi Limited Deadition CD Review
Ahhh, Lordi. What can be said about this epic monster group that hasn’t already been said? Probably not much since the band has been around since 1992. All I know is that they are the epitome of a number of things I love: 80’s hard rock and metal, movie monsters, over the top and exaggerated performances and cool monster and demon costumes. They also walk that fine line of “hey, we’re really good at what we do, but don’t take us too seriously because it’s all tongue-in-cheek.” I think that what I primarily appreciate about the band is that they’re always having fun which comes across in everything they do. They’re having a good time and it’s infectious. Any time there’s a Lordi album playing, it’s accompanied with a smile and some solid foot tapping and head bobbing.
Jumping back to the tongue-in-cheek/having fun aspect of the band, almost a third of ‘Limited Deadition’ contains tracks that are exactly that. They’re commercials that you could have expected to have seen on television in the 80’s and some are pretty funny. “SCGTV Saturday Night Main Event” is wrestling themed and even has a pretty good “Macho Man” Randy Savage impression at the end. My favorite one has got to be the last one - “SCGTV Crazeee Ralph Promo” that advertises Crazeee Ralph’s Murder Mega Mart and talks about how they have everything to make your murderous rampage the best it can be! The interview with Rufus the Redneck was especially comical, talking about the Monstersquad Murder Mayhem Energy Drinks and making it feel like he had a shotgun up his ass.
Keeping with the tradition of the 80’s hard rock and metal, Lordi doesn’t disappoint. “Legends Are Made of Cliches’ gives off some serious Alice Cooper vibes with a guitar solo that Kane Roberts would have absolutely shredded. “Syntax Terror” reminds me of something Accept would have laid down, minus the keyboards. Mr. Lordi even lets out screams akin to Udo Dirkschneider which is funny to me considering they worked together on “They Only Come Out At Night” on Lordi’s ‘Arockalypse’ album. “Fangoria” is probably my favorite track as it recounts the fantastic horror publication of the same name and is incredibly catchy with some great keyboard work courtesy of Hella. There are even a couple of, dare I say, ballads on here in “Frighteousness” and “Collectable”. While this is a pretty solid album, I wouldn’t necessarily suggest it for people just getting into the band. If this is your first exposure to them, I would recommend ‘The Arockalypse’ or ‘The Monsterican Dream’.
~TJ