Almost a decade on from their shocking Eurovision victory, Lordi have gone from strength to strength and having just released their seventh album, a UK tour was definitely overdue. As a quick generalization one could say that Lordi are like a tame GWAR with humour and stage antics comparable to Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. They mix catchy 80s glam riffs with Mr Lordi’s heavy growl and even if they’re not your cup of tea music-wise they’re definitely worth seeing live. I dare you to get through a show without smiling or being entertained.
Despite being unmasked by the media the band keep their costumes on for promotional purposes. Personally, I like their anonymity as when watching them you take them on their monster character basis and showmanship – not the human personalities underneath (they’re probably all-round nice people – unlike what they’re trying to portray).
By the time the band were due to come on the crowd were chanting their name and the added airline attendant waving her aircraft marshal wands to the opener ‘+ETA’ excelled the excitement even further. The band soon appeared in their fine monstrosity with Mr Lordi wielding a microphone masquerading as an axe and a human skull embedded on his kneecap, whenever his knee bent the mouth would open in a silent scream. First appearances count and the band towering over us really made an impression!
If you’re afraid of clowns this gig may not have been one for you as during ‘Hell Sent in the Clowns’ clowns pranced on the stage being as twisted as they could be and the song ended with the crowd being sprayed in fake blood. At first thinking I’d just been hit by someone throwing their drink, it was a thrilling shock to look around and see everyone (including myself) splattered in red!
For a band where you’d think diversity in their appearance during the show would be limited Mr Lordi did try his best to bring a range of looks to the act. During ‘Blood Red Sandman’ he donned the Sandman legend attire including a hat and bag and the song ended with confetti exploding over the audience (which was a lot cleaner than the previous fake blood).
The time then came for a little bit of magic where Mana, the drummer, gave us a traditional hovering sheet trick which hid (seemingly wanting to get past the sheet) yet another skull. A simple trick but entertaining all the same and he followed it by heading into one of the more interesting drum solos I’ve heard in my gig lifetime. Later in the show OX, on bass, gave a surprisingly interactive and tuneful bass solo which the crowd happily cheered along to.
They then upped the display by sprinkling dry snow on the crowd during ‘It Snows in Hell’ while Mr Lordi held up the latest skull, with smoke emitting from it in the air. Amen, the mummified Egyptian who plays the guitar, complete with a Nemes headdress, then treated us to a fun-filled spectacular solo which included a fabric flame either side of him and played a bit of The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ which got the crowd pumped.
After ‘Amen’s Lament to Ra II’ the rest of the band quickly re-joined the stage, Mr Lordi’s head was covered in a skin-like material and he was holding a bucket with macabre assortments in it such as a severed arm. Yet again, to take the show to the next level he then brought out a mechanical circular saw! You have to wonder how exasperating it must have been to pass all of the health and safety checks.
As ‘Devil is a Loser’, seemingly last song of the night arrived the classic mechanical wings arrived and it’s a wonder how they didn’t take up the whole stage! For the encore the demon-like frontman stomped his way back on stage wearing sunglasses as a PVC policeman’s cap, like a terrifying new rendition of The Village People.
Throughout the night it seemed like the costumes, props and sound had gone according to plan but for the first line of ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ the microphone stopped working, it was quickly replaced with one that worked… Or so we thought… The microphone stopped again but the backing vocals are sufficient enough and really the accidental slip-up helped to show off what a great band Mr Lordi has behind him – the harmonies were spot on.
The band finished the night with a storm of dry ice and confetti. After being covered with fake blood, dry snow and confetti I certainly looked different to how I initially entered the room but what a blast it was!
The theatrical monster routine is done so well and the music is there to back it up. Mr Lordi’s raspy voice commands the stage when he speaks and it’s almost comical to hear him say such things like ‘anyhoo’ and ‘thank you, that’s very kind of you’.  After being a fan of theirs pre-Eurovision this was my first time seeing them and at less than £20 for a ticket it was definitely worth doing. With all of the theatrics they could probably charge more but at that price there’s no excuse to not give them a chance. I’ll definitely be on the look-out for their next UK appearance!
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