Lordi - Limited Deadition
by Kevin Wierzbicki
It's been nearly two decades since Finnish band Lordi was catapulted to fame after winning the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with "Hard Rock Hallelujah." The hit really endeared the group, who on stage dress as monsters, to their fans in Europe while also giving hard rock and metal fans in America a chance to get familiar with them and soon their fan base was burgeoning. All these years later the band --- Mr. Lordi on vocals, Kone on guitars, Hiisi on bass, Hella on keyboard and Mana on drums --- are a finely-tuned outfit that is expert at rocking out and that knows how to impart a sense of fun while they do so. Opening cut "Legends Are Made of Cliches" has a big sound that's reminiscent of the AOR music that ruled FM radio in the late '80s and into the '90s, a confident but not bombastic kind of rock that sounds great today and that they dip into on numerous cuts here. "Syntax Terror" has a vibe that mashes up Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, with a little Styx thrown in at the beginning; the Priest reference is in part due to the fact that Mr. Lordi sings in a very high voice, close to a Halford wail, on parts of the song, when typically he is all monster growl as he is on most of the song. "Killharmonic Orchestra" is a metal boogie but on "Collectable" the band tones it down quite a bit; it's the album's sedate number and again, in a different way, reflects a fondness and deep knowledge of sounds of the '80s (the ballads.) The song also gives a nod to Mr. Lordi's lifelong fascination with collectible toys (he's a self-proclaimed nerd about them) and includes lyrics that can be taken more than one way, like "No one should ever take me out of my box." The album includes several spoken word advertisements that are essentially "skits" and they are all very amusing; on "Monstersquad Action Figures" descriptions of the Lordi action figures include "Mana, shoots acid-covered drumsticks from his nose" and on "Crazee Ralph Promo," about a "murder megamart" where they have everything to "hack, slash, rip & tear, mutilate and decapitate" so "stock up so you can chop up!" The album finishes strong with the title cut "Limited Deadition," a hook-filled rocker that'll have listeners singing along, and the humor-infused and delightfully ghoulish "You Might Be Deceased" where Mr. Lordi asks "Can you walk through a brick wall?" and then advises "I hate to tell you this, but you might be deceased."
Limited Deadition is good rocking fun all the way through; you might even say it is a monster.
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