If you’re looking for a nightmarish group of musicians that are: heavier than KISS, but not as serious as Slipknot and not as trashy as GWAR, than you will find them with Lordi. Europe’s masked monsters of metal have returned to deliver their latest offering of fun, shock rock music to the masses. Scare Force One, the seventh studio album, released through AFM records, is exactly what you would expect from the Finnish group. Fans of the band know exactly what they are in for, as Mr. Lordi and company are not about reinventing the wheel, but about continuing to perfect a tried and true recipe of horrifically fun, party anthems.
br/>Though the sound on their previous albums occasionally sways back and forth across the subjectively narrow line that separates hard rock from heavy metal, the execution of the music is always the same. And just like with bands like KISS and Motorhead, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So they don’t.
If you’re looking for thought provoking lyrics or intricate chord progressions, you might as well give this album a pass. But let’s face it; you can’t be serious, or angry, all the time. But this kind of fun isn’t the embarrassing Glam metal scene where groups like Poison and Warrant sang about girls and parties. This is monsters and madmen. Alice Cooper meets King Diamond, but again, less serious.
br/>With song titles like “How to Slice a Whore” and “Hell Sent In The Clowns” how can you take it seriously? Just like a good, 1980’s slasher horror flick, there needs to be a light, tongue and cheek nod to the content because too serious becomes ridiculous. But horror themed gimmick and monster masks aside, how does the Scare Force One stand up as an album?
Quite well to be honest and Mr. Lordi and Amen have a solid group of musicians with them on this album. I’m not saying they can go toe to toe with metal’s top talents, but they’re not to be ignored either. With OX on bass, Hella on keyboards and Mana on drums. This is the second album with this lineup and it surpasses what they accomplished on the previous record, To Beast or Not to Beast. The rhythm section is tight and compliments must go out to Mr. Lordi’s groveling pipes as well.
If you’ve never listened to Lordi, this is a great introduction for you; 13 fun tracks, strategically placed so they flow seamlessly from one to another, keeping the monster party going.
Album highlight: “Nailed by the Hammer of Frankenstein” and “Scare Force One”.
Ryan Andrews, HMS
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