Lordi is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Finland formed in 1992, releasing an incredible eighteen albums over a three-decade monster costume-wearing career – with the band’s eighteenth album ‘Screem Writers Guild’ (released in 2023), a hard rocking fifty-five minutes, packed with playful play-on-word song titles…
…just like the album title – a clear reference to the Screen Writers Guild (an association of screenwriters in Hollywood from the 1920’s through to the 1950s). The creative mind of the band’s frontman Mr Lordi is in spectacular visionary mode here, guiding the listener through fourteen pun-derful songs in the most theatrical way – the album is presented in the style of a film awards ceremony! ‘Dead Again Jayne’ brings the album to life with a haunting, almost chilling intro that sets a dramatic backdrop, exploding into life and rumbling on like an intense thunderstorm – Mr Lordi’s trademark growly vocal style is instantly recognisable. Remarkably melodious, ‘Dead Again Jayne’ is an attractive opener, drawing the listener in and grabbing their attention tightly – ‘SCG XVIII: Nosferiuz Horror Show’ is a one-minute spoken word introduction to the awards ceremony…
…followed by the ass-kicking party anthem ‘Unliving Picture Show’ – hitting hard with a sing a long chorus to die for! Lordi is widely recognised for their crowd-pleasing anthem – ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’ maybe they are most well known among non-rockers and non-metalheads thanks to the band’s 2006 Eurovision Song Contest win! But for us fans and followers, Lordi is much more than an anthemic party band dressed in monster costumes – they are a fucking great hard rock come, heavy metal band! Lordi picks up the pace and gallop forth with the classic “foot on the monitor” feel of ‘Inhumanoid’, a pulsating slab of hard rocking heavy metal to wake the mosh pits up, creating a sea of frenzied head banging. With a scary chant of an intro to ‘Thing In The Cage’, the band are at their most frightening (so far), adopting a monolithic melodic march as the song gets going properly. With this one, Lordi perch themselves on the bridge between the rock and metal genres, ‘Thing In The Cage’ appealing equally to fans of both rock and metal. Such great stuff from a great band!
And with just as much melodious intent as the previous song, ‘Vampyro Fang Club’ will have smiles a mile wide forming on the faces of every listener from every corner of the world! The bombastic and intoxicating nature of ‘Vampyro Fang Club’ is incredible, Lordi delivering a magical moment that does more than just, please! Entering balladry, the band created one of the album’s most spectacular moments – ‘The Bride’ featuring a mellowness not heard anywhere else on the album. And in keeping with the monster theme of the band, ‘The Bride’ refers lyrically to Frankenstein’s monster and his bride! Returning to the menacing vibe that the band are terrific at, ‘Lucyfer Prime Evil’ may have some listeners diving for cover across the first fifty seconds! But those listeners that know the band very well, must surely know what’s coming next – a barnstorming barrage of bombastic hard rock come heavy metal! The band lights up the sky with frisky fireworks as ‘Lucyfer Prime Evil’ romps on to a conclusion.
And with the biggest melodious intent of the album, ‘Scarecrow’ is a melodic hard rock swagger of the tallest order! And with a sing, a long chorus that is gonna be heartily sung by everyone – listeners, fans, followers and concertgoers alike – ‘Scarecrow’ is a genre boundary breaker that is simply sublime. Maintaining the album’s recent upturn in melodic hard rock, ‘Lycantropical Island’ is an up-tempo energy-driven rocker that’s destined to, please. Lordi is a master of melding hard rock with heavy metal along with a melodious intent second to none – if you haven’t heard the band’s music yet, and I can’t believe there’s anyone who hasn’t, you’re in for one helluva treat. The band are unique and have been leaders in the worldwide scene of rock and metal for thirty years! And with a glorious play on the word “Dracula”, Lordi brings to the surface a Southern rock swagger for ‘In The Castle Of Dracoolove’, and a staggering amount of melodious intent! Much more than any other song on offer. What a song! What an album! And what a band!
And for a pun loaded one minute forty seconds, ‘The SCG Awards’ is a comedical take on the presentation of an award (at an awards ceremony) by the band – I was in hysterics at the humour on offer! And I still giggle now, even after quite a few listens! Turning into horror comedy, ‘The SCG Awards’ merges straight into ‘Heavengeance’, and the biggest bombastic barrage of hard rock the album has to offer. Lordi are absolutely killing it here, rocking harder than ever, and hitting listeners right between the eyes! Returning the mellowness from earlier, the band end ‘Screem Writers Guild’ with the melancholy-edged and personal ‘End Credits’. The solemnness of ‘End Credits’ reflect the lyrical theme, Mr Lordi creating, writing and composing a song for his final days (or is it, final day!).
Overall, a barnstorming barrage of bombastic hard rock comes with heavy metal with an incredible melodious intent. Lordi thoroughly entertain.
TRACKLIST
Dead Again Jayne
SCG XVIII: Nosferuiz Horror Show
Unliving Picture Show
Inhumanoid
Thing In The Cage
Vampyro Fang Club
The Bride
Lucyfer Prime Evil
Scarecrow
Lycantropical Island
In The Castle Of Dracoolove
The SCG Awards
Heavengeance
End Credits
Lordi: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Atomic Fire Records
Category: Album
Country: Finland
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
