Lordi – Killection
Album review by; Hungryasabadger
When I first saw the title of the latest offering from Finland’s super-monstars Lordi I assumed that it was an upcoming compilation album or some other form of career retrospective. It transpires I was wrong but only just…
‘Killection’ is a compilation album with a twist. Imagine if you will that, rather than Lordi having broken through in the early 2000’s, Lordi have in fact been recording and releasing music since the 1970’s and ‘Killection’ is simply a greatest hits collection of imaginary hit singles from different eras of Lordi’s pre-2000 existence. Yes, only in the land of Lordi can such a bonkers concept actually be brought to fruition but against the odds it actually works!
Having listened to Lordi for many years I now admittedly often find myself skipping the Scarcitc Circle (SCG) moments when listening to the albums. However, the SCG segments on ‘Killection’ are excellent and definitely raise a smile or two and lend themselves to repeated listening. The interludes are based around a fake radio station named Radio SCG10 akin to the segments featuring comedian Steven Wright on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack. SCG10 promises the listener ‘the classics’, ‘the remasters’, ‘the live recordings’, the b sides, the deep cuts and the hits and features snippets of classic Lordi songs re-imagined by other artists of the rock world. Ever wondered how Bon Scott would sound singing ‘Bringing Back the Balls to Rock’? Or perhaps Judas Priests’ version of ‘This is Heavy Metal’? The jewel in the crown of this homage has to be the Axl Rose impression on the GnR version of ‘Would You Love a Monsterman’. It’s a dead on impression and had me howling!
The opening track proper is classic Lordi with a track named ‘Horror for Hire’. It contains all the usual Lordi tropes with a cracking synthesiser intro and a sing-a-long chorus tailor made for audiences to shout back with when performed live. A promising star but nothing more than we have come to expect from a Lordi album opener.
Never ones to worry about being politically correct Lordi forge ahead into what appears to be their twisted take on a mid 90’s up tempo hardcore dance number. ‘Shake the Baby Silent’ is the first single released from the album but I doubt it will be gaining much airplay on BBC radio! It’s a great song however and the differing influences and dance tinged samples are a fantastic mix. The track wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack to the movie Blade and the chorus will stick with you for days. Next up is an 80’s style ballad called ‘Like a Bee to the Honey’ complete with a saxophone solo and Vincent Price-esque spoken word sections which again really works well. ‘Apollyon’ is a gentle ditty about Abaddon who, in case you were wondering, is the name of the destroyer of the world in the Bible. ‘Apollyon’ is a slow burner compared to the preceding tracks but definitely lends itself to repeated listens.
‘I Dug a Hole in the Yard for You’ is another twisted love song that is a straight ahead Lordi rocker and has some fantastic lyrics that you can’t help smiling at. ‘Blow my Fuse’ sounds a lot like a long lost Black Sabbath track whereas ‘Zombimbo’ is as crazy as the title suggests and definitely takes inspiration from KISS and their disco experimentation on 1979’s ‘Dynasty’ album but again it works as does ‘Up to No Good’ which is clearly Lordi’s take on Twisted Sister. ‘Cutterfly’ is another
synthesiser-heavy ode this time to an imaginary eponymous serial killer and the ‘Evil’ is a thrash metal homage that wears it’s Metallica inspirations on its sleeve for all to hear. The album is rounded out by the final song proper ‘Scream Demon’ which is another slow burn style Lordi anthem complete with choir-like backing vocals complementing Mr Lordi’s trademark growls. The album then closes with another SCG10 segment with DJ Rockin’ Ruiz teasing lost recordings from an album that never was before meeting an untimely end at the hands of some unidentified monsters…..
I can honestly state that this is the best Lordi album I have heard in a long, long time and I cannot wait to hear how these songs translate into the live arena. Lordi have themselves described ‘Killection’ as containing songs that Lordi would have written between the early 70’s through to the mid 90’s and, typical of compilations, contains one ‘brand new’ song written in the year of release although after numerous listens I am still not sure which of the 15 tracks this refers to. Hopefully the linear notes of the album will enlighten us upon the albums’ release on 31st January. I for one cannot wait!
5/5