It's all to easy to look upon Finnish monster rockers Lordi with disdain. While their historic 2006 Eurovision win gained a lot of welcome exposure for both Finland and for heavy music, the more discerning among you will probably have dismissed them as a less grotesque GWAR who won by sheer novelty value alone, and could have named several other Finnish bands better suited to represent the land of heavy metal (who, let’s face it, would have tanked, although it would have been worth it just to hear Terry Wogan’s reaction to Wintersun).
But take Lordi’s newest offering, To Beast Or Not To Beast, for what it is – twisted, darkly funny and tongue-in-cheek straight-up hard rock – and there’s a lot of genuine enjoyment to be had from their music. The album boasts tight musicianship throughout and strong enough songwriting to stop it being just plain silly, with great riffs and the kind of campy church-organ horror vibe reminiscent of Devin Townsend’s Bad Devil.
It’s also full of infectious choruses, especially on We’re Not Bad For The Kids (We’re Worse), The Riff and I’m The Best – so put down Steel Panther and meet your new guilty pleasure album of 2013.
