Lordi

Lordi are a Finnish hard rock and heavy metal group from Rovaniemi, formed in 1992 by lead singer, songwriter and costume maker Mr Lordi, whose real name is Tomi Petteri Putaansuu. The band is known for monster masks, horror imagery and pyrotechnics in concerts and videos, and its members keep their unmasked faces private. Their line-up changes over time, but Mr Lordi and guitarist Amen remain long-term members.

Formation and early development

Lordi begin as a solo project for Mr Lordi. Their first demo album, Napalm Market, appears in 1993 and includes the song “Inferno”, which also has a music video made entirely by Mr Lordi. That video leads him to develop the idea of a band of monsters. “Inferno” later appears on the Finnish Rockmurskaa compilation in 1995.

In 1996, Mr Lordi organises a Kiss cruise for Finnish fans travelling from Finland to Sweden, where he meets Amen and G-Stealer. He tells them about the Lordi project and they join the band. Enary joins on keyboard in 1997, and the group records its first album, Bend Over And Pray The Lord. At that stage there is no drummer, so MIDI drum tracks are used. The album is planned for release but never comes out after Anaconda Records goes bankrupt. The band also never performs with that original line-up. G-Stealer leaves in 1999 and is replaced by Magnum, whom Mr Lordi meets through Kiss Army Finland. Kita joins on drums in 2000, giving the band its first drummer.

Breakthrough and recordings

After several failed attempts to secure a recording contract, Lordi sign to Bertelsmann Music Group Finland in 2002. Their first official single, “Would You Love A Monsterman?”, is released in July and reaches number one in Finland. Later that year the band records its debut official album at Finnvox Studios with producer TT Oksala. Magnum is replaced by Kalma before the album appears, though the earlier recordings are already complete.

Get Heavy is released in November 2002. Its cover is loosely based on Kiss’s Love Gun, with an earlier sketch based on Destroyer. The album wins the 2003 Emma award for best domestic hard rock or heavy metal album, sells more than 67,000 copies, and is certified platinum in Finland in 2003 and multi-platinum in 2006. Lordi play their first gig on 8 December 2002 at Nosturi Club in Helsinki.

In 2003, the band appears at music events in Finland and abroad, especially in Germany, including the Wacken Road Show. They also tour as support to Nightwish in Germany, which helps build their profile there and leads to a recording deal with Drakkar.

Eurovision and later work

Lordi release The Arockalypse in 2006. That year they win the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”, becoming the first Finnish group to win the contest and the first hard rock or heavy metal act to do so. The song scores 292 points, then a record total, and the band also wins both the semi-final and the final. Pasi Rantanen of Thunderstone provides backing vocals during the performance while wearing a Gene Simmons Kiss mask.

The band’s later albums show shifts between hard rock and heavier metal. The Monsterican Dream moves towards a heavier sound with stronger horror effects. The Arockalypse returns to a more hard rock direction and reduces horror themes. Deadache again uses more horror elements and moves towards heavier material. Babez for Breakfast returns to more traditional hard rock with stronger 1980s influence. To Beast or Not to Beast is their heaviest album and focuses completely on heavy metal. Scare Force One combines heavy metal elements with a melodic hard rock rhythm. Monstereophonic is a split album: Theaterror contains hard rock, while Demonarchy is conceptual and more progressive than earlier Lordi material.

Style, image and stage show

Lordi’s music combines hard rock and heavy metal, with a style often described as shock rock because of the horror themes, monster costumes and theatrical performance. The band is influenced mainly by Kiss, but also by Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister. Mr Lordi says that without Kiss, Lordi probably would not exist.

Their masks and costumes are made from foam latex with other materials including canvas, metal and leather. Mr Lordi makes all of them himself, drawing on his work as a professional make-up artist and sculptor. The other members do each other’s makeup. The costumes are updated for each album, and the process takes around an hour for the other members and two to three hours for Mr Lordi. The materials cost a few hundred euros. The group usually refuses interviews or photos without the costumes, and when they do appear unmasked on camera, they are filmed from behind so their faces are not shown. Earlier interviews are conducted in English rather than Finnish.

The stage show includes pyrotechnics and horror effects designed largely by Mr Lordi, along with monster actors, zombies, dolls, tricks and sometimes stage dancers. Mr Lordi also uses a two-headed axe. In 2009 the band develops additional special effects with help from Weta Workshop in New Zealand.

Recognition and related items

After the Eurovision win, Lordi Square in central Rovaniemi is renamed in the singer’s hometown, and members of the then line-up receive tributes from their home towns. Itella issues a Lordi postage stamp in May 2007 to mark the Eurovision victory, and had previously released the Christmas single “It Snows in Hell” in a special Christmas card edition. A soda called Lordi Cola is launched in 2006 with labels designed by Mr Lordi, including individual member designs and one featuring the full band. The 2.6.17-rc5 version of the Linux kernel is also named after the group.