Sunday, November 2, 2014

Lordi - Scare Force One (2014)

The goofy monster masters are once again back, and you know what that means. Another album filled with monster and horror references, accompanied by average song writing. I really do appreciate the band's commitment and passion, but behind all the masks and outfits hides a bunch of Finns that is desperately trying to relive their glory days, if they even had any to begin with.

Enter "Scare Force One", album number 7 for the band, and it is another batch of songs that try to be catchy in both riffs and chorus, while showing as few musical improvements as possible. But the most annoying part of the songs in "Scare Force One" is the lyrics. Sure, there is some humour in the lyrics, and when the band does it right it is very entertaining, but there is not a lot in this album that will even make you chuckle. Songs about getting as drunk as Frankenstein and slicing whores, is that really the best you can come up with? The whole album is as funny as a knock knock joke, which means that the band already lost its biggest attraction in this album.

The second thing that often makes me come back to Lordi is the attitude the band some times show, and there is certainly some in this album. The most is in the track "Monster Is My Name" where the band is more or less bragging about being a monster. And when the track opens up with the phrase "who the hell do you think you are you fuck face", you know shit is about to happen. Other wise, there is not much attitude in this album, but instead it is the catchiness that takes over. It is either a unusual riff that catches your attention (like the opening riff to "Nailed By The Hammer of Frankenstein"), a unique sound you rarely hear in a metal album (like the carnival noise in Hell Sent In The Clowns), or it is the chorus of a song that makes it memorable (like the one in the title track). So it is fairly easy to remember most of the stuff in "Scare Force One", but the quality is not good enough for one to care.

The only surprising thing with "Scare Force One" is the track "The United Rocking Dead", a slow song that contains a surprisingly good, Judas Priest like verse, and a pretty epic chorus that really gets a hold of the listener. It is these kind of tracks that keeps my hope up for this band. They can create music if they really try, but instead they go for quantity and more catchy tunes. I am sure though that if the band would have put more time on making the album instead of spitting it out as soon as possible, they could create something memorable. Then again, maybe I expect too much from a bunch of monsters.

The band should focus on improving their sound instead of settling down with what they already know, because it is getting more and more boring to withstand a new Lordi album. "Scare Force One" is far from a plain wreck thanks to some catchy melodies, but it is extremely far from a master piece, especially since the band since to run out of ideas to sing about. So please Lordi, take your time when you are writing new songs for your next album, and make sure that those songs show off your best sides. And if I see another new release next year by you, it will be me who does the haunting. And trust me, you would not want that to happen.

Songs worthy of recognition: The United Rocking Dead, Scare Force One, Hell Sent In The Clowns

Rating: 5,5/10 Cadaver Lovers

www.lordi.fi/
twitter.com/LORDIOFFICIAL

More reviews of Lordi
To Beast Or Not To Beast
Monstereophonic (Theaterror Vs. Demonarchy)

Sexorcism

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