Lordi was born in Tornio, Finland as early as 1991 by Mr. Lordi himself who had moved to that fine city to study. The theatrical group was inspired by Kiss (the founder rumour has it was in charge of Kiss’ Finnish fan club), Gwar and others both musically and image-wise and clearly derives its popularity from its elaborate ‘monster’ customs without which it will not be photographed. Several European tabloids have photographed the band without customs, although in one stint the magazine mistakenly depicted Children Of Bodom instead! The band really began its terror in 1996, but Lordi’s big break came in 2006 when it surprised many by winning the Eurovision contest in Athens, Greece. The winning number Hard Rock Hallelujah soon became a European anthem. Shortly after winning the contest, Lordi gave a concert at Market Square in Helsinki where an approximate 90,000 bandwagon and regular fans sang Hard Rock Hallelujah thus earning the band the world record for largest sing-a-long ever.

The band, which now dwells in Espoo, Finland, was a hit from the start when in 2002 its debut single Would You Love A Monsterman? went number one on the Finnish charts.

The group’s success brought a management deal with Bill Aucoin who in the ‘70s managed Kiss. Several DVD s followed The Arockalypse which was soon licensed by The End Records for America. The album featured guest appearances by former Kiss man Bruce Kulick, Udo Dirkschneider and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider. The band soon played show in Europe, Far East and the USA including Ozzfest. The said videos included The Market Square Massacre and Bringing Back The Balls To Stockholm: The Opening Night.

Lordi has emulated Kiss by lending its name and likeness to a raft of useless merchandise and services including comic books, candy and a restaurant.

LORDI – THE AROCKALYPSE – THE END  
To say that Lordi’s music is contrived and affected is like saying a shotgun toting hick from Florida in a truck is a white trash. Pompous and partying like its 1977, the Finnish pack that actually managed to win last year’s Eurovision Contest (a kind of European pop music contest where different countries manage to out-embarrass each other publicly on purpose), look like the bastard children of Kiss and Gwar and is not coincidentally managed by the famed former Kiss manager Bill Aucoin. Nonetheless, designed from the start to be a hit the band has recruited Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, Kiss’ Bruce Kulick and Udo Dirkschneider and delivers on its exaggerated image via songs that sound like AOR, hard rock, pop and so forth. Hit singles flow down the band’s fiery codpieces – all with a refined Finnish accent – as the band takes dead-aim at fans of Kiss, Alice Cooper, Survivor, Aldo Nova and Boney M. What a package!
It is impossible to take this seriously (unless you are the holder of a number of Gwar patents, in which case you are going to court – especially after Lordi claimed not to have ever heard of Gwar!) but as a gimmicky and fun act designed from the ground up for merchandising the performers of songs like Evilove, SuperMonstars, The Night Of The Loving Dead and Bring Back The Balls To Rock are a super fun act. In other words, Suffocation fans will probably not warm up to this! Now, where did I leave my Lordi lunchbox? – Ali “The Metallian”