LORDI – Lordiversity: Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular [’90s Metal / Alt] (2021)

LORDI will release no fewer than seven new studio albums in 2021. And frontman Mr. Lordi admits that he was had originally hoped to release 10 new albums, only to have that idea vetoed by the Finnish group’s record label.
Titled ‘Lordiversity’, the box set will be available as seven CDs, or seven vinyl records. Each album will see the former Eurovision-winninig Finns tackle a different genre: hard rock, disco, progressive rock, heavy metal, AOR, modern metal.
The albums will be standalone available, and here’s the final CD from the set. “Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular” swerve into ROB ZOMBIE and NINE INCH NAILS territory makes perfect historical sense and, as fans may expect, works well with Mr. Lordi’s hook-stuffed but grim-hearted blueprint.
“Demon Supreme” is the best song WHITE ZOMBIE never wrote in the 90s; “Killusion” is stuttering, EBM-style synth rock; “Goliath” is the best MARILYN MANSON rip-off anyone will hear this year; “Shake The Baby Silent” harnesses bad taste big riffs, for a deliciously dumb, industrial rock hoedown.
It is all, almost without exception, stupidly entertaining.

It makes sense in terms of Lordi’s imaginary timeline to follow with 90s modern metal / industrial and it is infinitely better than if they decided to do a (shudder) grunge album. He kept an acceptable overall ratio of Metal-to-Industrial, ‘accessible’ for most people.
The album title of “Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular” is classic Lordi, weird and fun, something like Rob Zombie would do. The opening SCG track is quite long at over three minutes and quite amusing, a mini-horror story in itself. The humour/horror largely abandoned on the ‘90s Metal’ album from this box – ABRACADVER – is back on this record in full-force.

Oddly enough on repeat listens this one grew on me. In hindsight Lordi has some psychological connections to the early 90s industrial styles, maybe not so much musically, but in terms of delivery, lyrics and image. Lordi adds that annoying vocal distortion effect on his singing like all those albums had.
There are samples, digital effects and a techno-dance beat all over this album. Also on the plus side the keyboards / synths really shine on this record. The songwriting is dynamic and interesting for what they are trying to capture.
A highlight is one of the very best songs on the entire box-set and that is ‘Shake The Baby Silent’. Tracks like ‘Killusion’ are so bouncy and dance-oriented it could have fit on SUPERFLYTRAP, the disco album. Lordi does this style with ease and it is not too far of a stretch for him to make this album work well.

This seventh and final album in the box set is extremely well-executed but maybe a tiny bit anti-climactic. On that note there is an absolutely brilliant, very funny and clever, self-referential, outro track at the end of the album called ‘Anticlimax’. It is a very brief spoken word track where the band make fun of themselves and it is just a cool way to end the 42-minute album and five+ hour box-set.

Lordi took us through a magnificent Metal journey across the ages from 1976 to 1995 and it works perfectly as a segue to his real career which started in 1999 with his first solo album.
It’s all fun and entertaining material, even if some of the rock styles isn’t your favorite.

01 – SCG Minus 1: The Ruiz Ranch Massacre
02 – Demon Supreme
03 – Re-Animate
04 – Lizzard Of Oz
05 – Killusion
06 – Skull And Bones (The Danger Zone)
07 – Goliath
08 – Drekavac
09 – Terror Extra-Terrestrial
10 – Shake The Baby Silent
11 – If It Ain’t Broken (Must Break It)
12 – Anticlimax

Mr. Lordi – Vocals
Amen – Guitars
Mana – Drums
Hella – Keyboards
Hiisi – Bass

Pre order:
soundpollution.se/en/shop/AFM7926