It's
Saturday night, and the only place for any self-respecting metalhead
or rocker to be is Nottingham's Rock City. May 11th proved
to be a riotous night of singing and headbanging, not just from the
headlining act, either!
Rock City has always been my favourite gig venue. Small enough to
offer an intimate atmosphere between band and fan, but big enough to
give the bands and the fans ample room to play, headbang, mosh,and
drink, it really is the perfect place to let loose. And my word,
Saturday May 11th, there was a hell of a lot of all of the
above – with added monsters...
HOSTILE – Jay Mills (Vocals), Jack Young (Guitar), A.J. Mills
(Guitar), Alex Hill (Bass), Gunga (Drums)
The opening band on tonight's bill was Hostile. A UK band heavily
influenced by Pantera, Hostile are part of KK Downing (ex-Judas
Priest)'s project to bring metal back to the so-called Black Country,
where the genre was born. Not only did he produce their record 'Eve
of Destruction', but he also wrote a song for the band –
'Addiction'. *
The band put on a solid performance, with much shredding and
headbanging. Vocalist Jay Mills prowled the stage like a younger
version of Phil Anselmo, while behind him, Gunga beat the shit of his
drumkit. Although many Lordi fans have a love, perhaps even a
preference, for old-school metal, Hostile had no problem winning over
the Nottingham crowd, and provided the first sing-a-long anthem of
the night, shortly after running through the excellent 'Addiction' –
a well-timed rendition of the Priest classic, 'Breaking The Law'. A
solid performance from a band who I expect to be hearing a lot more
from, very soon...
*On a side note, bassist Alex Hill's dad is Ian Hill, the bassist for
Judas Priest!
KALDEON – Alexe Mele (Lead Guitar), Marco Palazzi (Vocals), Paolo
Lezzioli (bass), Tommy Nemesio (Rhythm Guitar), Massimiliano Santori
(Drums), Daniele Fuligni (Keyboards)
Kaledon, an Italian power metal band, were next on the set. The band
performed as five-piece on this tour, as keyboardist Fuligni wasn't
present. While this might have affected the scope of the show, it
didn't hinder the band in any obvious way. They tore through a
brilliant set, despite a muddy sound at the start, and gave a lively
performance. Although there were a few technical issues, when
Lezzioli's bass broke, the band just made a joke out of it and
soldiered on.
Cut from the same cloth as Stratovarius (and there are some
connections within the band) and Rhapsody, Kaledon's 30-minute set
featured fast-paced, upbeat power metal tunes, providing a nice
contrast to the groups on before and after them. It was a funny,
ripping show that kept the audience entertained, which is no mean
feat! I really hope Kaledon come back around again, maybe on their
own tour, so we can appreciate them in all their glory!
LORDI –
Mr Lordi (Vocals), Ox (Bass), Mana (Drums), Amen (Guitar), Hella
(Keyboard)
Now it was time for the main attraction. After the stage had been set
up, the lights went down, and the immortal KISS song 'God of Thunder'
was blasted out of the speakers. The atmosphere was electric, and it
intensified when KISS morphed into the instrumental tribute to late
drummer Otus: 'Otus' Butcher Clinic'. Lordi had arrived.
After the intro, the band exploded into 'We're Not Bad For The Kids
(We're Worse)', from their latest record, and all hell broke loose.
Seeing Lordi live is an experience that will stay with you forever,
and catching that first glimpse of them on the stage is just
incredible. Ox and Amen gave it hell, while Hella's twitchy
psycho-doll routine added a layer of creepiness to the metallic
shenanigans. The song was held up nicely by Mana's utterly relentless
drum-bashing, and Mr. Lordi himself was on fine form, screaming like
a demon posessed.
New quickly gave way to classic, when the band revisited their
break-through album 'The Arockalypse' for song 2 – 'Bringing Back
The Balls To Rock'. Singing (shouting? Screaming? Roaring?) along to
“Hail in the name of rock and roll!” on a Saturday night with
Lordi is about as perfect as a gig can get. And it had only just
begun!
'The Riff', the main single of 'To Beast or Not to Beast' was very
well-recieved, driven by Hella's catchy keyboard theme, and the
soaring guitar-work of Amen. It must be a great feeling for a band to
hear people singing along to their new material as well as the older
stuff. A sign that they have still got it!
'Who's Your Daddy' and 'Girls Go Chopping' follow, the latter
accompanied by two PVC-clad strippers grinding sparks on stage. And
that was only the start of Lordi's on-stage shenanigans. Their stage
show on this tour was brilliant. We had Ox chopping off the head of a
guy in a cloak, and Mr. Lordi shooting cold smoke at the crowd, or
blasting water from a chainsaw water pistol (yes, really). My
absolute favourite moment was during Hella's solo, though.
She was playing a beautiful tune on the keyboard, and then she would
suddenly start twitching, bashing her hand on the same note over and
over. Being a toy doll, somebody had to come on stage to fix her.
This happened a few times, before the technician actually removed
her head! Even better, while the technician held Hella's head in his
hands, we could see Hella's headless body still playing the keyboard!
It was clearly done with mirrors, but it doesn't matter. It looked
absolutely fabulous, and highlights just how much effort the band put
into their show.
All the band members had their own
solo spots. Amen had a wonderfully creepy guitar solo, with moody
lighting and a big wheel spinning beside him as he shredded. Ox gave
us a groovy and very heavy bass solo, while Mana did a wicked drum
solo that was relentless in its intensity. I can't wait to hear what
he brings to the next Lordi record!
The setlist itself was excellent, a
nice mixture of old and new. 'Blood Red Sandman' was followed by
'Schizo Doll' and the slow, Sabbath-y 'Something Wicked This Way
Comes', before tonight's only ballad, 'It Snows In Hell', echoed
around the hall, as snow-like foam fell from the ceiling.
'I'm The Best' was another new song
brought to life, and Mr. Lordi stole the show when he was given a
bunch of flowers and a tiara to wear. Camp as Christmas, it was a
delight to watch him giving his all as a beauty queen winner as the
band played around him. Hilarious, and fun.
That is the essence of a Lordi show. Fun.
Aggression, headbanging, screaming...and having a bloody good time.
Once 'The Devil Is a Loser' ended the main-set, I realised that the
time has gone nowhere.
The final encore comprised of two
classic Lordi songs, a new song, and a very special treat: 'Hulking
Dynamo'. This song was supposed to be on their first ever record,
which wasn't released to the world until last year, but ended up
being cut. It was included as a bonus track on last year's released,
and is perhaps one of the oldest and rarest Lordi songs the band have
ever performed live.
We
then get 'Hard Rock Hallelujah', the quintessential
Lordi tune, and yet another one that threatened the vocal chords.
'Sincerely With Love' came next, inciting much shouting of “Fuck
you asshole!”. And finally 'Would You Love a Monsterman?', complete
with the PVC-strippers eating fire, and Mr. Lordi shooting confetti
into the crowd.
Saturday
night's show was one of the best gigs I have ever been to. Great
supporting bands, and a flawless set from the main attraction. Lordi
get a lot of criticism in the press, and I just think that if they
all went to see the band live, they'd shut up. Lordi are at the top
of their game right now, and I know that the sky is the limit for
this monster metal band. One day, the legends of shock rock will no
longer be with us. On that tragic day, we will need somebody to step
up and take the mantle. Lordi are absolutely that band.
11/10
*
I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview Lordi's drummer, Mana. You can hear the interview on Tuesday, May 21st, at 7PM UK Time, on Heavier Than Time! See you there!
