Lordi-Deadache

Post #74
Lordi! The monster-mask wearing 80's-style metal enthusiasts from Finland follow-up their "Arockalypse" album with another monster & horror inspired album; "Deadache". This album does a good job of covering all the basic elements from their previous album. Although they don't seem to try anything new or experimental with this album, they do stick to their tried & true formula very well.

They sart off "Deadache" with another SCG-intro, but I don't find it as creative as SCG3 from "The Arockalypse". The rest of the music, however, rocks just as hard as before. Monsters, ghouls, and tales of hauntings lace every musical nook & cranny of "Deadache". Mr. Lordi sings as enthusiastic as ever with his incredibly raspy voice. Catchy guitar riffs and lead guitar melodies show off this band's genre of inspiration- 80's hair-metal. Eerie, mood-setting keyboards provide the essential nightmare-ish vibe that Lordi thrive on.

Feast your ears on this album for Halloween this year, or should I say, let it feast upon your ears?
Here are my recommended tracks:
-Girls Go Chopping
-Man Skin Boots
-The Ghosts of the Heceta Head
-Deadache
-The Devil Hides Behind Her Smile (This song pays tribute to another haunting story, as the keyboards play a musical theme from the musical "Phantom of the Opera")
-Missing Miss Charlene (Why is he missing Miss Charlene? Because a monster stole dear Charlene, of course...)

Alice Cooper-Along Came A Spider

Post #54
The original Shock-Rocker returns with a creepy concept-album!

Along Came a Spider is Alice Cooper's 25th studio album (I think), and this time Cooper fleshes out a concise story of a spider-themed serial killer. You get to hear much of the story from the psychopath's perspective, and it creeps you out like old-school Alice used to do.

Stylistically, the music follows Cooper's recent trend of retro-rock as he continues to stick to a more stripped-down, classic rock feel like he utilized on The Eyes of Alice Cooper & Dirty Diamonds. This fits Alice well, although part of me misses his heavier sound he employed on the Brutal Planet & Dragontown albums. For the most part, much of this album sounds right at home with some of his mid-70's material.


As for Along Came A Spider, this is a pretty cool concept album. There's a clear plot, and the songs develop it well. There's also a prologue and epilogue that sort of set the context of the story, so there are no loose threads, or strands of silk if you'd rather... Long time fans of Alice may also recognize the main character of Steven from some of Alice Cooper's previous material. Basically, if you enjoyed either of Alice Cooper's last 2 albums, you should like this one too. Just be prepared for a twisted and haunting tale!

Here are my recommended tracks:
-Vengeance Is Mine
-Catch Me If You Can (this track contains a lot of the story's plot development)
-Killed By Love (this is the token ballad on this album, but again it fits in with the album's theme- although it may sound pretty, if you catch the lyrics you'll find it just as dark & twisted as the rest of the album)
-I Am The Spider/Epilogue

Lordi

Post #2
Lordi, the Monsters of Rock (literally!) from Finland. I wanted to get this post up in time for Halloween. These guys are for the current generation what Kiss were for the teens of the late 70's, or at least they should be. I've checked out their newest CD, "The Arockalypse", from my local library twice already. They're a great breath of fresh Rock N' Roll-infused Metal, something there's not enough of in today's music. When I saw these guys at Ozzfest this summer it felt like I was discovering KISS all over again. I'm looking forward to adding their albums to my CD collection very soon. Want a monster themed Halloween party this year? Then go get "The Arockalypse" by Lordi!
My recommendations from The Arockalypse:
-Bringing Back the Balls to Rock
-Hard Rock Hallelujah
-The Kids Who Want to Play With the Dead
-It Snows in Hell
-They Only Come Out at Night

(image from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lordi)
Check out: http://www.lordi.com/