Review Summary: If Ozzy Osborne and Dethklok mated; thus producing a metal-influenced, less-gay version of The Killers…well, that’s what Lordi’s new album would sound like.
Lordi, like so many metal bands nowadays, is from Finland. And like so many metal bands from Finland nowadays, Lordi has a tendency to go ridiculously overboard at times. The main difference between Lordi and oh, say, a band like HIM, is that Lordi doesn’t ask to be taken seriously. Is that really enough though to save their most recent album, “Deadache” from being musical mediocrity?
Well, yes and no. The quality of Deadache is very dependent upon the expectations of the listener. If you are looking for a fun romp through the land of oddly-dressed Finnish musicians, you won’t be disappointed. On the other hand, reinventing Beethoven this is not.
The album is consistent throughout in what it does; which is namely pummeling your ears with overly-epic anthems and your eyes with equally overblown song titles. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering that it’s hard not to sing along to tracks such as “Girls Go Chopping” or “Raise Hell in Heaven”. Also, bizarre kudos points for entitling a song “Man Skin Boots”. It’s when you dig in and actually start listening to the music though that problems begin to arise.
As far as musical technicality goes, Lordi remains solid throughout, but never strives to go above and beyond the clichéd synth metal and guitar solos. What compounds the problem is that the bass is essentially non-existent and the drumming, while there, is usually overridden by guitar and keyboards. About halfway through listening, you realize silly song concepts and 80s power orchestras are all this band really have going for them.
So when all is said and done, what we have is an album that relies on quirks and humor to make up for the fact that Lordi is lacking in the music originality department. Granted, the album is an enjoyable listen if nothing else, but with the overabundance of melodic death metal on the market, Deadache doesn’t really do anything to separate itself from the crowd. Now, if you are looking for some music to scratch your Dethklok itch, go ahead and get this. And for anyone who’s just curious about the album; listen if you want, but don’t be expecting to find an album to proudly pass on to your kids someday. That is, unless your kid turns out like the one mentioned in the summary.
