"The Monster Show" is the first UK release from Lordi, a band best known for donning monster costumes and playing fast, feel-good metal songs with silly lyrics. This CD comprises the best cuts from their first two albums "Get Heavy" and "The Monstermerican Dream" - only previously available in Finland. While everything on this album does, admittedly, sound the same (more on that later), Lordi are much more than just a novelty act. While the visual element is clearly important for this band, the music stands up perfectly well without the wild costumes, illustrating the songwriting ability of Lordi (the bloke, not the band...this is going to get confusing...) vocalist and principal songwriter.
The "Theatrical Trailer" intro perfectly sets the tone for the songs that follow - horror-inspired "monster" metal with its tongue firmly in its cheek. A couple of tracks in, the listener encounters "Blood Red Sandman", one of the standout tracks on this disc. The eerie Keyboard Bells of Doom (TM), the euphoric chorus, the downtuned guitars throbbing ominously in the background...by the second verse, only the most melancholy of metal fans won't be singing along and grinning like a zombie who's just seen some nice, fresh brains.
The track which follows, "My Heaven is Your Hell", starts of rather disappointingly, with some quiet, almost whispery vocals, that really don't suit Lordi (the bloke, not the...oh, forget it) as much as his usual shouty, vicious yet clean style. But things pick up a bit with the chorus, thanks to some meaty guitar playing from Mr. Amen. The solo he plays around the 3-minute mark is also rather tasty. However, no amount of skilful axe work can save this song from being one of the low points of the album - particularly because it's sandwiched between two of the best tunes.
One of these tunes is "Would You Love a Monster Man?" which broadly follows the same template as "Blood Red Sandman" - memorable, melodic riffs, sing-along chorus, and lyrics designed to raise a smile. Lordi have clearly found a great songwriting formula, and, like Sweden's Eurovision entries, seem determined to stick to it come hell or high water. While I enjoyed this album immensely, even at this point I was beginning to feel like I'd simply heard the same song four times, albeit with minor tweaks. Yes, it's a good song, but this lack of variety ultimately counts against the album. Of course, the flip side is that, once you've heard one song, you know what you're getting yourself into, so if you like one you'll probably like them all.
After the brilliant "Devil is a Loser", things go ever so slightly downhill. Tracks like "Icon of Dominance" and "Forsaken Fashion Dolls" wash over you, briefly catching your attention with a catchy riff or an amusing lyric, but the second half of the album is quickly forgotten, leaving the listener with only a vague feeling that it was quite nice, really. Maybe it's just a side effect of the repetitiveness of this CD, but I felt that all the good songs had already been and gone. That's not to say that the last few songs are bad - quite the contrary: songs like "Shotgun Divorce" and closing track "Rock the Hell Outta You" are very enjoyable listens - it's just that forty-odd minutes of this stuff is a bit too much.
But this is clearly a great album - while the band are aiming to raise a smile, they're not doing so to conceal a lack of musical skill. If you're after some upbeat, poppy (in a good sense) metal, you could do an awful lot worse than this. And to be honest, it's very difficult to dislike an album with lyrics like "the Devil is a loser and he's my bitch". Lordi ask the listener if they would "love a monster man", and, after hearing this album, most people probably would. Although maybe not in a physical sense...
This album may be a cobbled together “compilation” of the band’s original two albums - released some time ago in Finland – but if you haven’t been able to get hold of these “The Monster Show” is a good place to start.
Standout Tracks: Blood Red Sandman, Would You Love a Monster Man?, Devil is a Loser.
Overall Score: 7 /10
