Lordi

Theatrical Finnish metallists specializing in horror-themed spectacle achieved the improbable by claiming victory at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi’s dramatic sonic approach and creature-feature performance aesthetic have established the group as one of the most flamboyant and intriguing acts within modern heavy metal. Arriving via the 2002 release Get Heavy, the band built an extensive regional audience through major chart successes such as The Arockalypse (2006) and Monstereophonic (Theaterror vs. Demonarchy) (2016).

Vocalist, songwriter, visual designer, and costume creator Tomi Petteri Putaansuu, widely recognized as Mr. Lordi, originated the project in 1992. It evolved into a full ensemble once guitarist Jussi Sydänmaa (Amen), bassist Magnum, former Children of Bodom keyboardist Erna Siikavirta (Enary), and drummer Sampsa Astala (Kita) joined. Putaansuu composed material while constructing the intricate foam-latex monster outfits and pyrotechnic elements that defined their dramatic stage presentations. Following unsuccessful label auditions, Lordi secured a deal with Sony BMG’s Finnish division and delivered the debut album Get Heavy in 2002, which reached number three on Finnish charts thanks to the chart-topping single “Would You Love a Monsterman?” Magnum departed shortly afterward; with Pekka Tarvenen (Kalma) replacing him on bass, the band recorded the 2004 follow-up The Monsterican Dream, returning to the Top 20 courtesy of “Blood Red Sandman.”

After touring behind that album, both Tarvenen and Siikavirta exited. The addition of bassist Samer el Nahhal (Ox) and keyboardist Leena Peisa (Awa) preceded the third studio album, The Arockalypse. Its lead single, the number-one hit “Hard Rock Hallelujah,” was selected as Finland’s official Eurovision entry, prompting some religious figures to accuse the band of promoting Satanism despite the earlier 2003 success “The Devil Is a Loser.” Despite the objections, Lordi accumulated a record 292 points—more than forty ahead of Russian runner-up Dima Bilan—securing Finland’s first Eurovision triumph.

In the aftermath, European tabloids rushed to print unmasked photographs of the members, drawing sharp rebukes from supporters and competing outlets alike and prompting public apologies from the publications involved. On May 26, 2006, Lordi marked the win with a free outdoor concert in Helsinki’s Market Square before over 80,000 spectators, where Finland’s president Tarja Halonen presented the group with an award recognizing their international achievement. The following year they appeared at U.S. festivals including Bamboozle and Ozzfest, then toured America with Type O Negative. Lordi reentered the studio in May 2008 to begin work on Deadache, their fourth album, which arrived later that year with increased keyboard focus, intensified horror motifs, and songwriting input from all members.

In 2010 the band issued the single “This Is Heavy Metal” ahead of its fifth studio effort, the Michael Wagener-produced Babez for Breakfast, which incorporated a gospel choir and orchestra for the first time. Drummer Kita exited during this period. September brought the compilation Scarchives, Vol. 1, while 2013 saw the sixth full-length To Beast or Not to Beast. The ghoulish Scare Force One followed in 2014, succeeded by the ambitious concept album Monstereophonic (Theaterror vs. Demonarchy) in 2016. Three years later the group returned with the provocatively themed Sexorcism. Lordi revisited the concept-album format in 2020 with Killection, crafting newly written tracks styled as though drawn from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s to simulate a fictional retrospective collection. Issued by AFM early that year, the album was preceded by the single “Shake the Baby Silent.” Late 2021 delivered the expansive box set Lordiversity, comprising seven distinct new albums each exploring a separate genre from the 1970s through the 1990s—disco, prog, hair metal, AOR, thrash, and dance—recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown and extending the conceptual approach first explored on Killection.