Band Name: Lordi
Album Name: Deadache
Release Date: October 28, 2008

Band on Record:
Mr. Lordi: Lead Vocals
Amen: Electric Guitar
Kita: Drums, backing vocals.
Ox: Bass
Awa: Keyboards

Track 1: “Scarctic Circle Gathering IV”
This is a 44 second track that does not have much going on, so there’s not rating to be given.
Song Rating: N/A


Track 2: “Girls Go Chopping”
A great beginning, and this is one of my favorite songs from this album as the guitar shreds from the get-go and then to add in some great atmospheric keyboards with the normal awesome drumming of Kita makes this a winner. Lyrics are crazy as usual and always good for a laugh, check them out for the line about Kermit
Song Rating: 10 out of 10


Track 3: “Bite It Like a Bulldog”
Starting off rather promising with a thundering bass, the song loses its appeal as a whole from the point of the first chorus and only the music with different than normal drumming and crushing guitar riffs keep it alive.
Song Rating: 7 out of 10


Track 4: “Monsters Keep Me Company”
This is a cool middle tempo rocker that uses keyboard to truly draw effect and everything else is there to build on that eerie feeling. Mr. Lordi’s vocals are well sung on this song as well, something not common for this chain smoker. The song gets repetitive, that is the only downfall.
Song Rating: 8.5 out of 10


Track 5: “Man Skin Boots”
Straight ahead rocking on this tune, and its not bad but it would be nice for a nice break now and again. Eventually, you do get that near the end with Amen adding in some melody, however the lyrics also get repetitive by that point. The many vocal chorus is also annoying, but Mr. Lordi’s vocals as a whole are pretty good.
Song Rating: 8.5 out of 10


Track 6: “Dr. Sin is In”
The KISS influence in Lordi’s music is no more apparent than on the guitar riffing on this track, it screams early KISS arrangements. The vocals are decent on here, although the multi-tracking of the vocals over most of the song annoys me quite a bit. The drumming has a good beat, and that may be the best thing in the song with the solo being really good as well.
Song Rating: 7.5 out of 10


Track 7: “The Ghosts of the Heceta Head”
Starting off with a haunting keyboard intro, this song kicks into a mid-tempo rocker that weaves guitar around that keyboard sequence for a great sound. There are still multi-track vocal recordings on here, not as bad as some of the other tunes, but Mr. Lordi’s vocals sound good.
Song Rating: 8.5 out of 10


Track 8: “Evilyn”
This could be counted as a pseudo-ballad as it does have a slow tempo, but there is definitely an electrified atmosphere to the music. Great vocal work by Mr. Lordi, and I love the keyboard use once again on this number that is topped off with another great solo.
Song Rating: 9 out of 10


Track 9: “The Rebirth of the Countess”
This is another keyboard track (written by Awa so it makes sense) with the spoken part completely in French. I love how that part ends though, hehehe.
Song Rating: 8 out of 10


Track 10: “Raise Hell in Heaven”
The last few Lordi albums were known for having anthem songs, and this is the best contribution to that type on this album. Fast guitars, fast lyrics, and a chorus you can sing too make this really good.
Song Rating: 9.5 out of 10


Track 11: “Deadache”
I guess this song has been around for a long time in various forms, but this version comes out extremely well. It’s a keyboard and guitar driven track that sounds really good provided with some amazing drum fills by Kita. Melodic singing is something rare for Lordi, but if you are looking for you, look no further for that and a great solo.
Song Rating: 9.5 out of 10


Track 12: “Devil Hides Behind Her Smile”
An interesting track that has a horror theme to the lyrics (as everything on this album does), but the music is mostly uplifting and “bright” in contrast to that. More melodic singing on here as well, the vocals seems to really have changed for Mr. Lordi. There’s no solo per se, but there is a good music breakdown.
Song Rating: 9 out of 10


Track 13: “Missing Miss Charlene”
Everything that was good on the album culminates on this song: great guitar riffs, good vocals, and keyboard tinkling to keep everything wrapped together in a blanket of melody. Of course, we cannot forget the solos that have emerged on this album a lot more than previous albums. The children’s chorus is actually Mr. Lordi and a few friends from back in the day as a child, pretty cool to hear that.
Song Rating: 9 out of 10


Overall Review:
This newest release by Lordi was something I had high hopes for, but in the overall picture this is a weaker album than the previous records this band has put out. The music is more sinister and definitely more hard rock than metal, but there just seems to be something missing that was there during the older albums like The Arockalypse which has to still be my favorite album by these guys. Still holding true to their KISS inspired shock rock, with every song having a horror theme to it, especially evident on “Dr. Sin is In” is the KISS influence in the music. The main problem may lie with the way the vocals were recorded, multi-tracked here as the other albums, but far more obvious and without the backing melody that was there before. The music still rocks, and there is a big plus for the including of guitar solos on almost every track where before the solos were few and far between. That is the best transformation for this record, plus there is more melodic singing from Mr. Lordi where his growl was more obvious on the other records.

Thematic images of horror and the unknown are the most common thing on the album, with an air of trying to entertain that the band always seems to convey in their music. There is not any real higher social criticism to the music and lyrics the band puts out, however there is one noticeable trend in the songs. Whether it’s “Man Skin Boots” or “Girls Go Chopping” women seem to be a big part of the lyrics and horror. Traditionally, the male is the one who causes the fear (think Friday the 13th, Halloween, Psycho, etc.) but here there is a pronounced female presence that could be in part due to Awa’s contributions on this album as her keyboard parts are more pronounced than they were before.

The album is a decent effort by the band, and if you are more interested in hard rock than metal this album may be one of your favorites. I preferred the older feel that the band had, although the introduction of solos and the keyboards do add more atmosphere and deeper levels to the music. This would not be my pick for fair-weather fans of the band or those just getting into them, but it’s a decent album overall.
Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10