Finland’s Lordi inspired by KISS and loved in U.S.
By Kim McLaughlin
East Coast fans in the United States have praised Finnish monster hard rock band Lordi for bringing rock and roll back to America, the band said on Friday.Lordi — who conquered their native country before storming to win the Eurovision Song Contest last year — kicked off a U.S. tour last month playing twice at the Bamboozle festival in New Jersey and will return in July and August for 16 gigs with the Ozzfest from Seattle to Indiana.
“It’s funny that American kids are saying ‘thank you for bringing rock and roll back to the U.S,” bandleader Mr. Lordi told Reuters.
“It’s kind of weird because we’ve taken all our influences from the U.S. and now the kids are thanking us for bringing it back.”
Around 100 million Europeans watched the Finnish rockers clinch their country’s first victory in the annual Eurovision Song Contest with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”, in a show characterized by over-the-top, horror-show theatrics and mock-demonic imagery.
In Helsinki to perform at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest a year after their shock victory in Athens, Mr. Lordi said that although the band had only played twice so far in New Jersey, the response from fans has been excellent.
“When you go to a new country you don’t know what to expect. Our die-hard fans were already there and were just there to see us,” he said.
The band, whose members never appear without their elaborate ghoulish skeleton and zombie masks and makeup, say the original inspiration for their gory costumes and lyric music came from the American rock group KISS.
Mr. Lordi, whose real name is Tomi Putaansuu said Lordi hoped to return to the studio next year to record a fourth album possibly for release in December.
Lordi has sold more than 300,000 copies of its album the Arockalypse, which includes “Hard Rock Hallelujah”. It was released in North America ahead of the tour.