Exclusive: Mr. Lordi Breaks Down the Irreverent Chaos in Lordi’s ‘Limited Deadition’
Today marks the release of Lordi‘s latest album Limited Deadition. As I’m sure you’re aware, these guys put out their own brand of shock rock that’s just as wild and crazy as their forbearers in Kiss, Alice Cooper, and their ilk.
To get a better understanding of what’s going on in the album and see where the band’s head was at when they wrote these tracks. As always, we’d like to thank Lordi for taking the time to shed some light on the chaos within their latest offering.
Limited Deadition is out today, so pick yourself up a copy and listen along while you read the following track-by-track!
Legends are Made of Clichés
A typical Lordi opening track. Usually, I have those ones really clear in my head—what the album is about and how it should start. This one was no different. It starts with a kind of Halloween (and I mean the movie) type of piano theme combined with a very typical chord structure of ’80s metal.
The title says exactly what this song is about. ‘Cliché’ usually has a negative connotation, especially in movies (particularly horror movies), but also in music—those are the things that usually work. So here, cliché is not something negative. You’re watching a movie and you know how it will play out—and that’s what you like about it. Like when ordering a pepperoni pizza: you like that it’s the standard pepperoni pizza. You know what to expect and don’t want anything different. Clichés as a default are not a bad thing in movies, and that also applies to music, songs, and bands—using the standards that work, that people like.
Syntax Terror
The writing of this song started with the main keyboard riff. I played around with those mono sounds, trying to come up with something that had an ’80s action movie opening score feel.
‘Syntax Terror’ almost became the album title, but then we discovered other people had the same idea way before I did. In the verses, I was thinking of Judas Priest; for the chorus, Manowar; and as the icing on the cake, Udo Dirkschneider-type screams to belt out the title.
Don’t ask what the lyrics are about—very ’80s heavy metal style, painting abstract pictures with every line!
Skelephant in the Room
It’s a play on words, of course—a combination of “the elephant in the room” and “skeletons in the closet.” The song is about a convicted criminal, maybe a killer, someone who did time and is now out. He’s at a party, and everybody knows what he did. They all try to act cool about it, but in reality, they’re afraid of him.
It was one of the first riffs and songs written for the album. In the beginning, when we did the demos, we thought it wouldn’t make it onto the album—but it turns out, it’s my favorite now. I think Mana, our drummer, was the first to say he really liked this song. For the nerds out there, if you listen to Mana’s drumming in the chorus, you might recognize a little tribute to KISS’s Unmasked.
Killharmonic Orchestra
This title is probably one of my favorites. Me and Tracy—my co-writer in lyrics and vocal coach—had this idea like a movie script: an old symphony manuscript from the Dark Ages is found, long forgotten and banned (by the church maybe) back then as evil. Now it’s been discovered, and at the grand premiere, the crème de la crème of the city gathers at the cultural center to hear it. But of course, it opens the gates of hell, hehe! This would have been a great plot for an ’80s movie—or even a 2025 one!
Musically, it started when Kone was working on riffs, and I told him, “Hey, make your own version of Bark at the Moon.” He asked what I meant, and I explained my “method”: when there’s a song I wish I had written, I like to make my own version of it. Take what I like most, twist it, break it down, and reassemble it in a new way—keep the feeling, but make it my own.
I remember the chorus had some last-minute arrangements. I originally wrote some way-too-progressive stuff in the middle part, so we had to simplify it—it sounded too confusing and didn’t fit the album.
Collectable
This one Kone and I wrote together. We aimed for something Alice Cooper-ish. Funny thing is, now that it’s out, most comments say it sounds more Pink Floyd-ish—which we definitely didn’t plan, but hey, cool!
I wanted to add a western/country vibe, and with Kone’s guitar skills, it turned out pretty cool. Also, I think it’s the first Lordi song with a fretless bass, which Hiisi plays. He actually built it himself—he’d kick my ass if I didn’t mention that!
Story-wise, it’s typical haunted doll horror stuff, but also touches on my problematic relationship with toys and collectibles. If I see something cool, I have to own it. Especially KISS stuff—action figures, lighters, candles, wine glasses—you name it. There’s always four of them, and your collection isn’t complete unless you have all four.
Fangoria
‘Fangoria’ is named after the American horror and cult film magazine of the same name—my favorite magazine from the ’80s and ’90s. Monsters, horror stories, movies, and especially the costume design/SFX articles were huge for me. I’ve long wanted to do a tribute song to it.
Right in the intro, there’s also a reference to the Back to the Future movies—fans might quickly catch it!
Hellizabeth
‘Hellizabeth’ is another typical Lordi song, both lyrically and musically. It’s styled like a horror film storyboard about a woman’s haunted house experience.
Musically, the “wow” moment is the weirdly progressive beginning. It stems from childhood memories of learning an instrument. It’s basically the vocal melody of the verse played like a nine-year-old would play it—every instrument playing it in unison, nothing else. That’s how my brain worked with music as a kid, before I realized the background is supposed to add harmony and chords!
Retropolis
Another potential album title—it pretty much sums up the album’s vibe. Musically, it’s all built around a happy-sounding main riff Kone wrote. It has a U.D.O. Faceless World vibe.
Lyrically, it paints a picture of the feeling you’d get from shows like Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica, or Masters of the Universe. A very visual song—it brings Somewhere in Time-era Iron Maiden cover art to mind.
It’s not really a story, more like a retro post-apocalyptic vibe. I really miss those days… everything was better in neon lights!
Frighteousness
I came up with this idea around Christmas two years ago—one of the first wordplays on this album. It’s about a fearsome god, Old Testament-style.
Alice Cooper’s Only Women Bleed was the influence here. Originally I had Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road in mind, but it turned into Alice—which is fine.
This song really showcases Kone’s guitar solos. I asked him, “Do you really think every solo needs to be that fast? So many notes in every solo?” He just said, “Yes, it’s necessary.” I went along with it—and now I agree, it sounds pretty damn cool.
Also interesting—the vocals in the verses start clean and gradually go into full Lordi mode. On the last album, I did a song in clean voice and people (even friends!) didn’t believe it was me. So this time I wanted to prove it and had fun doing it.
Limited Deadition
This wasn’t the original album title—it was a last-minute decision. I was watching Dexter: New Blood and there was a taxidermist who was collecting… women. Dead women, obviously. That’s where the idea came from—about collecting corpses. A serial killer who’s proud of his collection and even willing to trade. Like if you had a queen or president in your collection—it’d be ultra-rare, right?
You Might Be Deceased
The inspiration here is the Sixth Sense movie—“I see dead people,” you know? What if you’re dead but don’t know it? Very Lordi lyrics, my kind of humor.
Like, if you walk through walls, fire doesn’t burn you, or ice doesn’t freeze you—have you considered you might be dead? The lyrics are styled like advertising: “Have you ever…?” and “The answer might surprise you.” I thought it was a funny approach.
Musically, it echoes older albums like Scare Force One or To Beast or Not to Beast—not intentional, but it came out that way, especially in the riffs. I love the part where Hiisi briefly shifts to a totally different rock style. And another killer solo by Kone—one of my favorites.
Someone pointed out we missed a great opportunity—adding an SCG interlude after the last track, announcing, “The program is over, thank you and goodnight,” like old TV broadcasts. Damn, I wish I’d thought of that!
