It was a surreal and almost dreamlike moment when the castle started to make its way onto RadioRock stage. It was… I had a hard time grasping that what was to come next was indeed Lordi and not some other band with a huge set up. That is how long it’s been since Lordi used a stage like this, this big. Nostalgia is really just the first name on the feeling on this.
As we watched the poor crew set up the stage (poor crew as in having every ones eyes on them) we talked and chatted and were just you know, basically getting ourselves excited for the gig. Discussed the castle layout. Discussing how the hell Lordi was even going to fit on stage… and then we noticed it. Awa’s and Kita’s masks on the drumset and keyboard. It was… a bittersweet? Would that be the right word? It was a strange and emotional feeling seeing the masks of the ex-members, the Arockalypse masks, on top of that, from the ex members on stage. Jesus Christ, this show was really about to become an emotional rollercoaster.
And then… before we knew it… Ralph Ruiz gets on stage, lipsynching to “SCG3”. Hearing them open with “SCG3” instead of “ETA” was the weirdest and most surreal thing ever… and when the drums started, pyro starting and everything launches us into “Bringing Back The Balls To Rock”… I can’t even. I can’t even describe how surreal and odd it was. And then when this chanting starts… “Get Heavy… Get Heavy...” It’s like, is this real? Is this fanta-sea? Who knows. “The Kids Who Wanna Play With The Dead” was next on the list, followed by mine… well, not my favorite I guess, “Biomechanic Man”.
And it’s after this Nathan grabs my arm and looks at me with big eyes. I’m just staring at him like “what the fuck man?” and he just looks at me and goes “Do you hear it?!” and I’m just there like “No???” and he’s like “THE CHAINS; THE CHAINS!!!” And I’m still confused before it hits me.
“Pet The Destroyer”.
You see, all the day, all up to the showstart, we had talked about how “Pet The Destroyer” would probably be cut from the setlist because of lack of Kita, which was really sad, seeing I had gotten soooo pumped for this song, and in all honesty, it’s really one of Lordi’s best songs. So, with that said, we were all very very convinced that “Pet The Destroyer” wouldn’t in any sort of way happening.
Until it actually did.
I… I’m trying to find the words. The words when the realization hit that they are indeed playing that song. All I can say for sure is that it was the best moment of the show, and that I am forever grateful they played it, after all.
“Rock The Hell Outta You” was the next song on the list, followed by OX’s repeating the old trick on beating up the poor person with the baby before “Blood Red Sandman”. I’m pretty sure it’s about here some time where OX’s fires off his bazooka and are, well, basically an inch or so away from blowing Amen’s head off.
“It Snows In Hell” was the next song and for the first time ever Sophie has joined in to do the upside down thing. Just as hilarious as always, really.
“Who’s Your Daddy?” was up next, followed by “They Only Come Out at Night” before they left the stage and Amen came back, and this time through the castle doors. How majestic isn’t that! He came out, did his thing, and “Devil is a Loser” was a go. They followed up by “Would You Love A Monsterman?” and wrapped up the whole set with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”.
First of all. Can we all appreciate the sound of silence? Now my heart awakes to the sound of silence…. and what I mean with this is, Mr Lordi not talking between the songs. I love the sound of silence. More songs got to be played that way. And you know what was even better? Did you hear that? The sound of NO “Sincerely With Love”! That silence I enjoy even more than the talking thing.
But aside that… reliving this set… this stage setup… It was magical. And the most magical moment was in “Hard Rock Hallelujah” when Nathan puts his arms around me and we have Sophie in front of us jumping together in a clan. Because one thing is clear – Without “Hard Rock Halleujah”, us three would not be here together. We wouldn’t even know each other. It’s hard to grasp sometimes.
After this amazing show we tried to collect ourselves and headed back into the central of Helsinki.
TO BE CONTINUED
// Sara
Sara Hammerzmith 