Rockfreaks.net

support All For Metal
author AP date 17/03/24 venue Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DEN

More than ever, tonight’s freakshow headlined by the 2006 Eurovision song contest winners in Lordi has forced me to rethink how one approaches reviewing a concert. I think most of us can agree that the Finnish shock rock band does not exactly represent the crème de la crème of musical artistry, and as such, comparing them to more ambitious outfits within the realm of rock and metal would be pointless. One must accept the four musicians for what they represent and for what they are trying to do, and base one’s opinion on the degree to which they achieve that. It is thus with an open mind that I arrive at the nearly sold out Pumpehuset on this chilly Sunday evening, hoping to be positively surprised, if nothing else. Upon my arrival, I also discover that the opening act, Supreme Unbeing, has been forced to cancel due to illness — and after having endured quite a few multi-band line-ups of late, I have to admit that this is somewhat welcome news despite the unfortunate circumstances. An early night for once!

All For Metal

First up is thus the Italian power metal crew All for Metal, who, in their fantastical battle attire, look right at home within the fortress of monstrosities that has been erected on stage for Lordi. One might imagine them as the daytime inhabitants of Lordi’s dark fortress, filling it with bustle and pomp before the creatures come crawling out. The proceedings begin with the eponymous “All for Metal” from the group’s 2023 début album “Legends”, which sees the two vocalists, Tim ‘Tetzel’ Schmidt and Antonio Calanna, towering over the crowd from their respective platforms, and the masked bassist Florian Toma slithering between them like an insidious goblin. Say what you want about the undeniably (and probably consciously) cheesy music — but it is hard to dislike the band’s extravagant and spirited performance, let alone their abilities as musicians. As a razor sharp rendition of “Fury of the Gods” shows, there is no shortage of talent in this six-piece, whether manifesting through the soaring tenor of Calanna, the blazing guitar soli ripped out by Helloween lead guitarist Kai Hansen’s son Tim (who is subbing for Ursula Zanichelli on this tour), or the dynamic percussion of drummer Leif Jensen. With such instrumental prowess at their hands, it is no wonder then, that All for Metal manages to turn a genre that is too often marred by clichés into something quite infectious and at times even awe-inspiring.

Skill of musicianship aside, a lot of that infectiousness stems from the sheer exuberance of All for Metal’s performance. Tetzel’s swinging a giant hammer during the crescendo of “Raise Your Hammer”, or Calanna’s quasi striptease involving the band’s brand new tour merchandise may seem cringeworthy — and they must know it! — but they are nonetheless the sort of gimmicks you won’t soon forget, just as they engage the audience very effectively. The concert takes the form of a story, with Calanna and Tetzel both using the time between songs to present a theme and connect it to the current moment. “Mountain of Power”, for instance, is preceded by a call to “Show [our] biceps!” by the hulking Tetzel, while before the power ballad that is “Legends Never Die”, Calanna pays tribute to all the people who are no longer with us. And the final track “Goddess of War” of course honours the women in the audience tonight. Is it over the top? Hell yeah! But there is enough irony to the extravaganza to prevent it from becoming farcical — and the individual performances of the six musicians command respect. Power metal and I will likely never be the best of friends, but it is refreshing to venture beyond my comfort zone and discover something so thoroughly enjoyable as All for Metal’s concert tonight.

Lordi

“Lordi! Lordi! Lordi!" chants fill the air as the lights are dimmed, and soon a masked and robed figure arrives to deliver a thespian introduction to the grotesqueries that are about to be unfolded. And once the monsters, sans Lordi himself, have taken their positions on stage, they kick the proceedings off with “Unholy Picture Show” off 2023’s “Screem Writers Guild”. The chief figure himself then traipses out of a curtained gateway in the middle of the stage and instantly, hundreds of smartphones are raised in hopes of trying to immortalise him in Apple and Google’s clouds. Although the overall sound mix leaves a lot to be desired, the dominant presence of the bass guitar wielded by Hiisi is a welcome touch, even if it makes the melodies of guitarist Kone and keyboardist Hella difficult to discern in the next track “Lucyfer Prime Evil”. After these songs have done their job in conjuring the desired atmosphere, Lordi shows off his Danish language skills and goes on to explain that the show tonight will focus not just on the aforementioned new album, but also on the band’s 2004 sophomore outing “The Monsterican Dream” in honour of its 20th anniversary this year. “And yes, we’ll also play that one song…”, he quips before “My Heaven Is Your Hell” and then “Blood Red Sandman” are unleashed. The latter is an early highlight, reminding us that beneath the overdone costumes are real, competent musicians who chose to lend their talents to what is essentially an inoffensive PG-13 version of GWAR.

But while some of these lesser known tracks do have some merit, most of them are completely anonymous, leaving it up to Lordi’s caricatural stage presence to bear the weight of the show. His frivolous banter, funny faces, and theatrical dismissals of the crowd’s applause and cheers deliver just enough entertainment to keep the freakshow rolling. But when the solo interludes (one per band member) that intertwine with famous pop and rock songs from a backing track represent some of the finest moments of the lengthy set, one has to ask the awkward question: does Lordi really have material needed to pull off a headlining concert? Hit singles like “Who’s Your Daddy” from the group’s 2006 breakthrough album “The Arockalypse” naturally earn a loud sing-along as such a ridiculously catchy song should, while the Motörhead-inspired “Wake the Snake” and the moody “Shotgun Divorce” emerge as personal favourites of mine thanks to their slightly more serious tone. Yet there is palpable sense that the audience is simply counting the seconds until the smash hits conclude the show. And unlike, say, Lordi’s concert at the Hellfest in 2013, theatrics are kept to an unusual low, with Hiisi’s biting the neck of what is supposed to be an angry heckler providing the most memorable example. I’m not gonna lie: there is a bit of a has-beens vibe about Lordi here, and when “Would You Love a Monsterman?” and, of course, “Hard Rock Hallelujah” are finally aired, the atmosphere in the venue never reaches that fever pitch everyone had expected.

At the risk of treading on the band and their devout fans’ toes, one gets the impression that the finale feels more like a nuisance or an obligation than a moment of catharsis. No amount of giant bat wings extending out of Lordi’s back or elevators raising him high into the air is going to change my mind on this: the shine has worn off the aging monsters and it all just seems trite at this point. Don’t get me wrong — Lordi’s concert tonight is enjoyable enough, but I think I can speak for most people in attendance when I say that our minds are far from blown.

Setlist:

• 1. Unliving Picture Show
• 2. Lucyfer Prime Evil
• 3. My Heaven Is Your Hell
• 4. Blood Red Sandman

— Drum solo —

• 5. In the Castle of Dracoolove
• 6. Scarecrow
• 7. Thing in the Cage

— Keyboard solo —

• 8. The Children of the Night
• 9. Who’s Your Daddy?
• 10. Wake the Snake

— Bass solo —

• 11. Kalmageddon
• 12. Shotgun Divorce

— Guitar solo —

• 13. Inhumanoid
• 14. Dead Again Jayne
• 15. Devil Is a Loser
• 16. Would You Love a Monsterman?
• 17. Hard Rock Hallelujah