Skelectric Dinosaur (1975)

Tracklist:

1. SCG Minus 7: The Arrival
2. Day Off of the Devil
3. Starsign Spitfire
4. Maximum-O-Lovin’
5. The King on the Head Staker’s Mountain
6. Carnivore
7. Phantom Lady
8. The Tragedy of Annie Mae
9. Blow My Fuse
10. …And Beyond the Isle was Mary

With ‘Skelectric Dinosaur’ we get how Lordi would’ve sounded like if they would be an early seventies rock band like early Kiss. While this is still a highly entertaining part of the set of albums, I feel this one is slightly underwhelming compared to the rest. The music is expertly put together, with a bass rumble and guitar twang that is oh so recognizable for the time period, but somehow Mr. Lordi‘s voice is a bit off putting here. That typical rasp/gravel takes me somewhat out of it all.

But that sounds maybe a bit too negative. Like I indicated before, I still highly enjoyed this one with for instance one of the highlights on the album ‘Maximum-O-Lovin‘. That track has such an upbeat, fun-loving vibe, great guitar hooks and a harmonized chorus that I found myself singing along to rather quickly. And that short but very tasty guitar solo plus the sudden appearance of a cowbell absolutely sold me on the track! And the more uptempo bluesy adventure a la ZZ Top that is ‘Carnivore‘ every time makes things a bit brighter. Of course ‘Blow My Fuse‘ is also one of the highlights, not too surprising since it’s supposed to be one of the top tracks, having ended up on their earlier compilation album ‘Killection‘! Probably the album I’ll return to less frequently, but a great start of the set.