The Finnish monsters of Lordi were spreading their horror through Europe with their “European Monstour” and with a new album under their arms this was a tour to look forward to. As support they brought along their young-and-upcoming country mates and fellow hard rockers Shiraz Lane and the Gothic inspired Swiss Silver Dust. Since they were making a stop at De Kreun in Kortrijk, only 20 minutes away from my home, I knew I had to be there to catch the monstrosity and especially the very first Belgian gig of my friends of Shiraz Lane!

The Swiss Gothic inspired metal/rock formation Silver Dust,got to open this night of rock ‘n’ roll. To be honest, for me they stuck out a little bit like a sore thumb next to the other two bands. The music being less rock ‘n’ roll, they still sort of fit in since they had a bit of the theatrics that Lordi showcases every show. Their show opened with some a video playing on a mirror-like looking screen, setting the vibe of Gothic and spookiness. The music itself was pretty interesting, had its catchy moments and caught my attention quite easily. The enthusiasm of the band members, with a special mention to the crazy person behind the drum kit, was quickly picked up by the crowd, creating a rather festive atmosphere. A really cool moment in their set was when singer/guitarist … was having a solo battle against a “Phantom of the Opera” looking dude playing the organ on the video screen. They definitely know how to put down a healthy dose of theatrics and despite not really fitting in with the other bands musically, they earned their spot for sure and is a band to keep an eye on!

Setlist
Intro
Welcome
So Let Me Now
Heaven Knows
The Age of Decadence
My Heart Is My Savior
Duo Orgue/Guitare
Shame On You
The Judgement Day
Now We Request

The crowd being warmed up already a bit, it was time for the hard rockers of Shiraz Lane. During Summer I got to talk with a few of the guys (for the interview go here) and caught a show of them in their home country Finland. Looking at their hunger and enthusiasm I was really looking forward to see them rock the stage! Talking with them just before the show started, they came across really energized by the fact that they get to tour with their musical heroes of Lordi (for the interview go here). When they ran on the stage and immediately busted out some of their killer songs like Wake Up, Momma’s Boy and Begging for Mercy, the crowd went wild for the Finnish pretty boys!

Especially singer Hannes and bassist Joel were all over the place, trying to rile up the fans even more into partying with them. Their bluesy and groovy hard rock graced by a touch of glam definitely raised the temperature in the room quite a bit. I’m pretty sure that they gathered themselves quite a few new fans (especially if I look at how many people came up to them for a pic after the show)! I’m happy to see that things are really going up for them and we’re all looking forward to hear about new work of them soon!

Setlist
Intro
Wake Up
Momma’s Boy
Begging for Mercy
Money Talks
Same Ol’ Blues
For Crying Out Loud
Mental Slavery
Out There Somewhere

Everybody was properly warmed up and ready for the band everyone was waiting for: Lordi! They might not be as popular anymore than during their Eurovision stint with Hard Rock Hallelujah, but the venue was filled up quite nicely to have a monster of a party! They kicked off immediately with the new song Let’s Go Slaughter He-Man (I Wanna Be the Beast-Man in the Masters of the Universe) bringing Skeletor on stage with them. And this was just the first of many gimmicks and characters they shook out their sleeves this night. They might not have the pyro with them since the rather small venue, but the show definitely didn’t lack any theatrics!

There were many kills that took place, some cannibalistic act, OX slashing a nun with his ax bass after his solo, dancing skeletons during the drum solo of Mana, Hella‘s monstrous baby coming on stage after her keyboard solo (and killing the babysitter) and a real Indiana Jones moment with Amen coming out of a sarcophagus, killing off the adventurer to embark on a really cool guitar solo were just a few of the antics that happened during the show. The setlist consisted mostly out of materials from all of their past releases with here and there a new song like the really groovy Hug You Hardcore which got the party juices flowing in everyone present. In between songs mr. Lordi himself was regularly joking around with the crowd, showing that his theatrics are not the only entertaining part of his being. One thing is sure: they were all as he said himself “sweating their balls off” in their costumes…

Ending their regular set with Devil is a Loser with a whole bunch of clawed long middle fingers flying in the air, they luckily came back for a few encore songs. The lucky chosen ones were fan favorites Who’s your Daddy? and Would you Love a Monsterman? and on that last question everyone there could only have one answer on this: hell yes!

Setlist
Intro song (God of Thunder by Kiss)
Intro SCG8: One Message Waiting
Let’s Go Slaughter He-Man (I Wanna Be the Beast-Man in the Masters of the Universe)
Babez for Breakfast
The Riff
Helbender Turbulence
Bass Solo
Bite It Like a Bulldog
Icon of Dominance
Drum Solo
Hug You Hardcore
It Snows in Hell
The Children of the Night
Keyboard Solo
Cadaver Lover
Down With the Devil
Blood Red Sandman
Guitar Solo
Hard Rock Hallelujah
Sincerely With Love
Devil Is a Loser
Encore:
Who’s Your Daddy?
Would You Love a Monsterman?

For more pictures go see our photo coverage here and our photographer’s Flickr page here!