Sexorcism – Unexpected Twist

It’s time Monstermaniacs, another album released by the band I cherish deeply, I have not done one of these since 2016 and I want to do them more often, because I love what I do.

Lordi’s back and just as the way I love them. I remember the first time I saw the title for the album: Sexorcism, along with its track list, I was worried the band was becoming more pornographic. No, they’re not actually, Lordi’s been doing this all along. What’s funny is that in a recent interview on SoundCloud with Mr. Lordi, the album isn’t really controversial, that’s just the media talking.

But enough of that, I was lucky to have my copy of the CD arrive on the day of release date, so I spent my afternoon listening to it and wow, it was actually better than I expected! So, without any further ado, let’s talk about the album track by track.

Sexorcism

So, let’s start with the title track, I felt like this one served as an appropriate intro with the priest chanting the words, and to me this song was very fast-paced and progressive with the story it tells. The lyrics have a meaning and that pleases me because I was going into this album worried that it was just going to be another HYH, but instead I was surprised to learn that it had a story instead even if it’s an erotic one. It definitely reminds me of Demonarchy but surprisingly I like it more probably because it has a story but still maintains the catchy sound during the chorus.

I also love the keyboards, it serves as a good start to the album itself and I can picture the band playing this inside a church and then there’s that priest as well that I saw on the last tour. Definitely a good start so far.

Your Tongue’s Got The Cat

The first single that was released, this song was a catchy one to love at first listen. I am getting Get Heavy vibes when I hear it and it is also considered the softest of the album. It’s got lyrics you want to sing to right away and the chorus is worthy of belting out as possible. Hell, that was me after hearing it several times on its own. It’s great how this takes me back to the beginning of Lordi, and like I said in my individual review: the riff and beat is awesome and not only does it sound like Get Heavy, but also Deadache too; most notably the story is reminding me of Missing Miss Charlene so it shows that no, Lordi is not changing completely, they’re still the way they’ve always been.

This song is catchy melodic Lordi through and through that I know and love, and I would love to hear this one live, it’ll get the crowd going.

Romeo Ate Juliet

Heavier than its predecessor, but I didn’t like it as much after the first listen. Clearly it sounds cannibalistic when you think about it, but once you hear it, you may or may not think the same thing.

What’s funny, is while I am not fond of the song as a whole, I actually like the chorus. That likely means it will grow on me if I continue to listen. (A friendly reminder that I need to listen to my music by CD more often because with my iPod, I often miss songs due to me not putting all the songs per album on it, so I could be missing out on some other good ones). I love that “Julieeeet” at the end of it for some reason, and this is where Mr. Lordi tries to insert those screams like he’s trying to imitate U.D.O which isn’t new to me obviously, but yeah, decent song, needs to grow.

Naked in my Cellar

The second single, accompanied by a music video. Now this song has grown on me over the past few weeks since it’s been out. I have to say that now I really like intro to it with the clinking of chains and then you add in the bass and keyboards; that is one of OX’s best bass solos on this album so far. Honestly, I expected lyrics like Evilove which is my favourite bonus track and one of my all-time favourite Lordi songs but there is nothing really explicit or gory in this song’s lyrics at all: it’s just like any sort of love possessive love song, only this time it’s by monsters in a rock band! It makes me want to imagine something that isn’t really worth mentioning in this article!

There’s been some criticism on how raspy Mr. Lordi’s voice is during the verses; he sounds like Ozzy. Perhaps he was going for that, or he just felt like experimenting as he said in an interview when would be the best time to scream. Anyway, yeah I really like this one now, I’m still not totally fond of the music video though even if it is better than the last and could be another great one to hear live.

The Beast Is Yet To Cum

Not my favourite to be honest. This song was all over the place for me, and although I liked some of the riffs and beats: since this song is strong on the drums, it just didn’t do it for me. I felt like Mr. Lordi was trying too hard with those screams in the verses, which again, I do not have a problem with, but in some songs it works and in some it doesn’t. Maybe to me, it didn’t fit, but I could picture some girl having rough sex with the devil and then the devil isn’t satisfied until he has another round to make her orgasm. This song was also the only one where I didn’t like Hella’s keyboarding, it just sounded weird to me like I was trying to figure out where the song is meant to be enjoyable.

There is always going to be at least one song that I won’t like for whatever the reason, and this is probably the weakest on the album in my opinion. (Mr. Lordi said it was his favourite in an interview hahaha, why are we the opposite!?)

Polterchrist

This song you guys…… THIS SONG. I don’t know what happened, but it hit me in the face with the choir and keyboards at the beginning. This was Hella at her best, and at first when I listened I was getting Conjuring vibes and started to move in my seat once the pre-chorus started. Then, enter the chorus and I thought it was super catchy at first listen. I got up dancing and started imitating Mr. Lordi while mouthing the lyrics. If I start to do that, it simply means that I love it.

It’s like this, the song seems to start off as a little weak as you listen to the choir and verses and then….. boom it turns into a powerful chorus that just builds up my adrenaline. Lordi, if you ever come back here on the next tour, please play this one! It’ll definitely make me go ballistic!

SCG9: The Documented Phenomenon

Of course, no Lordi album is complete without a Scartic Circle Gathering and this time it’s in the middle of the album instead of the beginning or end. It opens with the priest (is it a priest?) mentioning the date: February 15th 1974; which is when Mr. Lordi was born so that can’t be a coincidence before proceeding to talk to a little girl, but she’s possessed by a demon.

See, this totally reminds me of that scene in The Conjuring 2 where the press tries to interview the Hodgsons and Janet is possessed by the spirit of Bill Wilkins and speaks instead through her. Definitely creepy.

Slashion Model Girls

Another one that needs to grow on me, but I do love the riff and beat so far. Amen and Mana always seem to nail it on that even if I don’t love the song at first listen. But something tells me that compared to the other songs on this album so far that I haven’t loved yet, I think this one will be the first that will grow on me. Backing vocals fit the chorus perfectly, and for some reason, I have a a weird dance routine for the pre-chorus that I haven’t attempted yet but I was picturing something full of blood and guts during that part!

I think I’m going to like this song after a few more listens, so I’m gonna give it a chance.

Rimskin Assassin

Another fast-paced song, and this is another one that hit me in the face. I remember hearing the sample for it and already I was enjoying the melody over all. There isn’t anything special or strange about it like Polterchrist, but it doesn’t need to have that for me to enjoy it.

There isn’t much else I can think of saying but it’s a cool song and another one I want to hear live.

Hell Has Room (No Vacancy in Heaven)

Another thing that completes any Lordi album is a song that has to do with heaven and hell. It has an eerie intro that was about to suck me in, but the rest of it is decent. I’ll be honest here, the title doesn’t seem as creative probably since we’re used to seeing this before. Sometimes you run out of title ideas and pick something really simple.

I don’t know, well, regarding the melody, drums and everything, it’s not as fast this time so it seems when they were putting the songs together they went back and forth. But this song has me in the Neutral Zone. I never was a big fan of these types of songs, but hey how come I have never mentioned Mr. Lordi’s laugh in any song that has existed to date? Because I’ve always loved that laugh he uses in recording, not just the one when he’s just speaking normally. Well, I certainly don’t dislike this song, but I definitely do not love it.

Hot and Satanned

This was actually one song that I was looking forward to hearing the most. It was mainly because of the story: of a girl who was bullied in school, until she sold her soul to the devil and got back at everyone at picked on her.

While the verses aren’t that strong, the chorus is great and it immediately sucked me in with how melodic it was. I wish I could do the same as this girl to everyone who bullied ME in high school. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover you know? Hahahaha! Oh, and I should mention, Amen’s guitar solo in this song, damn this is by far my favourite solo in this album. I think it’s due to the sudden pitch switch. Way to go Amen, this song is awesome, I knew I was going to like it!

Sodomesticated Animal

This is a weird one. I thought I liked it when I first heard the sample, but for some reason when I heard the full version, I wasn’t so in love anymore, and that happens. The intro is really weird before it jumps into the speed again. So, what kind of pet are we talking here? Ah, that’s me being literal again. It still sounds catchy to some extent if you have a different way of looking at it.

I do like the chorus though, so again, it’s another one that needs to grow on me.

Haunting Season

This song definitely serves as a great closure to the album. It’s eerie, dark, powerful, and at a different pitch for a change. Why can’t Lordi make more songs that sound like this (I mean melodies like DIAL, HRH, Evilove, etc.). You know how Powerwolf often closes their albums with a darker song with a long quiet ending, this is exactly the same!

This song is creepy with Hella’s keyboards and the riffs Amen puts into it, you know what? It shows that Lordi still has their horror theme and I feel like this song represents their love for horror the best. It also gets darker at the chorus and I’m loving that. I can picture a haunted house with a Lapland owl perched on the tree as I enter to whatever is waiting for me inside. Then, it ends off with church bells as it goes on for almost a minute and slowly gets quieter to finish things So, I certainly get the vibes from Lordi’s albums that were horror-focused. I’m totally loving this one.

Okay, that’s a wrap, time for my final thoughts.

I clearly underestimated Sexorcism as an album because of the art and song titles. It’s definitely not controversial, in fact after listening, this sounds just like good ol’ Lordi to me. Sure, we all had our doubts in the beginning because we believed the band was turning into making porn songs but they weren’t. Lordi has always been doing songs that were like horror monster love and sex in one. Besides, what were the majority of songs from the hard rock genre about? A lot of them were about love, sex, and combine that with something you’re passionate about: Horror and voila! Oh, and don’t forget KISS being Lordi’s bigest influence, you know how all the songs Gene Simmons sings are seductive right, well another factor to add to why Lordi’s always made songs like this.

Although this album is kind of everywhere with sound in general it still turned out to be a lot better than I expected.

My favourite songs:

Sexorcism
Your Tongue’s Got The Cat
Naked in my Cellar
Polterchrist
Rimskin Assassin
Hot and Satanned
Haunting Season

I find it easier to rate albums with star rating so 4.5 out of 5 stars for this one. Pretty darn close to Get Heavy and The Arockalypse which got full 5 stars, and that’s my spiel.

Lordi fans, how do you rate Sexorcism? Did it surprise you, or was it a disappointment?

👽Emily