Search - Lordi: Market Square Massacre on DVD

Massacre? A Masterpiece!

Mike Schorn | APO, AE United States | 09/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"By the time "Market Square Massacre" was released, fans of the Finnish monster squad had been begging for something of the sort for about four years, and being largely an image-fueled group, it can be argued that the package came a tad late...but seeing as Lordi's fortunes blossomed to unheard-of extents following their Eurovision win, dreams came true and the band finally released a DVD that was much more than just a concert, and very much worth the wait. "Market Square Massacre" largely remains the cumulative package of the band, shining the spotlight not only on what the group can deliver musically, but also covers their extracurricular activities.
To run down the list, here is what you'll find on the DVD...

1. Live Performance at Helsinki Market Square: the band's gratis homecoming performance drew a whopping 90,000 for a half-hour show that featured "Bringing Back the Balls to Rock", "Devil is a Loser", "Blood Red Sandman", "It Snows in Hell", "Would You Love a Monsterman", and "Hard Rock Hallelujah". While musically sound, a few obvious technical failures occur during the show that usually involve props not working properly. While on the short side, the band provides optional commentary (in Finnish, but with English subtitles) throughout the gig, and fellow Finn-band Thunderstone's vocalist Pasi Rantanen makes a cameo to sing backup for "Hard Rock Hallelujah".

2. "Eurovision Specials": Lordi perform "Hard Rock Hallelujah" and "Bringing Back the Balls to Rock" during the Finnish semifinals, as well as their famous offering of the former during the big show. Also included are the "Hello Athens" documentaries - a six-part mini-series (in Finnish, but with subtitles) highlighting Lordi's stay in Greece, their expectations, and the kitsch surrounding the entire contest.

3. Music Videos: "Who's Your Daddy", "Hard Rock Hallelujah", "Blood Red Sandman", "Devil is a Loser", and the 2006 version of "Would You Love a Monsterman" are included...but the original "Monsterman" video isn't.

4. "The Kin" Movie: Lordi's 2004 short-film , presented in all its glory. Running 33 minutes with Hollywood-caliber production values, the horror feature tells the story of a young authoress whose book on monsters leads her to intimately explore the terror of life beyond death following the passing of her mother. Arguably of Lovecraftian structure, the film features the "older" band (including Enary and Kalma, since replaced by Awa and OX) in cameo appearances rather than as main characters. Storyboards, a still gallery, and a making-of featurette (also covering the "Blood Red Sandman" video) are also included.

Without a doubt, Lordi drew no short straws during the production of this DVD: this is the definitive Monsterican package. Little nitpicks - like the missing "Monsterman" video - are quickly forgiven once it's made clear that by the end of all of the features, you'll know the band about as intimately as any fan; and viewers who already are fans should be pleased that the best of their favorite monsters has been compiled so practically. The whole show looks quite capable of satisfying fans for at least another couple of albums...and then, Lordi will be hard-pressed to top this!

(WARNING: DVD is manufactured in both NTSC and PAL formats, but sellers generally don't differentiate)"