I still remember the shock in the faces of the vast majority of Eurovision Song Contest supporters the time LORDI were crowned as winners of the 2006 installment. Not, of course, because "Metal music nailed them all down, aarrrggghhh!" but because it was an eerie and peculiar feeling to witness something out of the ordinary happening in a mainstream happening. If only a bunch of teenagers grabbed the chance to dive inside Rock/Metal's magic through this carnival that's a big deal, and credit should go to these Finnish 'monster' metallers anyway.

LORDI's music never was - and probably will continue to not-be - the result of complex songwriting themes tied to scholastic lyrics concepts. The spirit of ALICE COOPER/KISS, the malice of W.A.S.P. and the discipline of ACCEPT and JUDAS PRIEST all mixed in a shock Rock/Metal concept with BROTHER FIRETRIBE-alike melodic parts seems to be the everlasting directive of Finland's most recognizable Metal act to date. It should be noted, though, that the 'core' fan base of European Metal (talking about non-Scandinavian regions, of course) seem to think of LORDI as more of a gimmick band with average music and nothing more, hence not as 'true' as needed to be approved, while an impressive percentage of their dedicated followers seem to be friends of modern music in general with a specific band-orientated tang ID-ying their taste in music (let's say e.g. PLACEBO, METALLICA, U2 and TOKIO HOTEL). Anyway...

"Babez For Breakfast" is heavy and has hardrockin' melodies and licks; this is old news to many. The vocals are metallic and with a GRAVE DIGGER-ish flavor while the guitars are traditional and sharp with no surprises; the same goes for the precise solo work. Hence, the role of the bass/drums parts is relevant; all of these resulting in an album counting many songs of 'radio' duration dressed in the trademark LORDI theatrical style (the successful use of keyboards layers helps in this direction). The monsters/horror/gore Rock formula in the lyrics is again present and who'd complain really? The music is a solid ball of rock and the production is broadened and polished but not lame. "This Is Heavy Metal" stands out as the leader among the songs listed (it's the album's first single, too) with its in-your-face OZZY-meets-KISS "provocative" manifestation aiming to what "Hard Rock Hallelujah" did four years ago. I loved "Rock Police"'s melodic approach or "Loud And Loaded"'s rockin' declaration even better, though!

LORDI's musical value should be graded better than assumed; and I pity the fans and even the band themselves for supporting a promotion mainly having to do with their costumes and a Eurovision-stamped CV. "Babez For Breakfast" is a good album. Not average, not bad of course, but not impressive or mythical either. I think all LORDI releases (excluding the near-perfect, in my opinion, "The Monsterican Dream"), past or present, will deliver the 'good' imprint anyway. Predictable yet good hardrockin' Metal music from a humorous and/but reliable band; is that a minus?