LORDI Announces 'Unliving Pictour Show' Spring 2024 European Tour

Finnish hard rock monsters LORDI will embark on a European headlining tour in the spring of 2024.

After introducing their latest album, "Screem Writers Guild", to enthusiastic masses in European arenas alongside metal greats SABATON and BABYMETAL in April/May 2023, the band will now hit the road as part of the "Unliving Pictour Show 2024", consisting of 17 concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

"Unliving Pictour Show 2024" dates:

April 06 - DE Villingen-Schwenningen - Neckarhalle
April 10 - DE Cologne - Essigfabrik
April 11 - DE Braunschweig - Westand
April 12 - DE Oberhausen - Turbinenhalle
April 13 - DE Wilhelmshaven - Pumpwerk
April 17 - DE Hamburg - Gruenspan
April 19 - DE Stuttgart - Im Wizemann
April 20 - DE Markneukirchen - Musikhalle
April 21 - AT Wiener Neustadt - Arena Nova
April 25 - CH Pratteln - Konzertfabrik Z7
April 26 - DE Memmingen - Kaminwerk
April 27 - DE Munich - Backstage
April 28 - AT Innsbruck - Messehalle A
April 30 - DE Mannheim - Capitol
May 02 - DE Regensburg-Obertraubling - Eventhall Airport
May 03 - DE Leipzig - Hellraiser
May 05 - AT Vienna - Stadthalle

Released in March 2023 through Atomic Fire Records, "Screem Writers Guild" was produced by LORDI frontman Mr. Lordi with Mana and Janne Halmkrona as executive producers. Ilkka Herkman took care of its mixing and Pauli Saastamoinen mastered the record. The artwork was also designed by Mr. Lordi who has made a name as director for the band's vision since the early '90s. Its title is a reference (and a "LORDIfied" play on words) to the "Screen Writers Guild", an association of screen writers in Hollywood ('20s to '50s),yet there is no doubt that LORDI's musical version is much louder and fiercer. "The record itself isn't a real concept album, but it obviously plays with the overall cinematic theme," says Mr. Lordi.

LORDI caused a sensation by winning the 2006 Eurovision with "Hard Rock Hallelujah", which in turn made the band's third release, "The Arockalypse", a hit throughout Europe. On the back of their Eurovision win, they scored a lucrative series of promotions including LORDI-branded cola, boiled sweets and credit cards; and played live at the MTV European Music Awards. A square was renamed in LORDI's honor in the Lapland city of Rovaniemi; a LORDI-themed postage stamp was issued in Finland and the group starred in its first film, called "Dark Floors".

With their monster-movie stage persona, LORDI seemed a most unlikely choice to represent their country in the Eurovision Song Contest. So you can imagine how many people were shocked when the group not only claimed top honors, but also earned the most points in the venerable event's history.

In the days following LORDI's Eurovision win, Reuters reported that nearly 200,000 Finns signed an online petition to express their dismay after tabloid magazines published pictures of the bandmembers out of their trademark monster suits.

Even though Mr. Lordi and his bandmates had asked media not to run pictures of them out of character, two Finnish tabloid magazines went ahead, sparking an online backlash from the group's fans.

Back in 2017, Mr. Lordi admitted to MariskalRock that he was initially comfortable about LORDI's connection to Eurovision. "There was a time a couple of years ago — well, more than a couple — when I really, really, really hated that everybody's always asking about the goddamn Eurovision; there was a time," he said. "Nowadays I have come to terms with it. It's, like, okay, I'm actually proud that we are part of Eurovision history and I am proud that Eurovision is part of this band's history. I mean, it is a big part of our awareness. Because the awareness of the band would be so different, it would be so much smaller, without that one TV show ten years ago."

He continued: "I absolutely don't regret that — absolutely not. Because I have nothing bad to say about Eurovision itself, but the problem that we have had in the years is the people who actually don't know anything else except for the fact that we were on Eurovision. And that is a big stamp to get out of — it's like a fucking tattoo, you have a fucking tattoo on your forehead that says 'Eurovision.' And that is something that really, really, really drove me nuts some years ago; I was really struggling with that.

"I have come to terms with it — it's all right; I mean, it's cool," he said. "I am proud of it. And every May, when there's a new Eurovision, I know that my phone will start ringing and people will ask my opinions and then we get requests: 'Do you wanna come to this country's semifinals? Do you wanna come here?' And for years we said, 'No, we don't wanna. We don't want to.' But now, we're, like, 'Fuck it! Let's do it. What the hell?' I mean, c'mon, it's all fun, and it's part of our history, and the Eurovision, they really want us to come there, because, let's face it, we are one of those winners that people still remember."

LORDI 2023 is:

Mr. Lordi - vocals
Kone - guitars
Hiisi - bass
Hella - keyboard
Mana - drums

Photo credit: Eero Kokko (courtesy of Atomic Fire Records)