Here we go with Lordi's second studio album.

If you checked our awards this year, you know I elected this band (in fact their first album, Get Heavy) as the surprise of the year. In our family - my wife and my two sons - Get Heavy was the best album for 2003. We listened to Get Heavy days and nights, in the car, at home, in France (for our winter holidays), in Greece (for our summer holidays) ... so I can say that the whole family was expecting for their new album, The Monsterican Dream.

It is very difficult to come back with a new album after the huge success of Would You Love A Monster Man? The trap to write the same kind of melodies can be a temptation and at the same time, writing brand new songs as good as the previous record isn't an easy task. With Get Heavy, Devil Is A Loser, Icon Of Domiance and of course Would You Love A Monster Man?, the previous studio album was full of jewels. So what shall you expect from this one ?

Well after the first spin, I came first to this conclusion : Lordi didn't reiterate the performance of Get Heavy. After two/three spins, I even though this one hardly deserve a high score. I went last week to the Gods Of Metal (Bologna, Italy) and while we were coming back home with the train, I let The Monsterican Dream drive me back home. Guess what ? My first impression was wrong. This album is fuck**g good : songs take time to grow in you (more complexity ahead) and the melodies are not instantly recorded by the brain ... but once you get use to, the melodies don't leave you. No fillers, lots of "hits" and a great production (the sound used for the drums and the keyboard is simply amazing). For sure my friends, this Monsterican Dream pleases the whole family. The style remains the same : heavy rock 'n' roll, with a kind of "disco" tempo. Actually, the rhythm reminds you Rammstein, but of course the German band plays a much heavier music compare to Lordi.

The song "supposed" to replace the mega-hit Would You Love A Monster Man? is here. It took me a lot of time to spot it but Blood Red Sandman (third track) is enormous !!! The riffs, the chorus, the arrangements remind you again the best moments of Kiss and Alice Cooper. Actually, The Monsterican Dream could have been the following album of Hey Stoopid (Alice Copper). The intro - Threatical Trailer - speeches from itself (who said Lordi is a humorist monster?). The opener Bring It On grabs you by the balls : a rock 'n' roll/disco song, like it was the case on Get Heavy. My Heaven Is You Hell is another potential hit in the vein of Devil Is A Loser. Pet The Destroyer is quickly assimilated with its hunting bridge & chorus. Shotgun Divorce - with a leading piano - is a wonderful power ballad, while Wake The Snake, with its dancing tempo, is another great track. At the end, Blood Red Sandman is the winner ... and easily replaces in my heart Would You Love A Monster Man? Well done Monsters !!!

The special edition (with a DVD) contains a 30 minutes scary film and the video-clip of Blood Red Sandman. Once again Lordi surprises me: it is difficult to confirm the expectation of the public with the second album, especially after the huge success of the first record. The Monsterican Dream clears all doubts : Lordi are not a bunch of clowns and Lordi's talent as song-writer is bright like the sun in summer. If we could switch the first album (Get Heavy) and this one (The Monsterican Dream), I would write the same review. The surprise is gone for sure ... but the talent is now carved in stone.

Two thumbs up !!!