Lordi - Costumes

Costumes

The monster masks and costumes the band use are made of foam latex. Mr. Lordi's mask was first cast glued together piece by piece. The other masks are solid helmets. It takes the other band members about 20 minutes to put their masks on, though it takes Mr. Lordi two to three hours to put on his. Mr. Lordi mentioned that their suits still have some original pieces from 1996. He has also said that the suits cost them "a few hundred euros". The band members do each other's makeup.

The monster costumes are such an integral part of Lordi's publicity image that they refuse to be photographed or even interviewed without them, even if in some cases it leads to their own discomfort. Lordi has done interviews without their masks but the interviews are always filmed from the back so that their faces are not visible. During interviews, Lordi members speak English to the cameras, not their native Finnish. In a brief segment on the BBC reporting about the band attending the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, they were shown lounging beside a pool in full sunlight, while wearing their costumes. During the segment, Lordi remarked that the costumes and the heat did not mix.

Lordi members have stated that their costumes were inspired by Kiss and the horror genre. Mr. Lordi himself has said that without Kiss, Lordi probably would not exist. The costumes have also drawn comparisons to the thrash metal group GWAR, who wear similar foam latex monster outfits, though their musical styles are quite different. Mr. Lordi has claimed in interviews that he had never heard of GWAR when he formed Lordi. In a recent interview Oderus Urungus of GWAR called Lordi "a kiddie version of GWAR" but felt that Lordi did not rip off GWAR, as both bands owed their image to earlier musicians like Kiss. He seems to have a tongue-in-cheek rivalry with Mr. Lordi, as he has stated his desire to "remove Mr. Lordi's mask and expose him as a silly human".

Mr. Lordi's mask was auctioned for more than 6000 euros. It was bought by a Finnish businessman, Vesa Keskinen, in an auction organised by YLE. Lordi's costume is currently in the historical costumes section in Turku Castle.