LORDI Frontman: 'We're Ready For North America'

Finland's monster rock 'n' roll band LORDI invaded New York City this week, arriving in the Big Apple in preparation of its first ever U.S. live performances. Along the way, the band has turned plenty of heads.

Since arriving in NYC on Monday, LORDI has taken the city by storm, thrilling throngs of curious onlookers during media events in both Times Square and Union Square Park. The band was swarmed by excited fans, casual observers and in-the-know media as daily routines absorbed moments of surreal excitement at the sight of the costumed quintet.

Bandleader Mr. Lordi comments, "It has been great to be in New York City doing press for a few days and getting ready for Bamboozle. New York is much different than it was when I was last here in 1997. We're all enjoying it."

LORDI will perform amongst the featured artists of the 2007 Bamboozle festival, set to take place Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6 at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, NJ. The band will close Bamboozle's "Saints & Sinners" stage on Saturday and "Carnivale Stage" on Sunday in support of its latest album, "The Arockalypse". The group will appear alongside festival headliners MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, LINKIN PARK and MUSE.

LORDI, who conquered numerous European charts and completed a six-week sold out tour of Europe after winning Eurovision (the song contest that previously was a springboard for mainstream artists such as ABBA and CELINE DION) in 2006 by its highest score ever, hopes that its gargantuan success abroad will translate to North American audiences and music fans.

On the topic of LORDI's U.S. "Monster Invasion", Mr. Lordi exclaims, "We don't know what to expect from these two shows but they will definitely be an indication to us of how we are being received here in North America, that's for sure. A lot of our fans are traveling from far away to see us as I've read on our website, and that is exciting. It will be great to see them at Bamboozle." He adds, "We've had to shorten our set because unlike a headlining show back home, festival shows are a bit different. We'll have a different set list and because 'The Arockalypse' is the album that fans are the most familiar with here in the U.S., we will be playing a good chunk of songs from it. It'll be different for us — the songs and the set-up — but we're ready for North America. We're ready to rock Bamboozle!"

As previously announced, LORDI has been selected as one of the main stage acts for Ozzfest 2007, alongside headliners OZZY OSBOURNE and LAMB OF GOD. The high-profile annual summer trek is set to launch July 12 in Seattle, WA.