ON SET: January 21st 2006, Hard Rock Hallelujah music video
The year 2006 started with a bang! In January Lordi filmed the music video for Hard Rock Hallelujah, the first single from the upcoming album The Arockalypse. Little did anyone know back then that the song and the video would just a few months later shake the world big time and leave an everlasting mark in the music history. Awa had already joined the band in 2005 and played on two gigs in Russia in previous November, before Kalma left Lordi. Officially the new line-up, with Awa and the new bassist OX, was revealed on MonsterDiscoHell in collaboration with the official website on New Year’s Eve. A few weeks later Lordi invited me to come check out the new members and costumes and to get some exclusive behind-the-scenes content for MonsterDiscoHell website when they shot the new music video.
The video tells a clichéd story of a girl who gets bullied in high school but gets her revenge when the monsters and cheerleader zombies join the party. It’s directed by Pete Riski who also did all the previous Lordi music videos. During the day, when I didn’t take pictures, I got to help out in various tasks. Some being less notable but some can actually be seen on the video. It’s been almost 16 years, so I can probably tell you that when Lordi’s hand slams on the glass window of the gym hall door, that’s actually my hand inside Lordi’s glove. I also made the drawing on the notepad the girl is carrying when walking down the hallway in the beginning of the video. It was my first time being part of a bigger budget music video and I had lots of fun. Kalma also visited the set and gave some pointers to his newly appointed successor of the Kalmagedian Brotherhood. At one point, I also got into a friend photo with OX.
These are the first photos I ever took of Awa, OX and the band’s new costumes. Too bad the photos aren’t that great in quality, but there’s a few awesome and heartwarming shots and memories you can’t find anywhere else; Awa banging on Kita’s drums while he’s on a break, Awa fluffing the hem of her dress and dancing around, Kita enjoying his cheap soft drink and Lordi videotaping me when I’m taking a photo of him. On the original MDH website there were 45 of these photos, so here’s 36 more no one’s ever seen before. ‘Cause why the hell not! Enjoy!
(81 PHOTOS)
