Mr Lordi

Tomi Petteri Putaansuu (born 15 February 1974), known professionally as Mr Lordi, is a Finnish musician, businessman, special effect make-up artist, songwriter, painter, comics artist and graphic designer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Lordi. In the band he is responsible for songwriting and creating all the masks, costumes, graphics and stage props.

Mr Lordi has written songs and provided album artwork for bands such as Rotten Sound, Jope Ruonansuu, Domination Black, Grandevils and Agnes Pihlava. He has also had a few art exhibitions in Finland.

All publicity photographs of Mr Lordi have his face concealed with his mask and stage makeup. After 2002, when the first single "Would You Love a Monsterman?" and the album Get Heavy were finally released by BMG Finland, Mr Lordi is still responsible for all the album artwork, merchandise design and masks and outfits of the band members. The songs he writes along with the other band members.

Mr Lordi has written songs and made album covers for many Finnish bands and artists like Rotten Sound, Agnes Pihlava and Neljänsuora. Outside Finland, Mr Lordi has been featured as a live guest on U.D.O.'s and Doro Pesch's concerts.

In 2011, Mr Lordi created his own choir from Rovaniemi for the Finnish version of the Clash of the Choirs miniseries. He named his choir "Rock'n'Rollo" and invited the choir to perform in Lordi's anniversary concert in 2012.

Filmmaking In the late 1980s, Mr Lordi started to make horror movies with friends. As a movie director and effects designer, he, along with the young movie makers Pete Riski (Lordi's future music video director), Petri Kangas, Kimmo Valtanen (to-be Sony BMG Finland CEO) and Tomi Yli-Suvanto, received many awards and represented Finland at international film festivals. He made Lordi's first music video, "Inferno", a seven-minute combination of horror fantasy and heavy metal music video, in 1995. The video featured Mr Lordi's friends in heavy makeup and masks and horror decorations made by Mr Lordi – and Mr Lordi himself singing without any makeup. Shortly thereafter, he met his future band members on a Kiss Army trip to Sweden and Lordi turned into a real band with four members – Mr Lordi, G-Stealer, Enary and Amen.

The fictional history of Mr Lordi tells that his father was a Demon of the South named the Duke of the Demons and his mother a Troll of the North named Angel. The Demons invaded Lapland and raped the Trolls. As a bastard son of both, Mr Lordi received the supernatural powers of them and during centuries appeared as several historical figures, such as Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Vlad the Impaler and Ivan the Terrible. After defeating the Demons and Trolls, as the Lord of Lapland, he rode in a sleigh, given to him by Santa Claus (Puuhkalakki), pulled by flying zombie reindeer.

According to one theory, Mr Lordi has spent centuries searching for his "One True Love", but has not found her. Kalmaged the Time-traveller tells that Mr Lordi has integrated himself to the magnetic field of the Earth and thus controls the whole planet and can now travel between different dimensions effortlessly. Mr Lordi has personally gathered the other band members as allies in the trans-dimensional war against their enemies. Domination Black: Fearbringer (2005) Martti Servo & Napander: Kestävällä pohjalla (2010) Rockamania: Rockamania (2010) Jope Ruonansuu: Jopetusministeri (2011) Jope Ruonansuu: Veljekset kuin kyljykset (2012)

Mr Lordi's art exhibitions in Finland Kulmagalleria: Mr Lordi's art exhibition (8–30 August 2009) Kulmagalleria: Ihmeellistä Mautonta Menoa (7–30 October 2011) Kauppakeskus Revontuli: Vistoja Kuvia (13 July – 11 August 2012)