† NillaMora †

by Matt McRae

HIM
Venus Doom

Though they have been around since 1991, HIM was brought to the attention of the American public thanks to Bam Margera.

The band's sound is driven by the signature forlorn and pleading voice of front man Ville Valo. He has a swooning voice that is rare in the heavy/gothic metal world. Their newest album, Venus Doom, has an even grittier and darker sound than its predecessors.

"The idea to have nine songs was based on Dante's Inferno, cause hell has nine layers, so it's like going deeper down into hell and then coming back," Valo says, according to the band's Web site.

Doom does just this. It brings you to hell and back. As the songs fade into one another, the music leaves the listener feeling like they are leaving one layer and entering another. By the time you get to "Cyanide Sun," it still…

From the back of the CD:

H.I.M.’s cult-like following has only just begun to grow. Right from the start, Ville and the boys had a sound quite unlike their metal brethren in Finland. The combination of the romantic and the hard-edged, epitomized by their “Love Metal” aesthetic and iconic “heartagram” logo, won them fans throughout Europe, as well as fans abroad. Skating legend and “Jackass” Bam Margera adopted the band’s logo and got the hype machine rolling. His devotion, along with his non-stop media exposure, introduced H.I.M. to a whole new audience. Since then, they’ve become one of the most beloved and recognizable bands amongst an entire generation of music fans.

Vitamin Records’ “The String Quartet Tribute to H.I.M.” is a haunting and beautiful recreation of this iconic band’s unique sound. Their pulsating riffs and lush melodies are the perfect template…

Out on Chrom Dreams, which also released the Depeche Mode biopic DVD "Random Access Memory", are the HIM 2CD "The Lowdown" and the DVD "Poison Arrow". "The Lowdown" 2CD set feates rare interviews with Ville Valo and his band (in English) where they discuss life, music, fame, touring and a whole lot more, plus an audiobiography telling the group's story from day one right up to date. The package also includes many seldom seen photos, full colour booklets, posters and a whole bunch of other features. The "Poison Arrow" DVD features rare footage plus exclusive interviews with the band and those who know them best, including: singerVille's father, Kari Valo, close friend and professional colleague of the band, Silke Yli-Sirnioe, HIM's PR and Tour Organiser, Tomi Saarinen Top Finnish DJ from YLEX (the country's premier rock…

Ville will be on MTV2’s Rock The Deuce on September 29th, 2007 at 10:00 P.M. EST/PST counting down his favorite videos.

Also catch HIM on MTV2’s The Drop the same day between 7:00 P.M. - 11:00 P.M. EST/PST to catch clips of 3 songs.

BY Daniel Wilcox 

Finnish legends return with 6th studio album... and they still kick ass.

Welcome to my first ever 411 album review, and shit, I couldn’t have started with a harder one to review.

Who? – HIM is comprised of Ville Valo (vocals), Linde (guitar), Mige (bass, backing vocals), Burton (keyboards, backing vocals) and Gas (drums).

What? – You ask most HIM fans and they’ll tell you that HIM are the orginators of Love Metal, a term coined by Valo. However they can be classed as heavy metal, alernative rock or goth metal.

Key Releases – 2005’s Dark Light saw the band gain some press in the States and really brough them to the forefront of their genre. Outside the US, they’re more well known for their earlier sets, Razorblade Romance being the best of the bunch.

Expectations – Personally, I’ve been expecting big things for this…

 By Jussi Ahlroth 

 Venus Doom is expected to climb into the US Top 10

    Ville Valo does not look like a man with great expectations weighing on his shoulders. The pressures stay beneath the surface, even though HIM's new Venus Doom album is supposed to to climb into the Top 10 in the United States lists, the superheavyweight category of global music markets.
      Venus Doom is released today (14.9.) in Finland and Germany, and next week in other markets on both sides of the Atlantic. HIM's last release Dark Light made it to #18 on the Billboard Top 200 in its first week of release in October 2005. This time around, such numbers will not be regarded as doing the business.
     
And what…

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