HIM: album reviews and ratings

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Reviews & Recommendations

	His Infernal Majesty (HIM)

Artist Listing:

S - Z

Line-up:
Ville Valo - vocals
Lily Lazer - guitar
Mige Amour - bass
Gas Lipstick - drums (1999 to date);
Mikko Rantala, aka Pätkä, drums (1996-1999)
Emerson Burton - keyboards (2001 to date)
Zoltan Pluto - keyboards (1998-2001) ; Antto Melasniemi, keyboards (1996-1998)

"There is something coolly suave about Finnish rockers H.I.M. From their spirited and driven melodic metal, right down to their glam-meets-goth image; there is enough marketable sweetness to moisten knickers with alarmingly regularity. Yet, there lurks a depth within these hardy champions of the ample ‘pop rock’ tune, and this is what affords H.I.M. an edge and charisma within their scene."

-- Chris.C , metaluk.com, 4/03

HIM Discography - Album / CD Reviews

1997: Greatest Lovesongs, Vol. 666
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¾ 2000: Razorblade Romance
"A self-proclaimed 'love metal' band, Finland's H.I.M. (which stands for His Infernal Majesty) is that country's biggest rock export ever, and it's easy to see why. Having shed some of their guitar-heavy edge which worked so well on the band's awesome 'Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666' release, H.I.M.'s penchant for making music that is equally dark and deliciously melodic is even more pronounced than before, with mainman Ville Valo consistently writing some of the strongest material I have heard in years. Although there are obvious reference points, such as Type O Negative, Depeche Mode, Mission U.K. and Sisters Of Mercy, Valo's knack for marrying goth metal influences with mindlessly catchy pop melodies has resulted in a virtually unbeatable combination—one whose appeal extends itself to a much wider cross-section of the rock world than is the case with the above-mentioned acts."

-- Borivoj Krgin, Road Runner Records

2001: Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights
"The Helsinki rock band HIM made a major breakthrough last year with bold songs of love and death. Metaphors of self-destruction combined with melodic pop songs which had been produced into bits of metallic atmosphere. HIM's new album, 'Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights' moves the band in a softer direction. HIM's favourite themes, love and death, have been narrowed down to just love, and the guitar and drum sounds are lighter than in the previous recording, Razorblade Romance. This is somewhat unfortunate, in that HIM's habit of combining degradation and passion is what made it both a traditional, and an interesting band. (...) In its third album, HIM seems to be working more on the kinds of rock sounds that Bon Jovi, for instance, produced in the 1980s..."

-- Jani Mikkonen, helsinki-hs.net, 8/01

½ 2003: Love Metal
"It's another emotionally charged collection of love songs, all of which are underpinned with choppy drums and flickering but not overwhelming guitars. This is a more cohesive and enjoyable set of songs than on the band’s last album ‘Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights’, due in part to the slightly firmer structure and muscularity of the material as a whole."

-- Chris.C , metaluk.com, 4/03

2004: And Love Said No (The Greatest Hits 1997 - 2004)
Gathers together all of the hits and classic tracks from the utterly excellent HIM - Presenting this indispensible collection of the Finnish Goth rockers finest moments together in one luxurious package. The limited edition version comes complete with bonus DVD recorded in Semifinal, Helsinki in April / may 2003 and presented in glorious 5.1 digital surround sound.

-- press release

2005: Dark Light
Tracklisting: 1.Vampire Heart 2.Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly 3.Behind the Crimson Door 4.Killing Loneliness 5.Dark Light 6.Drunk on Shadows 7.Under the Rose 8.Play Dead 9.Face of God 10.Night Side of Eden

"Sisters Of Mercy fans will remain defiantly nonplussed."

-- Uncut Magazine, 11/05

"The truth is that metal fans used to have a word for music like this, and that word is wimpy."

-- NME, 10/05

"While the drop in adrenaline has left room for some good ideas, they’re not fleshed out well enough, and with the lack of a single flat-out rocker, there’s nothing to get excited or exhilarated over. "

-- Stylus Magazine, 9/05

2007: Venus Doom
Tracklisting: 01. Venus Doom 02. Love in Cold Blood 03. Passion's Killing Floor 04. Kiss of Dawn 05. Sleepwalking Past Hope 06. Dead Lover's Lane 07. Song or Suicide 08. Bleedwell 09. Cyanide Sun

Release date: Sep 18, 2007

2010: Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice
Tracklisting: 01. In Venere Veritas 02. Scared to Death 03. Heartkiller 04. Dying Song 05. Disarm me (With Your Loneliness) 06. Love, the hardest Way 07. Katherine Wheel 08. In the Arms of Rain 09. Ode to Solitude 10. Shatter me with Hope 11. Acoustic Funeral (For Love in Limbo) 12. Like St. Valentine 13. The Foreboding Sense of impending Happiness

Release date: Feb 9, 2010

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Recommended Links:

HIM: official site