Of the originals, it is hard to narrow down the standouts, which also points to what could be considered a weakness of the band. While each song is haunting, there is a slight lack of variety. Again, this is a strange feeling of conflict as I listen, because I really like it, they make this bit of sameness work for them, but it also causes none of the songs to really jump out from each other. Still, a few that my ears seemed to perk up to included "Right Here in My Arms," "Your Sweet Six-Six-Six," and "The Sacrament."
The music is highly polished and finely produced to a smooth melodic veneer, so much so that I wonder what they are like live. I can only imagine the smooth melodies played out in a darkly grandiose and melodramatic fashion, only with a roughness around the edges. These studio recordings are a testament to the visions of love and death as directed by Ville Valo, whose voice is captivating. The rest of the band is solid, if unspectacular, none of them would be considered virtuosos on the basis of what is offered here, but HIM is more about the sum of its parts, rather than the individual accomplishments (aside from Valo).
Bottomline. May not be a must have for fans who most likely have all of the songs already, but for those newcomers, like myself, this serves as the perfect primer to the world of HIM's love metal. The album may have an sense of sameness, but it is a haunting sameness that pulls everything together behind the enigmatic, charismatic Valo, who really seems to like himself on the cover.
Recommended.
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Article comments
1 - David
That is a nice assessment of the CD. I've seen them live a few times and it's quite an entertaining show. Valo's voice live is either hit or miss (I believe it has to due with the given venue) he is either phenomenal, or suffers from the acoustics of the venue. Either way, a damn good band.
2 - Kerri
I wholeheartely agree with your assessment of HIM as well. Ville Valo is by far the most brilliant songwriter that I have heard of in a very long time. If you like "Dark Light" and "Greatest Hits". then you must pick up "Deep Highlights and Brilliant Shadows", "Love Metal" and "Razorblade Romance". They are all AMAZING CDs filled with wonderfully original and eclectic sounding songs. I'm looking forward to the release of "Venus Doom" in September and hope that they play in NYC soon!
3 - Cat
Welcome to the world of H.I.M. This was a great article. You review was right on the money. Ville Valo has one of the most amazing talents for songwriting and live performance. Go see them live when you get the opportunity. "Venus Doom" the upcoming CD already sounds like it will be amazing. Thanks again for such a great article on an amazing band.
4 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.