An essay on metallurgy…or was it alchemy?

Three albums into their career, with healthy combined sales of 2 million, HIM felt it was the right time to define a couple of things. Define HIM the band. Define the music, already commonly known as love metal. And, last but not least, figure out the deeper meanings behind the mighty Heartagram!

You hold the results in your hands, in the compact form of "Love Metal". One and a half years worth of exploration and soul searching, as well as the time-honoured tradition of 'working one's ass off’, has gone into these ten songs.

"There we were. Gas a hopeless Slayer addict and Burton completely hooked on Tchaikovsky. Mige getting high on Brian Eno and Linde tripping on Jimi Hendrix on a regular basis. Me, I was curing my hangovers with shots of Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison."

The 'me' being Valo, vocals and songs. Gas on drums, Burton on keyboards, Mige on bass, Linde on guitar. Collectively they are known as HIM.

"We had no idea where it would lead us in the end. Whether it would turn out to be silly psychedelic music or the meanest motherfucker of metal known to man," Valo grins. "But it felt really good. We just incorporated all the elements that came naturally and took it from there. With pretty mediocre success, of course…"

That last tongue-in-cheek shot reveals that Valo & co. are content in fact they are immensely proud of their fourth album. Just listen to that new kind of urgency that's so evident on songs like "Buried Alive by Love" and "Soul on Fire"! The deep dark groove of "Sweet Pandemonium"! The sheer spiritual qualities of "The Sacrament" and "Circle of Fear". The innocent beauty of "The Funeral of Hearts". The purgatory that is the epic finale, "The Path". Consider love metal defined.

"It's the love of the Summer of '67 getting crushed by the metal of the post-Altamont world," Valo offers with a sly smile. "And everything’s happening right here, right now! In 2003."

The making of "Love Metal" was a two-dimensional thing. The album was produced and recorded in Helsinki by Hiili Hiilesmaa, producer of the very first HIM album back in 1997. Hiilesmaa is noted for his work with mostly pretty uncompromising metal bands (Sentenced, Moonspell, Amorphis, Theatre of Tragedy…), and easygoing as he might be on the outside, in certain respects he runs a tight regime. Nobody survives his sessions if failing a serious attitude check!

"What has always fascinated me about Hiili is the manic way he approaches recording. The guy is nothing else but metal's answer to reggae's Lee 'Scratch' Perry! The Mad Scientist. One who always dares to experiment with things that others dismiss off-hand as crazy or laughable."The second dimension came about through a transatlantic move. Next stop was Scream Studios' Los Angeles. Birthplace of Nirvana’s "Nevermind", Faith No More’s "The Real Thing" and countless other latter-day classics. The album was mixed there by Tim Palmer whose work, especially with U2, caught Valo's attention. A bit of a surprise, this one?

"Yes and no. U2's music as a whole isn't really my thing, that's right. Then again they have songs like "One" and "With or Without You" that are very close to the thing I try to achieve, you know, melodically, lyrically and feel-wise. But always with my own, shall I say, David Lynchian twist to it," Valo reveals. "Tim did a beautiful job unearthing all those hidden treasures within our music. I could just sit back wearing the fly glasses that Bono had left behind at the studio, and listen to the music sort of unravelling before my ears."

So it was as if a piece of Helsinki winter madness had been thrown onto Venice Beach. Or perhaps a case of LA smog vs. the midnight sun (with a few English showers thrown in for good measure, given the fact that Mr. Palmer is indeed a Briton). Light and darkness clashing. Whatever the case the different elements complement each other beautifully. The end result is a vibrant concoction of in-your-face riffs, heavy beats and sweet soulful melodies.

"I'm still quite amazed how easy it was in the end, making this album," Valo confesses. "But then again, as we all know, Elvis has already done everything! I guess the man gone and took the load off our backs."

When returning to LA for the video shoot of "Buried Alive by Love" (directed by 'Jackass' honcho Bam Margera and featuring actress Juliette Lewis of 'Natural Born Killers', 'Cape Fear' and 'What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?' fame), Valo was touched to find out first hand that even some of Kelly Osbourne's friends proudly wore their heartagram tattoos. (Now one has to bear in mind that Kelly's dad is pretty much responsible for the HIM guys being in the business in the first place…)

"I mean, uh… after all, how wrong can you go with a heartagram?" For once Valo seems a little bit lost for words. "We can argue about good or bad taste, but it's a sensual symbol, isn't it?"

Yes, the heartagram. The same symbol that is displayed on the album cover has followed HIM from the very beginning.

"We have such terribly short memory spans that we couldn't possibly think of having individual symbols like Led Zep did," the heartist himself laughs. "The heartagram stands for HIM as a band, as an entity. And for love metal in general."

Harder than titanium, softer than pure gold, quicker than silver. Red hot or cold as steel. Love Metal.
Taken from heartagram.com.
HIM
Ville Valo (Vox)
Bad Mige (Bass)
Linde (Guitar)
Gas Lipstick (Drums)
Burton (Keyboards)

Formed in 1995, the multi-platinum selling Finnish band HIM forges the path on a true quest for the reinvention of goth rock. In their creation of songs in the vein of bands such as Sisters of Mercy and Black Sabbath, HIM uses a distinctive combination of alternately haunting and jarring melodies as well as inspired, poetic lyrics to mark their musical ground. Vocalist and songwriter Ville Valo was the band's founding member, alongside Bad Mige (bass), Linde (guitar), Gas Lipstick (drums), and Zoltan Pluto (keyboards) - who was later replaced by Burton . HIM bring this unique brand of music to the U.S., for their first wide release of Razorblade Romance, through Universal Records on 10/28/03. The band found their way to Universal through Jimmy Franks Recording Company, a label run by HIM fan - Jimmy Pop of The Bloodhound Gang, for more comprehensive exposure to the American market.

The EP 666 Ways to Love was the group's first recording and bowed in late 1996, attaining considerable praise within their native Scandinavian market. One year later, Greatest Love Songs, Vol. 666 solidified their cult status throughout the region and was the debut of the band's critically acclaimed 'rocked-up' cover of "Wicked Game," a Chris Isaak original. The band set out on an extensive touring campaign to further strengthen their fan-base. At the turn of the millennium, the European version of Razorblade Romance, produced by John Fryer (White Zombie, Nine Inch Nails), hit record stores. Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, the band's third full-length disc, arrived in late 2001, followed by the band's current European album, Love Metal.

HIM came to the U.S. with considerable European success under their belts. With fans in the international press like Kerrang! and Metal Hammer as well as celebrity admirers like actress Juliette Lewis (who appears in one of their European videos), Ozzy Osbourne (who has invited the band to tour with him) and Bam Margera (of CKY and Jackass fame, who put HIM’s music in his videos), the band are poised to conquer the U.S. rock scene.

The Heartagram, the band's signature visual - a combination of pentagram and heart - is the symbol that represents the band's name for their sound - LOVE METAL. Love Metal is Depeche Mode meets Dimmu Borgir in a David Lynch movie… According to Ville "Love Metal is music that includes elements of pop, metal, goth, glam… its music inspired by the feelings you have before the first touch, before the first kiss. Love Metal is like the movie poster for Gone With The Wind, you know, except having Lemmy Kilminster embracing Madonna in the sunset."

The band's name, or their use of 666 however demonic looking, has nothing to do with any religious beliefs or ideologies. For Ville and HIM 666 is all about contradictions, the Good and the Evil in love. They speak of love that is larger than life and yet very close to death, the never-ending duel between the carnal and the pure spiritual sides. "That is why Romeo and Juliet are the hero and heroine in our music," says Ville. That becomes very clear when listening to "Join Me In Death," the epic gothic romance track on the album.

Though ample homage is paid to goth and romance, there is certainly no lack of rock swagger on the album. "Your Sweet Six Six" conjures a "dirty" "LA rock" feel. "Right Here In My Arms," a European hit, is a hard-charging rocker as well. "We are from the middle of nowhere, our traditional music has always been melancholic," says Ville "But we were inspired by Black Sabbath and Type O Negative when writing our first album. They introduced us to the possibility of mixing doomy music with heavy music… you can hear it in that record."

Reflecting on the timing of HIM's assault on the U.S., Ville said "I think it is great now, what is going on with Evanescence, and on a smaller scale Lacuna Coil and The Gathering… the time is right for our kind of music." The HIM crew look forward to touring the U.S. and playing to American audiences. "I can't wait to get on the road," says Ville "I have only seen New York, LA and Philadelphia (when HIM played with CkY at one of Bam's video release parties) and I look forward to seeing the rest of the country." Judging from the number of people who buy their albums on import and fly over to the UK and Europe to see the band play, it is plain to see that the U.S. is looking forward to seeing HIM.
Taken from Universal Records.