HIM's emergence in America seems to be penned firmly to the back of skater- turned-reality show deviant Bam Margera, who immortalized the band's heart-a-gram logo on skateboards, clothing, and even in ink on his uncle Don Vito's back. But the quartet of Finnish rockers lifeline can be tracked by back to 1997, with the release of Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666. Three albums later, singer Ville Vallo, keyboardist Burton, drummer Gas, guitarist Linde and bassist Migé, are continuing their gothic-flavored rock assault with the release of Love Metal.
While the band drudges up images of Europe's dark north – the pagan lands that spawned brutal black metal – it remains true to a form HIM dubs “love metal.” The eleven tracks siphon hollow, gloomy imagery into thick slabs of crunchy guitar, and the growling drive of “Buried Alive By Love” adjusts the lighting for the rest of the album, illuminating the aggressively delivered melodies through menacing candlelight. “Beyond Redemption” finds texture through dripping synthesizer work, while the brawn of “Sweet Pandemonium” is masked by a haunting, delicately delivered, lovesick verse.
Dark and brooding at times, HIM is capable of breaking delicate melodies with robust riffing. What essentially disrupts the melodic, arena-sized assault, however, is the band's predilection for inserting hook-laden choruses into many of the compositions found on
Love Metal. While often adding much needed penance for their growling dirges, such a predictable shift often unjustly softens the intensity, dragging down the dark images with empty weight, skewing what could be a relevant and powerful marriage of Goth and heavy rock.
