Be Yrself, Dont Take Anybodys Shit, And Never Let Them Take U Alive..

scanned by starlight wings

1. "We are 5 boys arent we? And we play music, so we are a band.."

2. "My...my huge sweetheart Gas, Gas Lipstick"

3. "This is your last chance to shake hips and vomit all over your friends and you know be nasty in every possible way"

4. "That's the rout of all evil - to expect something"

5. "I dont believe in it, I believe that we rot in our graves and we dont have any soul or anything like that, we're just piece of meat"

6. "You should be able to celebrate that rahter than just trying to be gloomy and usa black lipstick. That was the idea behind the song"

7. "Me the sort of like ego maniac and the...the wanker of the band..."

8. "I'd tried to smack the bitch up but...it did not happen"

9. "To a new band we'd give LSD"

10. ''Jesus was the coolest rock´n roll star of all time...''

11. "Record companies are devil worshippers - not us"

12. ''There is only two things in life that you have to do, and that basically are to die and to pay taxes"

13. "We're growing old you know, I'm 26 and Gas is like 32 or something like that. We're too old to rock ’n roll, but to young to die"

14. ''I'm really happy that Gas likes the album, you know, because last time he was like "this is not metal" you know, "that's bad" you know. "I wanna record metal"  I'm really happy that Gas is happy. Thats the best thing about the album''

15. "Too much work makes Ville a dull boy"

16. "Nice to be Paul Stanley for a day - or a shitty imitation"

17. "No, I hate happy music, that makes me sad. Sad music makes me happy"

18. "Our keyboard player took my heart away" (Jussi)

19. "When ever we have the money to buy the real hats, then we will be a real goth band. Now we're just pretending to be one"

20. "I have four kids already so I don’t need anymore. I'm a single parent - taking them through Europe at times and making them play funny instruments"

21. "I'm too bad to be untrue"

22. "I like to quote the beautiful Britney Spears by saying: Thanks to our lovely record company BMG, and to our sweet saviour Jesus Christ. God bless you"

23. "It's like thinking whether the politicians are human beings or not. And of course everybody knows they are not"

24. "That’s the best mood to write in - when your suffering so, that’s what its all about..."

25. ''No, I'm not pessimistic no no - I'm finn"

26. "We're stupid musicians - we're not sound engineers"

27. "When I'm making love I have to see my girlfriend's face. I mean a position like The Wheelbarrow might be interesting and esoteric, but let's just say I don't like gardening. It's not my cup of tea."

28. "Always remember to take a shower before sex. Our bass player never showers. He doesn’t brush his teeth either, so it's pretty easy for us to know if he's been doing something, uh, dirty. You can smell it. And our drummer wanks on the tour bus which I don't consider to be a healthy pursuit, particularly since we're always passing out drunk in each other's bunks. You don't know what you've slept on."

29. ''I’m only 26 – I don’t know anything about life yet. Life is like a puzzle and my pieces are spread all over the world. I don’t have a clue about how the final picture will look when I put all the pieces together. Life is short and love is over in the morning.''

30. ''When I was a kid we played cowboys and Indians, and I always wanted to be an Indian when I grew up.''

 

1. "We had this game thing, we went into gay disco  and...and put our mobiles into our pockets really deep and went to the...the phone...a...booth to call ourselves up and let...let it  ring because when it starts to vibrate it's pretty good on...on....on...on the a...dance floor, get into that bee-gees sort of very easy"

2. "The sex we really have is with our you know fists"

3. "It's like a...It's not like straight flush, it's more like two pairs and an ace" (hmmm??)

4. "If it's my appearance that sells records - it's ok. If it's the music - it's ok...You know whatever"

5. ”Watch out Clint Eastwood - here I come!”

6. "Once there was a poison girl, who was quite poisonous to me, tried to put things in my whiskey"

7. "Finally we've got some balls - thank you"

8. "All the cigarette smoking is just a substitute for cocksucking"

9. "The bears told me the truth"

10. "His music is for adults and I don't consider myself of being an adult yet"

11. "Because I'm so beautiful, I don’t need anything else"

12. "I'm a rock n' roller so I have to say 666 hours"

13. "Britney is a bit too sort of school girlish and you know I have seen that stuff from my daddy's tapes way too much so I'm fed up with that"

14. "My main goal is to be able to sleep in the oxygen tent with bubbles"

15. “Life is short and love is over in the morning…”

16. "Now he doesn’t care about me anymore" (about Santa..)

17. “I am insane because of this genetic disorder in me. I am half my mum and half my dad. My dad is a really calm, thinking type of person. My mum is the total opposite, very temperamental. She gets angry very easily. Me, I’m something in between. I am pretty calm and I have a fascination of pornography and old cars – I get that from my dad. My dad always told me that money doesn’t grow on trees, so I’m careful. My mum told me not to put my fingers in electrical sockets, so I did.”

18. “When I heard Elvis Presley, then I knew I had to do music. Music is my god, and is the only love that has never left me. It has always been there and is my best friend.”

19. “I’m perceived as being a miserable depressive Finnish c*** - and that’s exactly what I am!”

20. “Art is always criticized and always an outsider gets the blame.”

 

21. “Even at school I studied ethics instead of religion.”

22. “I don't eat meat on tour, because it is too heavy. I wouldn't be able to move my hips on stage if I'd eat those heavy foods.”

23. “Music for me is an emotional thing and it really does make me happy. It's not a tool for me to get fame or see my face in the papers or anything like that. It's about the fact that I really do enjoy it.”

 

24. “Women are always beautiful.”

 

25. “I don't need to prove worthiness of my existence to some fuckin' cunts wearing the coolest gear at the moment.”

 

26. “Love is the funeral of hearts. Falling in love is the best way to kill your heart because then it's not yours anymore. It's laid in a coffin, waiting to be cremated.”

27. (on his brother) He does Thai boxing. He won the Finnish championships twice, so he is pretty tough. He will make a good body guard one day. I’m really proud of him.

28. I'm living my dream right now. I get to make music, perform and travel.

 

29. We started playing music from an early age and so we wasn't really aware of that side of it, the weird thing is the more successful you get the more free booze and drugs you get, they should be given to the bands who don't have the money.

 

30. “That’s what music is to me as well. It’s my way of coping with the world, coping with the good things and the bad things. Usually, it’s especially the bad things because it’s very cathartic to write a song. It’s like writing a diary. You see your inner thoughts on a piece of paper, and that helps you to reflect upon yourself through that. I do that with music, and I’m still alive and very happy.”

 

Ok... so bloodywidow69 tagged me and I have to pic my 5 fav movies... Well, the truth is that I can't really do that, b/c my fav movies are like.. 20-30!! So.. I'll do what I can..!!

Ok, here I am:

1) Pirates of the Caribbean

2) Spiderman

3) Harry Potter

4) Scary Movie

5) Sleepy Hollow

1. HIM

2. Tokio Hotel

3. 30 Seconds to Mars

4. Lacuna Coil

5. My Chemical Romance

6. Evanescence

7. Green Day

8. Placebo

9. Linkin Park

10. Sunrise Avenue

Backdoor Love Is For Losers
"When I'm making love I have to see my girlfriend's face. I mean a position like The Wheelbarrow might be interesting and esoteric, but let's just say I don't like gardening. It's not my cup of tea."

The Missionary Position Is King
"See, for me it's the missionary position and that's it. My problem is I never have casual sex. I've always been dating the girls I've been with. I'm a boring youngster. I guess - more into romanticism. If you wanted to be more adventurous you could try the lotus position - my girlfriend's just started doing yoga."

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness
"Always remember to take a shower before sex. Our bass player never showers. He doesn’t brush his teeth either, so it's pretty easy for us to know if he's been doing something, uh, dirty. You can smell it. And our drummer wanks on the tour bus which I don't consider to be a healthy pursuit, particularly since we're always passing out drunk in each other's bunks. You don't know what you've slept on."

Porn Is Overrated
"I used to work in my dad's sex shop in the early days of HIM, so I've seen most porn. Most American porn is very basic: missionary, doggy style, then anal, then squirting it, like, whatever. It's all the same and most is pretty boring. Scandinavian porn is better - Finland is the realm of porn."

Ride 'Em Cowboy
"The Rodeo position is the winner, because you hold on to your ride one handed! Then you can do other things with your free hand; roll a cigarette, read the paper, do a few lines or throw your lasso and Stetson. I haven't done that one in a while, though, because I've been looking for the right boots. That's basically the reason HIM tours a lot. You just can't get the proper boots in Finland."

Sex Toys Are No Substitute For The Real Thing
"I'm still a young bloke. I haven't passed 'level three' yet. Basically that's when you get bored of having sex, so you start buying all the little gadgets to spice it up. I've nothing against sex toys; I just don't find them interesting. I'm still happy just to have a warm body next to me."

Don't Get Hung Up On Bondage
"I'm not into bondage at all, I would hate to see myself being tied up. My fetish is my girlfriend. I love her toes, her knees, her back, everything about her. Do I know friends with strange fetishes? That would be telling and Helsinki is a small city. Although our bass player is totally hooked on lace. He even had lace curtains in his car."

Free Your Ass And Your Mind Will Follow
"When we're on tour, we check out shit-eating films. That's the best, that's where you really test your sanity! Psychologically it's very interesting. I guess people haven't passed their 'anal phase' - as Freud might say. It's a pretty natural thing really. And true spiritual emancipation if you think about it - you just let go"

'Self-Love' Is Good Love
"Wanking is always a good thing, especially on tour. It relaxes you, and I don't want to have wet dreams, especially on the tour bus. We get hotel rooms every now and then, so we're like 'save your wanking for that'. Which might explain why out Pay TV bills are always huge."

Use Cigarettes Wisely
"When you smoke it doesn’t go well with ones erection. It cogs up all the tiny veins - bad for the boner! I have a cigarette pack saying, 'smoking can damage the sperm and decrease fertility' so I consider cigarettes to be my condom.

 

 

 

 

credits to Love4tragedy

1) I'm really crazy, and when someone is not happy calls me to cheer him/her up!!

2) I'm tall, about 1.75m

3) I love Greek & Italian cuisine

4) I go mad with people who don't care about environment and waste water and energy

5) I am a drinker but I hate smoking

6) I'm SO addicted to music!! I listen to music everyday, even in school classes; I also play the piano and when I'll get time I want to learn guitar and drums

7) I have a really bad relationship with my parents, especially my mother

8) Really, I have the memory of a goldfish!! I can't remember anything: faces, names, numbers... nothing, nothing...!!!

Blinded I am
And so are you
By shedding tears
Confusion that separates us two
We hold dear

Just look into my eyes
Kiss our fears goodbye

I'm reaching for your shadow
Drowning in the kiss of dawn
Touching the pain that you left me with
At the kiss of dawn

I'm tired of the games
I'm playing with you
When you're not here
Death frees from the fear of dying
It's true, have no fear

Let me look into your eyes
And see death pass us by

I'm reaching for your shadow
Drowning in the kiss of dawn
Touching the pain you left me with
At the kiss of dawn

I'm reaching for your shadow
Drowning in the kiss of dawn
Touching the pain you left me with
At the kiss of dawn

I'm reaching for your shadow
Drowning in the kiss of dawn

1. Venus Doom
2. Love In Cold Blood
3. Passion's Killing Floor
4. Kiss of Dawn
5. Sleepwalking Past Hope
6. Dead Lover's Lane
7. Song Or Suicide
8. Bleed Weel
9. Cyanide Sun

Release date March 15th, 2004

First you pick up a guitar, mainly to impress the girls, next thing you know is you’re whisked on your way to the exalted heights of the Top (as in It’s A Long Way To The Top If You Wanna Rock’n’Roll). Not that you ever expect to reach that place. No, not in your wildest dreams… Oh, come on, of course you do!

But it’s what happens during that mythical journey that really counts. All the highs and lows, detours and strange sensations. Rock’n’Roll is not a career plan where you follow a foolproof strategy that will lead you comfortably from point A to point B. It’s rather a continuing creative process where one lives and learns amid some considerable madness. A journey so dizzying that it makes sense to stop for a split second every once in a while just to take a long deep breath.

“And Love Said No – The Greatest Hits 1997-2004” catches up with HIM  at a point where they’ve just witnessed their most recent single “The Funeral Of Hearts” reaching a respectable No. 15 in the UK charts. A place where their second album (out of four altogether) “Razorblade Romance” has sold over 100.000 copies in the USA purely through the strength of word of mouth – a promising addition to their 2.3 million European album sales. They’ve come to realize they’ve created a buzz all of their own, that they really are The Most Exciting Band Right Now! If anything HIM has proved they are too good a secret to be kept.

“And Love Said No” should be seen as a travelogue of the first part of their mythical journey. A rollercoaster ride that has seen them pack 6.000 fans into an amphitheater right in the centre of Athens, headlining major festivals in Germany, and wooing the good people of Portugal. Recording at the legendary Rockfield Studios, birthplace of Black Sabbath’s debut, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Morning Glory” by Oasis… Shooting videos in London with Kevin Godley (“Pretending”), and in places like Los Angeles (“Buried Alive By Love”), Prague (“The Sacrament”) and Philadelphia (“Solitary Man”) with self-appointed number-one-fan and professional jackass Bam Margera. Watching “Join Me” change it’s status from a mere smash No. 1 hit in several countries into their first real anthem.

Back in the mid-Nineties the band’s sole objective was to win the respect of their Helsinki City peers, and maybe land a gig or two. Starting off as a ‘Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts’, as frontman Ville Valo still maintains they did, they pretty soon started to make progress. They got the gigs, recorded a brilliant debut album (“Greatest Love Songs, Vol. 666”, 1997), and, lo and behold, the horizon widened! Some six years later they put their career on hold as they waited for their erstwhile idol Ozzy Osbourne to recover from his injuries so they could fulfil their dream of supporting him on his UK Tour. In the end they had to move on, but rest assured, a heartfelt ‘Get well f****n’ soon!’ went out to The Dad from His Boys.

With a little bit too much free time on their hands HIM returned to the studio in late 2003 and recorded two new songs. One was the title track “And Love Said No”, a Valo original (as are all songs bar two on this compilation). The other one was a version of the 1966 Neil Diamond gem “Solitary Man”,  which received the same ‘love metal’ treatment that some seven years earlier had turned Chris Isaak’s country-tinged “Wicked Game” into a punchy crowd singalong favourite. When you listen to their energetic rendition of “Solitary Man” you can almost see the glee in their eyes as they can’t wait to see people mosh to a Neil Diamond tune on their forthcoming US tour!

Love metal finds heartbreaking vocal melodies riding on waves of crunching guitars, like rays of lights penetrating the darkness (no pun intended). There’s the solid machismo of the rhythm kept in close check by the yin of tender piano motifs and acoustic guitars. Love metal can take the form of a clenched fist (“Buried Alive By Love”) or it can choose a far gentler approach (“In Joy And Sorrow”) but there’s always one thing in common: when you boil it down you’re left with a Song.

“Love Metal” was also the title of their fourth album which Spring 2003 release HIM celebrated with a return to their roots. The band played a seven night stint at the tiny-but-funky Helsinki club Semifinal – as documented in the limited edition version of “And Love Said No” featuring a six song live DVD (Please note: the DVD will be a standard feature in UK and US releases). Part awesome live band firing at close range, part true congregation of friends.

The relationship between the band and their fans is very genuine and caring, and that has put them in the position they find themselves in right now. In a way you could compare HIM to an old school cover, taking his time and taking a real interest in his counterpart, leaving all those chest-beating antics to, shall we say, lesser mortals. You can witness something just click, a bond being formed and true emotions taking their place in the front row. That’s an important factor in what makes HIM so exciting: they’re a band you can truly fall in love with.

Now, Ville Valo is a star, there’s no way you can deny that. He is the star of every room he walks into, even on the worst of off-days. But HIM fans know that he is their star, as well as HIM is their band. The distance between band and fan kind of disappears, and that makes a world of difference.

The readers of Kerrang have recently voted Ville the sexiest male star while the Rock Sounds readership puts him on a pedestal for being Hunk of the Year. Compared to those accolades the band being voted best live act, “The Sacrament” best single (both Rock Sounds) and HIM best overall band followed by Iron Maiden and Metallica (Metal Hammers UK) pales considerably…

So here we are, 16 hits into a journey. Sweet sixteen songs that most bands would die for to have grace their career retrospective compilations. But this is now, a continuation, not a destination. For HIM now is simply a place where the real adventure takes off.

What happens when love one day says ‘yes’, I hear you ask. Will it heal us or will it kill us? Well, that’s something for everybody to find out for themselves. Ville Valo included.

HIM areQ

Ville Valo – vocals

Linde – guitar

Mige Amour – bass

Gas – drums

Burton - keyboards

 

 

<taken from Love Metal Archives>

 

 

New album out April 14 2003

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 for of “Love Metal”. One and 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 run 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 approached recording. The guy is nothing else but metal’s answer to reggae’s Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry! The Mad Scientist. One who always bares 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”, Faigh 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 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 archieve, 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 unraveling 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 Love Metal Archives>

There he was. Valo, HIM frontman. The crown prince of the netherworld was lying face down on the floor of an Amsterdam hotel room swarming with police officers and paramedics, wearing nothing but his underpants, tattoos and two pairs of handcuffs. And all he wanted was a chicken toast.

It was all one big misunderstanding. After all we’re talking about the same tortured soul who had throughout the extensive tours following HIM’s million selling album “Razorblade Romance” (1999) stayed clear of posh parties and remained voluntarily in his solitary hotel room (sans police, paramedics, handcuffs) working on the songs that just kept coming. Spiritual songs about friendship, trust and love.

They are songs of longing – but they are delivered with attitude. For every moment of sorrow there’s always a mischievous smile, and akiller left hook to knock you out cold. That’s probably why the album is called “Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights”- a photography term used to describe those old black and whites of the likes of Greta Carbo. The album, too, is heavy on sharp contrasts.

When you listen to the new songs like ‘Heartache Every Moment’, ‘In Joy And Sorrow’ and ‘Close To The Flame’,  you can’t help but notice that the ‘Love Metal’ of HIM’s first two albums has turned into something significantly deeper, a scorching yin and yang concoction the band likes to refer to as ‘Scandinavian Blues’.

Instead of anything resembling 12 bar forays into the Mississippi delt the Scandinavian blues approach on “Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights” is a direct result of HIM getting back in touch with its collective roots. That has meant a healthy diet of Kiss, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin for Valo and his compadres, guitarist Linde (a.k.a. Daniel Lioneye), bassist Mige (a.k.a. Michael Eros), drummer Gas (a.k.a. Buddha Cognac) and keyboard player Burton (a.k.a., well, ‘the new guy’, having joined the band early this year).

Hot from touring the band turned the very first demo sessions immediately into album sessions proper. Capturing the magic, they call it. The bulk of “Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights” has been produced by HIM and T.T. Oksala but it contains also two songs – including first single Pretending – produced by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Bon Jovi), plus additional production touches provided by John Fryer (Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie). The mixing board was manned by Randy Staub (Metallica, Bon Jovi) and Chris Lord-Alge (Tina Turner, Keith Richards).

“Rock and roll remind me sometimes of freemasoney. It’s a big secret society with its rites of passage and myths you’re not supposed to reveal to outsiders. “Valo flashes another one of his infectious sly smiles. “So I guess my lips are sealed.

 

 

<taken from Love Metal Archives>

It’s New Year’s Eve. HIM’s hometown show at Helsinki’s renowned Tavastia Club has been sold out for quite a while now but this fact hasn’t deterred countless ticketless fans from Germany, Italy and other parts of Europe from taking the long trip into Finnish winterland. It is a case –like in the old blues saying you’re surely familiar with of ‘the men don’t know but the little girls understand’. Things are bound to change for HIM.

The third millennium has proved that the cosy days of cult status are a thing of the past for HIM. Join Me, the first single off the band’s second album Razorblade Romance, was released in Finland and Germany in November 1999. Appearing also on the soundtrack of German movie “The 13th Floor”, a production of “Independence Day”/”Godzilla” –director Roland Emmerich, the single soared into number 1# in the single charts in both countries.

In January 2000 the album Razorblade Romance went straight into number 1# in the album charts both in Germany and in Finland. Two months after the release the first single Join Me has sold more than 500.000 copies, achieved gold status in Germany and has became the best selling Finnish CD single of all-time. In Finland the single went platinum (20.000) in just two weeks.

Razorblade Romance was recorded at Rockfield Studios, the birthplace of such classics as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory and, as the band are keen to point out, the debut album of Black Sabbath. Razorblade Romance was produced by John Fryer who has previously worked with White Zombie, Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode.

HIM’s debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 was released in the autumn of 1997, introducing their sound, a vibrant mix of metal and bittersweet pop melodies. This remarkable debut paved way for Razorblade Romance, a 21st century foray into the crimson coloured landscape of love and death.

HIM lead singer and the songwriter Ville Valo (known by this, his surname, the Finnish word for ‘light’) – is half sneering hard rock front man, half suffering poet. Half heart-throb, half enigma. On stage with a bottle of red wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other, a Jim Morrisonesque figure, with a deeply emotional voice, he instantly demands your attention. His mother’s Hungarian ancestors are responsible for his dark looks and that drop of Dracula’s blood that he has in his system.

When we go back a few years we will find Valo working behind the counter of his father’s sex shop, dreaming of the music he was going to make someday. The reality of the dream is music full of soul and imagination. Songs that could move you, bring you to the verge of tears and leave their mark on you forever. Songs ranging from the crunching riff-fest that is Razorblade Kiss to the melancholic beauty of Gone With The Sin. The once cover version of Razorblade Romance is of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. Their version has layers of hard-edged guitars on it, yet the soul-searching inner qualities of the original song are left intact.

“I could see the image of the movie poster of Gone With The Wind in front of me”, Valo smiles. “With Lemmy embracing Madonna in the sunset.”

HIM

Valo – Vocals

Lily Lazer – Guitar

Mige Amour – Bass

Gas Lipstick – Drums

Zoltan Pluto – Keyboards

HIM has already two extensive tours of Central Europe under the belt, as well as 15 appearances at the biggest summer festivals in the region. The Razorblade Romance Tour will start in mid-February and it will cover Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, with plans to extend it to the UK plus shows in the major European cities.

 

<taken from Love Metal Archives>

Biography - Red wine and cigarettes

Let’s us take you on a tour to HIM and back dwell in the past, look in to a future. See where it all got started and read where it’s heading to. Know the history.

There he was, working behind the counter of his father’s Sex Shop. It was all right for the time being, but the boy with angerl’s face and devilish smile had a dream. Disillusioned with the Music he heard around him, he wanted something more. The music was lacking in soul and imagination. He wanted something that could move you, bring you to the verge of tears, leave a mark on you. And he fulfilled his dream.

Ville Hermanni Valo formed HIM in the summer of 1995, gathering around him some old friends who shared his vision of a band of rock. Ville himself calls “Love Metal”. Depeche Mode meets Dimmu Borgir in a David Lynch Movie…

“You’re so close! Love Metal is music that includes elements of pop, metal, feelings you have before the first touch, before the first kiss. Love Metal is like the movie Poster of Gone with the wind... you know, Clark Gable embracing Vivien Leigh in the sunset”

No wonder than that HIM has chosen to cover Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. The HIM vision has layers of hard-edged guitars on it but the soul-searching inner qualities of that song are left intact.

“I could relate to the mood in that song, it contains that same kind of melancholy feeling that you can find in our music. After all, we have much more in coming with a guy like Chris Isaak than any testosterone-heavy metal band. I hate joyful music! For You is my “head banging anthem”, if you know what I mean? When Love And Death Embrace on the other hand is my version of all those cheesy 80’s pop ballads.”

Ville Hermanni Valo – half hard rock front man, half suffering poet. On state with a bottle of red wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other, a Jim Morrisonesque figure (in Jimbo’s slimmer day’s, that is…) with deeply emotional voice, he instantly demands your attention. His mother’s Hungarian ancestors are responsible for his dark looks and that drop of Dracula’s blood that he has in his system. HIM stands for His Infernal Majesty.

“It stand for entirely of my reputation of being a truly infernal ladies man, totally hopeless. I get burned time after time again. His Infernal Majesty has nothing whatsoever to do with ANY kind religious beliefs or ideologies – just as in our context 666 has nothing to do with the number of the beast. When I read about those people that burned historical Finnish Churches and who names us along with Black Sabbath and Dimmu Borgir as being their main source of inspiration. I was deeply offended!”

HIM’s debut album is entitled Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 and it has a track on it called You Sweet Six Six Six. For Ville and HIM, 666 is all about contradictions, the Good and the Evil in Love. Love that’s larger than life and yet very close to death, the never-ending duel between the carnal and the pure, spiritual sides.

“666 is something you’re possessed with something you just have to get although you know it will destroy you in the end. It’s something sweet but it has a bitter aftertaste, like Belgian beer or something. Ha-ha…”

Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 contains nine songs of which seven are originals written by Ville Valo. A second cover version is a stunning, slowed down reading of Blue Öyster Cult’s mid-70’s classic (Don’t Fear) The Reaper.

“You could say that Romeo and Juliet are the hero an heroine on our music – that’s why we choose to cover (Don’t Fear) The Reaper. I heard the original or the first time on the soundtrack of Halloween and it has stayed with me ever since”

That Androgynous figure on the cover of Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666, burning in the fires of hell and staring into nowhere, that is Ville Valo. A guy who started his musical career learning the bass entirely because of Gene Simmons’s pyrotechnics and whom performing is a kind of mental masturbation. The sex shop boy who with his Band HIM has just delivered one of the most impressive debut albums of the 90’s-

“What’s next? You just wait”, Ville says with a sly smile. “It could be anything I just may have a plan V, you know. I might go full time into the family business”.

HIM are:

Ville Hermanni Valo –Vocals

Pätkä –Drums

Mige –Bass

Linde –Guitar

 

<taken from Love Metal Archives>

 

(NATALIA):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things

(VILLE):
I walked in town on silver spurs that jingled to
A song that I had only sang to just a few
She saw my silver spurs and said lets pass some time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine

(NATALIA):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohhh-oh summer wine

(VILLE):
My eyes grew heavy and my lips they could not speak
I tried to get up but I couldn't find my feet
She reassured me with an unfamiliar line
And then she gave to me more summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine

(NATALIA):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine

(VILLE):
When I woke up the sun was shining in my eyes
My silver spurs were gone my head felt twice its size
She took my silver spurs a dollar and a dime
And left me cravin' for more summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine

(NATALIA):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine

 

I hear you breathe so far from me
I feel your touch so close and real
And I know
My church is not of silver and gold,
It's glory lies beyond judgement of souls
The commandments are of consolation and warmth

You know our sacred dream won't fail
The sanctuary tender and so frail
The sacrament of love
The sacrament of warmth is true
The sacrament is you

I hear you weep so far from me
I taste your tears like you're next to me
And I know
My weak prayers are not enough to heal
Oh the ancient wounds so deep and so dear
The revelation is of hatred and fear

You know our sacred dream won't fail
The sanctuary tender and so frail
The sacrament of love
The sacrament of warmth is true
The sacrament is you

The sacrament is you
The sacrament is you
The sacrament is you
The sacrament is you

You know our sacred dream won't fail
The sanctuary tender and so frail
The sacrament of love
The sacrament of warmth is true
The sacrament is you

You know our sacred dream won't fail
The sanctuary tender and so frail
The sacrament of love
The sacrament of warmth is true
The sacrament is you

There's a flame that leads our souls astray
No one's safe from its tender touch of pain
And every day it's looking for new slaves
To celebrate the beauty of the grave

We are like the living dead
Sacrificing all we have
For a frozen heart and a soul on fire
We are like the living dead
Craving for deliverance
With a frozen heart and a soul on fire

And again we're falling for disgrace
And hate will shelter us from the rain
We are enslaved by the sacred heart of shame
And gently raped by the light of day

We are like the living dead
Sacrificing all we have
For a frozen heart and a soul on fire
We are like the living dead
Craving for deliverence
With a frozen heart and a soul on fire

Addicted to our divine despair
The venom of the cross we bear
The guilt will follow us to death

We are like the living dead
Sacrificing all we have
For a frozen heart and a soul on fire
We are like the living dead
Craving for deliverence
With a frozen heart and a soul on fire

With a soul on
Soul on
Soul on
Fire

Soul on fire

It's poetry carved in flesh, it's beautiful hell with us
To be deadly sin we confess, tears of joy fill our eyes
We are saved with its bigoties, my out there prophecys of doom

My heart's a graveyard baby, and to evil we make love on our passion's killing floor
In my arms you won't sleep safely and of lust we are reborn on our
passion's killing floor

At first kiss the seas of hatred are sewn
Back into darkness we flee to tear our hearts out
We are saved where all fates fail
The lies inside of our tomb

My heart's a graveyard baby, and to evil we make love on our passion's killing floor
In my arms you won't sleep safely and of lust we are reborn on our passion's killing floor (more) (less)

My heart's a graveyard baby, and to evil we make love on our passion's killing floor
In my arms you won't sleep safely and of lust we are reborn on our passion's killing floor

Heartache is knocking on her door
Shadows dance outside her window
Tears keep falling on the floor
As the world around her crumbles

If you want to save her then
First you have to save yourself
If you want to free her from the hurt
Don't do it with your pain
If you want to see her smile again
Don't show her you're afraid
'Cause your circle of fear is the same

Love can be as cold as grave
A one-way ticket to endless sorrow
An empire of gentle hate
Today without tomorrow

It's the circle of regret
The circle of hate
The circle of death
Your circle of fear is the same

Oh I see your scars I know where they're from
Sensually carved and bleeding until you're dead and gone
I've seen it all before beauty and splendour torn
It's when heaven turns to black and hell to white
Right so wrong and wrong so right
Now

Feel it turning your heart into stone
Feel it piercing your courageous soul
Beyond now redemption
No one's gonna catch you when you fall

Oh I see you crawl you can barely walk
With arms wide open you keep on begging for more
I've been there before knocking on the same door
It's when hate turns to love and love to hate
Faith to doubt and doubt to faith
Now

Feel it turning your heart into stone
Feel it piercing your courageous soul
Beyond now redemption
No one's gonna catch you when you fall

Feel it turning your heart into stone
Feel it piercing your courageous soul
Beyond now - redemption
No one's gonna catch you when you fall