HIM- Defining True Love Metal

If there is one band from the beautiful city of Helsinki that often defies the labels slapped on bands, then it must be HIM. Music industry critics and band store owners have labeled the band’s music from the sub-genres of rock like gothic rock, alternative rock and hard rock and of metal like gothic metal, alternative metal and doom metal. There have been too many names but one thing is true, only the band members and their fans can decide what to label their music.

Symbolism

It just so happens that the label most commonly used to refer to HIM’s musical style is love metal. This is often characterized as a fusion of heavy metal, gothic melodies, rock, pop and glam, which is generally credited as the creation of the group’s lead singer, Ville Valo.

Because of the categorization, the band carries the heartagram symbol to represent itself. This symbol is so popular that Valo now thinks that it is now more associated with the band than its music. Even people who aren’t music fans recognize it.

Band Past

The group started as His Infernal Majesty. It was only during the Wicked Game single in 1998 that the band officially changed its name to HIM. As such, the Finnish love metal band is not to be confused with other bands like the Canadian trash metal band Infernal Majesty, the American post-rock band HiM and the contemporary Christian group 4Him.

The group only really adopted the HIM name after it bought the rights of the name from HiM. Before they were able to obtain the rights, they used HER for Razorblade Romance, and HIM and HER for tours across Europe.

Just like any rock band, the group has had its share of musical chairs amongst its members. At present, the band is composed of Ville Valo on lead vocals and acoustic guitar; Mikko Lindstrom on lead and acoustic guitar; Mikko Paananen on bass guitar and backing vocals; Mika Karppinen on drums and percussion; and Janne Puurtinen on keyboard and backing vocals. The former members included Juippi, Juha Tarvonen and Juhana Tuomas Rantala on drums and percussion; Antto Melasniemi, Sergei Ovalov and Jussi-Mikko Salminen on keyboards; and Oki on guitar.

Albums Out

To date, the band has released 7 studio HIM albums, 1 live album, 6 compilation albums, 1 extended play, 22 singles, 4 video albums and 23 music videos. Indeed, this is a band that does not shy away from creativity, technology and new markets in its two decades in the music industry.

• Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666 came out in 1997 but is not a Satanic album as some would think
• Razorblade Romance was released in 1999 and is a particularly significant work because it is an undisputed bestseller in the Finnish music scene
• Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights was a 2001 album that first featured the current band lineup
• Love Metal is a 2003 album, featuring the heartagram, that clearly reflects the band and its genre the most
• Dark Light followed in 2005 and was inspired by ancient mythology and present day religions
• Venus Doom was released in 2007 and is currently considered the most heavy metal of all HIM albums
• Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice is the most recent 2010 release from the group and is dubbed by Valo himself as a cathartic primal scream

With this long list of artistic creations, there is no doubt that HIM will be around for long on band posters. There’s no killing this pioneering music giant.

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