Disco de HIM: “Love Metal [Universal]”

I gotta admit I never been a big fan of HIM. I have heard samples of their previous albums and never been too impressed. I did love their song for the "Resident Evil: Apopcalypse" soundtrack "Join Me in Death". That was my first time I heard HIM's music which led me to listen to samples of their music. Unfortunately I wasn't too thrilled with what I heard..until I heard "Love Metal". I wasn't big on the opening track "Buried Alive By Love". It was ok but lacked a good melody. For me that was the weakest track on the album. The song that I did love at first listen was "The Funeral of Hearts". It eerily sounded like "Join Me in Death". I don't know if that really is a good thing because it shows the lack of originality when an artist takes a hit song and re-write it all over again but with different lyrics. Good song but it just sounded a little too much like "Join Me in Death". "Soul on Fire" is another favorite song off the album. I love the combination of acoustic and electric guitars with keyboards. Ville's vocals are intoxicating and is like liquid gold when I listen to this song. His vocals are so easy on the ears. It is so nice to listen to a male vocalist who doesn't scream and actually sings like Ville does. Too many guys in metal nowadays screams too much. The rest of the album is really good. Very melodic yet plenty heavy. Unfortunately the biggest flaw with the album is the silly song titles and lyrics. Songs such as "Beyond Redemption" and "Endless Dark" really sounds cheesy and could be part of some corny modern day vampire flick, then again Inkubus Sukkubus could be accused for writing cheesy songs as well. Nevertheless I really did enjoy "Love Metal". It is nice to be proven wrong by a band I didn't always have a high opinion of.

I would love to be able to admit to adoring HIM for years and to have discovered their genius by chance but sadly I can't as they were recommended to me by a friend. I asked her if I could borrow "Love Metal"-as she hadn't stopped talking about it for weeks- and she seemed particularly reluctant to part with it. Now I understand why.

Love Metal is a combined work of art and genius. Ville's song writing is brilliant as seen on track such as "Funeral of Hearts", "The Path" or "Circle of Fear". His lyrics are thought provoking, emotional and stir emotion in even the coldest of hearts. He can move you to tears with a verse, or provoke memories of lost love and lust. He has an amazing voice which is equally good live. The musicianship from Gas, Linde, Burton and Migé is brilliant.

For example on "Funeral Of Hearts" the lyrics are timeless and I challenge you to find more poetic and unforgettable lyrics than these "She was the wind, carrying in/All the troubles and fears here for years tried to forget/He was the fire, restless and wild/And you were a moth to that flame".

It is impossible on this album to pick out stand out tracks as each track is brilliant, my personal favorites are "Circle of Fear" and the epic closing track "The Path"

Please do not buy this album because the heartagram looks cool (which admittedly it does) or because Bam Margera is an obsessed fan (not too dissimilar to me in that respect). Buy it because it is brilliant.

This is an awesome cd. I bought it at the hot topic in gainesville and i have not taken it out of my stereo since. Cant decide if it's better than Razorblade romance but it's definately just as good! -]=[-][-]V[- Rocks! Hope the next album is just as kick ass!

A lot of the reviews on this page seem to like throwing around the word heavy when describing this album. This album is not heavy, this is pretty damned mellow. This is not a bad thing, I just hate it when uninformed reviewers mislead people as to something's content. Musically, this album is just awesome. The guitar particularly seems to play a bigger part on this album than on previous HIM releases. This could be what misleads people to saying that this album is heavy. Ville's singing still gives the songs that distinctive melancholy quality, but it almost seems like some of the songs have a very major feel to them. There are some pretty good rock songs on here like "Buried alive by love" and "Beyond Redemption" while there are some good easy listening tracks too, such as "fortress of tears" and "funeral of hearts". Some tracks seem like they are going for more...showy i guess would be the best word...than they really are capable of and that makes it hard to take some of the songs seriously, but the musical arrangements are very good and the music itself is well written and pretty catchy, making this album well worth the money.

Being the second HIM album I have ever listened to, it had been the most disappointing one, but that was before I met this album's predecessor, and after that, I think I could come up with aobjective assessment of how HIM has progressed into this.

First off, this isn't your gothic/romantic rock/metal album. This is something entirely different. It has fast-paced songs with heart-wrenching choruses, atmospheric keyboards, a mixture of acoustic and electric guitars and good solos. Lyrically, it can't rival Razorblade Romance or Greatest Lovesongs, but overall it is great. These were the upsides.

Now, onto the downsides of this album. I don't know what exactly Ville Valo found wrong with the voice he used in the first two albums of HIM, but his new voice is certainly a downside, because it makes the album sound like it had been sung by a thirteen year old kid who was somehow let into the band; not at all good. The second downside is that, this album also marks HIM's growing obsession with making riffs sound almost overrated. The overall fluffy and crunchy guitar riffs do have certain strong points, but, like in "This Fortress of Tears", they sometimes are unnecessary. The third downside is the final song, "The Path", the unnecessarily stretched out meant-to-be epic. A two-to-three minutes cut out from this closer could make it amazing, but it just soars below average, and brings the album to a bad end. The fourth downside is the placement of "Soul on Fire"; while it is a great song, after "Sweet Pandemonium", it shifts the mood too far away, and you can't help but laugh out loud after you are done with your shock. Last but not least, the album's overall sound carries a hint of, "Well, we did great stuff, but we want to put some of Deep Shadows stuff into this too, so let's create a mixture of Razorblade, Greatest Lovesongs and Deep Shadows in this!". And this approach doesn't help the album, it feels somewhat out of place.

Overall, this is the only interruption of the downward spiral HIM has gotten into after and with Deep Shadows, but it is a good album and is among this band's top three. I'd highly recommend it for those that have a taste for somewhat gothic and rocky albums.