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.