H.I.M.’S VENUS DOOM IS ANOTHER BITTERSWEET DOSE OF LOVE METAL
“Love Metal,” the title of HIM’s 2003 release, really is the perfect way of describing the band’s music. Though metal purists would surely cringe at the use of the word “metal” being applied to this Finnish 5-some, there’s certainly a whole range of metallic influences in the band’s music, and the lyrical subject matter almost always (if not always) has to do with love. But don’t let that deter you; there are no sappy ballads here, just straight ahead, hard-driving, goth-flavored metallirock that happens to be about relationships. The band’s latest effort Venus Doom, which comes out officially today, finds the band doing what they do best, writing deliciously catchy but gloomy hard rock songs about love and longing.
Even if Venus Doom doesn’t necessarily represent any major progress for the band, it is most definitely a fine addition to the deep HIM catalog. It’s the goth element that is really the X-factor; otherwise it would be pretty damn near impossible to whine about heartbreak but still rock this hard. It’s a unique combination that has always worked for HIM. and continues to work on Venus Doom, and finds the band coasting along comfortably on cruise control at the peak of their career.
Venus Doom finds the band toning up the heavy and toning down but not completely eliminating the atmospherics they’ve been known for in the past. The guitars are tuned way down (is that a Drop B I hear? Eat that, Slayer!) and the new sludgery allows Valo to deeply explore the lower ranges of his voice as in the one-minute acoustic interlude “Song or Suicide.” There are some pretty tasty riffs on this record, too: the intro to “Dead Lover’s Lane” is as big as any prior HIM riff. Venus Doom is also certainly not short on what the band is best known for; big, catchy choruses. Pick a song, fast forward about a minute, and you’ll be delighted.
Lead singer Ville Valo is the perfect voice for the band both vocally and lyrically. His eerie bass suits the mood, but that patented high shriek is always sure to make the 16 year old girls swoon. Valo seems to have become particularly adapt as a songwriter as well. While it may seem impossible that someone really is this gloomy all the time, I get the impression that it’s genuine. Realizing his gift of poetry, perhaps, Valo does add the occasional over-the-top exclamation point for added emphasis, which no doubt sails over the heads of said 16 year olds. But it’s the totally ridiculous metaphors that are actually most endearing to me. Take for example this deliciously cheesy line from the song “Passion’s Killing Floor:” “My heart’s a graveyard, baby / And to evil we make love / On our passion’s killing floor.” Talk about overwrought metaphor! But damn, I like it.
Guitarist Lily Lazer contributes some very strong leads to the record, including sweet solos on “Love in Cold Blood” and the 10-minute opus “Sleepwalking Past Hope,” itself something of an homage to fellow goth-rockers Type O Negative.
Venus Doom is certainly not a record poised to achieve astronomic chart success, nor will it meld genres or knock peoples’ pants off. But it will most certainly rock the hell out of you, make you extremely morose, and you’ll end up all the happier for being so morose.
-VN
(three and a half out of five horns)
[Visit HIM on Myspace]
[Buy Venus Doom
