Search - Him :: Dark Light

Not as `dark' as the last album I've heard from the group, i

George Dionne | Cape Cod, MA | 10/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Good

An intriguing little riff dominates "Vampire Heart" while faded chugga-chugga riffs take command of the background. Valo's vocals are tortured and eerie, but maintain a great degree of melody and fluctuation. A dark, bluesy guitar lick is the main musical focal point of "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly". How they ever made a sad sediment sound so pleasing is beyond me. Heavy muted riffs, catchy lyrical patterns, and a piercing solo make up "Under the Rose". "Dark Light" relies a lot of Valo's soothing vocal charm. Sometimes it's hard to tell is his balladry is sincere or vengeful.



A driving piano lick leads the charge on "Behind the Crimson Door". Thick guitars and thumping bass take you the rest of the way. Once again, Valo's untamable love affair is the main focus of his lyrics. If her love is going to be the death of you behind the crimson door, maybe you should try the green one. One of the darkest tracks would be "Play Dead". It's a down-tempo song that Valo injects with plenty of hurt emotions.



The Bad

The guitar tones aren't as dark and ominous as I remember them from Razorblade Romance. There are a lot less haunting keyboards too.



The Verdict

I'm ecstatic that H.I.M. are finally getting their shot in the U.S. Their music is unlike anything we have over here, and has been for years. Although, Dark Light is not as `dark' as the last album I've heard from the group, it's still a great representation of these talented (and tortured) Finnish rockers."

GREAT STUFF...AS USUAL!!!

Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY | 10/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Looks like Ville and the boys have done it again!!! "Dark Light" is just tremendous, and a grower too!! At first listen, it was like the Ramones or Sigur Ros, where they have a completely individual sound (ie gothic "love metal"), and don't change it much from album to album. BUT, the more I listened to "Dark Light", the more the songs grew on me, and the expert layering and songwriting became more apparent.



Clearly, Ville Valo and his friends know EXACTLY what they are doing, playing to their strengths here. I've been a H.I.M. fan for a coupla years now, nothing to do with Bam whatsoever...I knew about their stuff since I saw "Razorblade Romance" as an expensive import at NYC's Virgin Megastore back in 1999, and became a big fan once their catalogue came out in the US through Jimmy Pop and Universal and I got a chance to hear RR...fantastic, hunches confirmed, became an instant fan, loyal ever since, regardless of the Bam connection and the skater kids. Well, the new "Dark Light" just confirms why this is, and solidifies why I'll be a fan for life.



As for the reviewer who said H.I.M. does not stand for "His Infernal Majesty", that person is wrong. If you watch the DVD that came out a year ago, and pop on the "Interrogation Footage", Ville CLEARLY says the band started out as "His Infernal Majesty" because they were inspired by Black Sabbath who took their name from a horror movie, so they did as well...but then shortened it to H.I.M. because, being from Scandinavia, there were all these black metal bands burning churches and stuff, and they didn't want to be associated with all that activity, that they were not part of that genre of music. Plus, Ville says, H.I.M. is pronounceable in every language, be it English or Finnish, which by the way, looks like the most odd language ever invented, so it blows my mind how fantastic and poetic a lyricist Ville is, in the English language!!!!



Combine that with haunting + beautiful, yet ultramelodic tunes and AMAZING choruses that just send the listener to the moon or in a state of complete euphoria, plus rocking riffs + arrangements that never fail to impress how accomplished H.I.M. are as musicians.



The new album is no exception..."Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly" is just a KILLER first single...the chorus will repeat over and over in unsuspecting heads for months on end...in the wrong hands, it would be a repetitive mess, but in H.I.M.'s hands, it's a top, powerpoppish tune...not only cuz it's well-written, but the lyrics are poetic, hypnotic and mysterious, the arrangement is memorable, the riffs rock, and the combination of Ville's voice and Linde's haunting backing vocal mesh into total magic.



Then again, EVERY song is great here...they latch on you a bit at first, and then keep on growing like a magical plant. The artwork on the limited edition is just WOW...could it be inspired by the Lord Of The Rings...the Two Towers??? With Ville's handwritten lyrics...nice touch. The bonus track, "The Cage" is worth the extra dough...but where's that other track?????? I had no idea there was an internet tin box edition with that other song...if I don't get it, maybe it will be a B-side, like their Ramones cover of "Poison Heart"???



Now I need a ticket to their NYC Hammerstein gig...before it sells out...yikes!!!!!!"

Worth The Money, And Much More...

T. Louthan | Enid, OK USA | 09/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"HIM's 5th studio album (Yes, And Love Said No counts because they DID go into the studio to do the new songs and the remake of It's All Tears (Drown In This Love)[U.K. Version]) is well up to par with the band's previous albums.

According to many reviews I've read the album is their "sell-out" album, what people don't seem to understand is that bands constantly change their style throughout their careers.

Also, you must put into perspective the fact that this is their FIRST release in the U.S. under the name HIM through a major American distribution.

With that out of the way, I will begin the reviewing.



I personally have had the album for longer than it has been out and listening to it atleast once EVERYDAY since September 20th and I have to say even though it is not my FAVORITE release, it is the 2nd as just a release, but my first in the talents and production they've achieved.



For one Ville has gone back and layered his vocals quite extensively, which I think adds a whole new level to the music itself as a whole.



Gas's drumming has improved and has atleast a little more content in this release than in earlier ones.



Mige's bass playing hasn't changed a whole lot, but his backing vocals seem to have improved.



Linde, of course is always good, this man is amazing on guitar and almost eerie with his low toned vocal talents.



And another thing you will notice is that Burton, has a MUCH bigger role in this album than in earlier releases, so much bigger, you will notice quite a bit if you listen to any of their other releases he is on and then listen to Dark Light, the pianos and keyboards are much more prodominate, almost even over Linde's guitars.

I'll go through the album now and give each song a rating with a particular thing you should listen for.



Vampire Heart - 9/10

- Ville's vocal layering and Burton's keyboards.



...Wings Of A Butterfly - 10/10

- Linde's guitars and Ville's vocals



Under The Rose - 9/10

- Linde's guitars, Ville's vocals (Not so much layered but still very good seeing as how upbeat the song is), Burton's keyboards.



Killing Loneliness - 10/10

- Ville's vocals (So much layering to it and depth), Burton's keyboards.



Dark Light - 10/10

- Burton's keyboards, Ville's vocals.



Behind The Crimson Door - 8/10

- Not my favorite song on the album, I don't really see anything special to this song other than Ville's vocals.



The Face Of God - 10/10

- Ville's vocals, Linde's guitars, Burton's keyboards.



Drunk On Shadows - 10/10

- Linde's guitars



Play Dead - 10/10

- Linde's guitars, Ville's vocals (VERY beautiful and mellow, partially sorrowful yet slightly content), Burton's keyboards.



In The Nightside Of Eden - 9/10

- Ville's vocals, Linde's guitars.



(Bonus Tracks)



Venus (In Our Blood)[!!Not On This Special Edition!!] 10/10

- My favorite track on the whole album, the context and the words just move me, and the music is incredible all around!



The Cage - 10/10

- I just really love this song, not much to it but it's really really good in my opinion.



To tell you the truth Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights was my favorite HIM album, but this one has more depth to it I think than any of the other albums.

I bought a copy of each version, the Internet Only Tin Box Edition, the Special Edition Hardbound Book Hot Topic Version, and the Black Shrinkwrap Store Edition...Totally worth it to have all the neat goodies.

So go out and buy it, support the greatest rock band to ever come out of Finland!



Tyler Louthan

Team Leader

Oklahoma HIM Street-Team

(...)"