HIM is known as the biggest musical joke of our generation and is bashed frequently by message board elitists everywhere. Are they really that bad? It depends. Listening to HIM's new album, Dark Light, is not a good way to introduce oneself to this Nordic phenomenon. I'd recommend going back to the beginning, eight years ago, when Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666 was released. I can't complain about one song off that release; it had potential to take this band to greater heights, which it did. Dark Light on the other hand should have used HIM's third albums title Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, because that sums up Dark Light in one line. This album has a handful of Finnish fuck-ups, and a couple songs that will have you tapping your foot contently.
Prior to my purchase, I had only heard one song off Dark Light and didn't know what to expect. So, right when the synth sounding guitar landed safely from outer space through my speakers, I jumped to positive conclusions. 'Vampire Heart' the first song off Dark Light, has a celestial vibe that drifts gently across the stars carrying Ville's voice along with it. It sounds good, and I can't complain about how this song sounds. Unfortunately, Ville has taken the same lyrics from 'Love Metal,' switched them around, and continued to call himself a poet. His over-repetitive uses of the words 'Love, Heart, Flame, and Metal' make this song (and every one of HIM's songs) a lyrical laugh. 'Vampire Love' is a good way to introduce the listener to the new sound Dark Light embraces, but still takes itself way to seriously.
The next song, 'Rip out the Wings of a Butterfly' is one of the new singles. This song reminds me of the older sounding HIM you can find on 'Razorblade Romance. It even comes with the pseudo-gothic lyrics; what more could a HIM fan ask for?
'Under the Rose' and 'Killing Loneliness' are easily my two favorite songs off the CD. They're catchy, and draw away from the predictable song structure HIM have been oh-so popular for using. 'Under the Rose' has a darker sounding guitar-keyboard tag team intro that reminds me of music from Beauty and the Beast. 'Killing Loneliness' takes a different approach, trying to recapture their former glory with a keyboard intro much like 'Join me in Death.' It's not as memorable, but still makes for my favorite off Dark Light.
'Dark Light' is the worst song HIM has ever written, hands down. They should be ashamed it's the name of the album. It's way too cheesy sounding, and that's saying a lot in a HIM review.
The last five songs don't need to be reviewed. 'Dark Light' was just a preview for the mess to come. 'Behind the Crimson Door', and 'Drunk on Shadows' are the only ones worth mentioning. Even so, these songs barely kept me awake all the way through. How disappointing.
If you want to talk about an album crashing and burning, here it is. The first four songs off of Dark Light are good, not great, but good. I was really let down by everything else, and almost all credibility I had left for HIM has vanished. I would not recommend buying this album, instead go pick up Sentenced's The Funeral Album.
