Love Metal

HIM | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Umvd Labels
• ASIN: B0007CYEFS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,341 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > World Music > Europe > Scandinavia > Finland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HIM's Latest Rocker, April 12, 2005

By 

Ken Pierce "Editor, PiercingMetal.com" (Brooklyn,, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Metal (Audio CD)

Universal Music has been doing a great job of getting the music of His Infernal Majesty to the listeners in the U.S.A. They are also doing it in a manner that seems to keep the group in the public eye. Every couple of months a release that has been out in Europe arrives here. The latest addition to this list is "Love Metal" and clearly this is the band at their most polished. Fans who enjoyed "Razorblade Romance" will find a lot of the same type of driving material on this piece. It is a little more straight forward than "Deep Shadows Brilliant Highlights" was and makes for a good overall listen.

Kicking it right into gear is "Buried Alive By Love" which is a tune that brings to mind the killer tracks of early Idol and shows quickly how Ville has become the favored showman that he is. It is perhaps my favorite of the entire piece. "Soul On Fire" (often a concert closer) is a nice quick piece that ebbs and flows until its crashing end. The thing I enjoy most about the music of HIM is its use of these kind of feels, going from slow and moody to often a kicking piece. Sometimes this is employed together and for them it does the trick. "Sacrament" is a big fan favorite and I think this is one of the smoothest tracks on the CD.

As with many HIM releases there are a good amount of slower moodier numbers. "Funeral Of Hearts" and "Fortress Of Tears" best epitomize the gloom and doom side of Ville as he sings of love and loss (his oft recurring themes in his music). The enclosed booklet is full of the lyrics for the tracks (again done in apparently Ville's hand writing style). A little tricky to read and there are also photos of the members. The cover is interesting for it showcases in bright Gold, the famous "Heartagram" logo that they band is known for. I give the band credit for this instantly identifiable symbol because it very simply works.

The lineup has not changed with Burton, Gas, Mige, Linde and Ville still bringing you their stylish Gothic Music or "Love Metal" as its become known. I recommend this for new fans especially since it is very easy to enjoy the release.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, September 10, 2005

By 

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Metal (Audio CD)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another impressive HIM record, March 27, 2006

By 

Stephenie Valo (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Metal (Audio CD)

First off, since most of you have heard "Wings of a Butterfly", and possibly bought Dark Light because of it, let me say that this album is more similar to Dark Light than any of HIM's other records. I think Razorblade Romance, and Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights are better, but that's opinion. This is still a very very good record.

It starts off with "Buried Alive by Love", which has some very strong vocals. Then comes "The Funeral of Hearts", one of my two favorite tracks. The lyrics are beautiful, and the music blends nicely with Ville's voice. "Beyond Redemption" follows. The music on this is good, but mostly I am amazed by the words.

The guitar on "Sweet Pandemonium" reminds me of Coheed and Cambria's "Welcome Home". It's a good song, kind of unusual for HIM. "Soul On Fire" switches between slow and fast so rapidly it gets confusing, but is still impressive. The vocals on the chorus are kind of screamingish.

"The Sacrament" is my other favorite song from this record. Again, the thing that strikes me is how seamlessly the music and vocals blend. Following is "This Fortress of Tears", which is similar to "Sweet Pandemonium". Then, starting off with some very exotic guitar, is "Circle of Fear". It's one of the stronger tracks, particularly the words.

This album closes with "Endless Dark", which is really a beautiful song, and "The Path", which has good words, but could have been better in the music category. Similar to "In the Nightside of Eden".

All in all, this record is very good, but if you're buying your first HIM album, go for Razorblade Romance. Otherwise, this is a good choice and will greatly improve your CD collection.