Customer Reviews

Love Metal

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I would love to be able to admit to adoring HIM for years and to have discovered their genius by chance but sadly I can't as they were recommended to me by a friend. I asked her if I could borrow "Love Metal"-as she hadn't stopped talking about it for weeks- and she seemed particularly reluctant to part with it. Now I understand why.

Love Metal is a combined work of art and genius. Ville's song writing is brilliant as seen on track such as "Funeral of Hearts", "The Path" or "Circle of Fear". His lyrics are thought provoking, emotional and stir emotion in even the coldest of hearts. He can move you to tears with a verse, or provoke memories of lost love and lust. He has an amazing voice which is equally good live. The musicianship from Gas, Linde, Burton and Migé is brilliant.

For example on "Funeral Of Hearts" the lyrics are timeless and I challenge you to find more poetic and unforgettable lyrics than these "She was the wind, carrying in/All the troubles and fears here for years tried to forget/He was the fire, restless and wild/And you were a moth to that flame".

It is impossible on this album to pick out stand out tracks as each track is brilliant, my personal favorites are "Circle of Fear" and the epic closing track "The Path"

Please do not buy this album because the heartagram looks cool (which admittedly it does) or because Bam Margera is an obsessed fan (not too dissimilar to me in that respect). Buy it because it is brilliant.

This is HIM's newest album, and the latest released in America by Universal Records. It just sucks that once again, nothing cool was added to it (as far as I know anyway). HIM's, "Love Metal," is an infusion of their previous three albums, Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666, Razorblade Romance, and Deep Shadows & Brilliant Hightlights, with a hint of the old demos like The Phantom Gate and Borellus. At the moment, my favorite, and the most fun to hear live. Although, I wouldn't reccomend you buy this version, I'd say justp pay the $30 for the digipak. Now for tracks:

Buried Alive By Love ~ After DSBH, some forgot that HIM could really get into hard rock, well, this song won't leave you wanting anything more. What is probably the heaviest song of their career, Buried Alive By Love is a great way to start off the album. Valo shows how good a vocalist is in this song.

The Funeral Of Hearts ~ Much more mellow than BABL, but still a wonderful track. Personally called, "Our Simon & Garfunkle rip off," by vocalist Ville Valo. Great lyrics, very moving solo.

Beyond Redemption ~ One of my all time favorite tracks. Good, fun riff, cool synth line, nice lyrics, and one of guitarist Linde's best solos.

Sweet Pandemonium ~ A lyrical masterpiece. The music leaves you wanting more, but you cannont deny the lyrics. Not the best track on the album, but still good.

Soul On Fire ~ What can I say about this song, but great. Good guitar, bass, vocals, lyrics, everything you could want. You can feel the band's presence when you listen. A great chorus and bridge, and an awseome live song.

The Sacrament ~ HIM's take on the metal ballad. Much more piano and keyboard than in any other HIM song. Truely beautiful. The lyrics and vocals could make you melt (if you into that sort of thing.....)

This Fortress Of Tears ~ A very unique song, it's really hard to compare it with anything else. Good, melodic guitar, sensual lyrics, and another great guitar solo on Linde's part.

Circle Of Fear ~ Another unnique track, although it's quite different from TFOT. I personally love the lyrics in this song, but be prepared to think if you want to get the meaning. Just a great all-around song, everything is perfect.

Endless Dark ~ Such a cool track. The actual music in this song is very good, and a lot of fun to listen to. And it's one of the only times on the album that the acoustic guitar really sticks out. The lyrics fit perfectly, although the chorus could have a line or two more. But another good solo, and a bit if a corky part after it. One of my favorite HIM tracks.

The Path ~ What a pretty song. I think that just about everyone can relate to the lyrics, whether it be about love, the journey through life, or something else I can't think of. The longest track on the album, about 7 minutes long. No doubt, the perfect ending to the album.

This is an awesome cd. I bought it at the hot topic in gainesville and i have not taken it out of my stereo since. Cant decide if it's better than Razorblade romance but it's definately just as good! -]=[-][-]V[- Rocks! Hope the next album is just as kick ass!

In literally less than a week, HIM has become my favorite band ever. This c.d. is great. Europe really knows what the hell they are doing over there when it comes to composing music. I haven't bought Razorblade Romance yet, but I will very soon, because I have heard even greater things about that c.d. than this one. Most of the songs on this c.d. are very pleasing to the ear, and no screaming at all...which is one the reasons I fell in love with this band. There are a few songs on here that I would consider "filler", but I couldn't take a star away for that because of the quality of the rest of the music. Definitely buy this c.d. if you are an HIM fan or just want to try somthing new, you will not regret it.

A lot of the reviews on this page seem to like throwing around the word heavy when describing this album. This album is not heavy, this is pretty damned mellow. This is not a bad thing, I just hate it when uninformed reviewers mislead people as to something's content. Musically, this album is just awesome. The guitar particularly seems to play a bigger part on this album than on previous HIM releases. This could be what misleads people to saying that this album is heavy. Ville's singing still gives the songs that distinctive melancholy quality, but it almost seems like some of the songs have a very major feel to them. There are some pretty good rock songs on here like "Buried alive by love" and "Beyond Redemption" while there are some good easy listening tracks too, such as "fortress of tears" and "funeral of hearts". Some tracks seem like they are going for more...showy i guess would be the best word...than they really are capable of and that makes it hard to take some of the songs seriously, but the musical arrangements are very good and the music itself is well written and pretty catchy, making this album well worth the money.

I got into H.I.M. through the tracks on the CKY movies and I'm glad I started listening to them even though they can get kinda depressing at some points. This album is really good and is a great follow up to Greastest Love Songs 666, Razorblade Romance, and Deep Shadows and Bright Highlights. Razorblade Romance is my favorite album by H.I.M. but this might be my second favorite. Beyond Redemption, Endless Dark, Soul on Fire, and Funeral of Hearts are my favorite tracks on this disc. If you've never heard H.I.M. they are nothing like most mainstream American music and its a refreshing addition to your music collection.

Track Listing

1. Buried Alive By Love
2. The Funeral Of Hearts
3. Beyond Redemption
4. Sweet Pandemonium
5. Soul On Fire
6. The Sacrament
7. This Fortress Of Tears
8. Circle Of Fear
9. Endless Dark
10. The Path

I know a lot of H.I.M. fans who don't like Deep Shadows and Bright Highlights for some reason or another and if you are one of them, then this album might be good "redemption" for you and if you just generally love the band then you should get this album its another solid addition to the H.I.M. collection.

Being the second HIM album I have ever listened to, it had been the most disappointing one, but that was before I met this album's predecessor, and after that, I think I could come up with aobjective assessment of how HIM has progressed into this.

First off, this isn't your gothic/romantic rock/metal album. This is something entirely different. It has fast-paced songs with heart-wrenching choruses, atmospheric keyboards, a mixture of acoustic and electric guitars and good solos. Lyrically, it can't rival Razorblade Romance or Greatest Lovesongs, but overall it is great. These were the upsides.

Now, onto the downsides of this album. I don't know what exactly Ville Valo found wrong with the voice he used in the first two albums of HIM, but his new voice is certainly a downside, because it makes the album sound like it had been sung by a thirteen year old kid who was somehow let into the band; not at all good. The second downside is that, this album also marks HIM's growing obsession with making riffs sound almost overrated. The overall fluffy and crunchy guitar riffs do have certain strong points, but, like in "This Fortress of Tears", they sometimes are unnecessary. The third downside is the final song, "The Path", the unnecessarily stretched out meant-to-be epic. A two-to-three minutes cut out from this closer could make it amazing, but it just soars below average, and brings the album to a bad end. The fourth downside is the placement of "Soul on Fire"; while it is a great song, after "Sweet Pandemonium", it shifts the mood too far away, and you can't help but laugh out loud after you are done with your shock. Last but not least, the album's overall sound carries a hint of, "Well, we did great stuff, but we want to put some of Deep Shadows stuff into this too, so let's create a mixture of Razorblade, Greatest Lovesongs and Deep Shadows in this!". And this approach doesn't help the album, it feels somewhat out of place.

Overall, this is the only interruption of the downward spiral HIM has gotten into after and with Deep Shadows, but it is a good album and is among this band's top three. I'd highly recommend it for those that have a taste for somewhat gothic and rocky albums.