Customer Reviews

Venus Doom (W/Dvd)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It seems that a band can't ever do anything new without being labeled a sell-out. And those spouting such epithets are often those who have no experience whatsoever in playing or writing music.

I've noticed that after many years of working in retail establishments that sell CDs, a lot of people are like sheep. They find one band they like, cling to it, and then search out other bands that sound just like it. I have never understood this. I don't want all of my music to sound alike; what would be the fun in that? Honestly, I can't think of a particular band that really reminds me of HIM. They are, in my opinion, an entity unto themselves. I love the variety of HIM's music over the course of their career, and COMMERCIAL SUCCESS DOES NOT MAKE YOU A SELL-OUT. It makes you a hard worker. Sheesh. And honestly, do you people think that Ville Valo would ever conform to what a record label wanted just for the sake of selling albums? Come on! That guy has never conformed a day in his life, and he isn't about to start now.

I loved this album. I've loved all of HIM's albums since I discovered them a mere two years ago - I'm surprised I didn't know of them sooner, as my husband is half Finnish. Anyway, the album is very guitar heavy, owing to the fact that when they started to record the album, Burton (keyboards) was home with a new baby. And you know what? The heavy guitar works. The riffs are great - Linde (lead guitar) really gets to show off on this album. Ville's vocals are brilliant - really, when are they not? - and the overall sound is tight and speaks to the band's many years together.

This album is dark and a bit gritty (in a good way), and different from what I expected. There are no tender love songs here, no sweet words, mostly just desolation, grief, and anger. Mmmm. My inner goth girl loves it. I enjoy the more sophisticated structure of the songs, especially changing time signatures in the course of a single song (example: "Bleed Well"). And having a song completely in 3/4 time ("Cyanide Sun") is daring - I've been told by people in the music industry that you can't have a hit in 3/4 time. Riiiight.

Writing songs is hard. Making a living in music is harder. (I know both of these things from personal experience.) I respect anyone who can do it, and HIM does it well. People can cry "sell-out" all they want - it's a free country - but my opinion is that the band is excellent at what they do, and the rest of the world is finally starting to notice.

End of story.

Ok, so let me get this straight(after reading reviews on this and previous HIM CDs): This band has 'sold out' because:

(A)they are signed to an American label after 8 years as a band(with the 2005 'Dark Light' album) and you no longer have to pay 4x the price for one of their CDs as an import.
(B)they are getting played on American radio.
(C)they are the first band from Finland to go Gold in America
or
(D)all of the above?

I honestly don't understand the sell out remarks. All I know is that this band makes good interesting emotional music. So what's the problem? None, in my opinion. Well, just one: their CD booklets aren't that interesting. ha

I think the new CD is great. The biggest difference that I noticed compared to thier previous 'sell out'(yes, sarcasm) Dark Light is that there are less keyboards on this new CD and -brace yourself- guitar solos! The riffs are memorable and Ville Valo sings in all the styles you would expect him to. None of the songs remind you of anything off of Dark Light. There's no real toe tappers on here like 'Rip Out The Wings of a Butterfly" and you really need to listen more intently with the new CD. I only wish there were more than 9 songs on it. Oddly, the 10-minute "Sleepwalking Past Hope" is the least interesting song on the CD to me.

I think anyone reviewing this CD needs to listen to it at least half a dozen times before any attempt at a review is made. Each HIM CD I buy I usually have to listen to over and over to really get into because this band sounds like no other band that I listen to and that makes for a truly unique band. You know instantly who it is even if you've never heard the song before. I like bands like that. If you like their other stuff, then this one will be no different in my opinion. If you like the single 'Kiss of Dawn' then that's all you really need to know in deciding to buy this CD. I was hoping for more keyboards after listening to it, because they have a really weird keyboard sound on all of thier CDs, but it's still great. They toned down the haunted house/phantom of the opera type keyboards(as I call it) this time around. Maybe that's why everyone is saying 'sell out' cos they sound closer to a more traditional rock band. Nevertheless... great CD.

After coming to the realization that no other album would ever top the masterpiece "Razorblade Romance", I've been able to thoroughly enjoy each album HIM has put out since. The band's last several albums seem to stick with a similar style, and "Venus Doom" does that for the most part but also brings in a few fresh things. Prior to the album's release, vocalist Ville Valo described this latest effort as a combination between Metallica and My Bloody Valentine. I've never listened to much MBV, so I can't compare the 2. But you won't hear much Metallica sounding stuff on this, with the exception of a few cool guitar solos from Linde that remind me of something Kirk Hammet would play in the "Master Of Puppets" days. The whole album is full of great guitar work actually. Ville also uses a lot more of his deep vocals this time around, and they sound really good on songs like "Kiss Of Dawn", but they felt a little forced on the title track. "Passions Killing Floor" and "Bleed Well" are your typical fast-paced HIM tunes, but "Sleepwalking Past Hope" is a unique epic that clocks in around 10 minutes, and is one of my favorites on the album. "Song Or Suicide" is only about a minute and a half long, with a nice acoustic guitar melody which is usually uncommon on HIM's albums. Overall, this album is what you'd come to expect from HIM, but they did manage to throw in several surprises that you could appriciate. Aside from a few guitar solos, I wouldn't compare this album much with Metallica, but I definitely hear some influence of Type O Negative in several areas.

This latest entry by one of the last real guitar bands proves that "rock is better off dead"! Just kidding, of course. Some of these lyrics makes one wonder how much longer this gothic theme will endure. Apparently Mr. Valo has no problem with pulling it off. "My heart's a graveyard" and "dead lovers lane" brings to mind the lurid horror films of the 1960's. Yet, to those who have ever experienced a broken heart, can relate to these strange and somewhat humorous lyrics.

Musically this is the heaviest offering the Finnish lads have offered. Love Metal has a heaviness to it, yet this tops that effort. Tim Palmer's production leads this album to the glory that H.I.M. deserves! "Sleepwalking Past Hope" crowns the bands career with a glorious stadium rock anthem that gives this band its due.

As the music industry seems to be dying, this band and its "already undead" approach give great reason to buy this record. I am thankful that this theme works. I cannot wait to see them on tour again!

[...]not this one pictured but the one only available through the webite Heartagram.com...it comes in a book that looks faded on the corners...it was said to be a "leatherback journal"...not. All it is is a nice dark-looking book with dark, artful photos, full lyrics in Ville's handwriting (not having the song titles listed either, just the lyrics??? That's quite odd, but maybe it's an artistic approach??? I had to take a regular version and write the song titles down??!!??)...and an envelope in the back with 2 discs inside and 3 "photos"...CD1 is "Venus Doom" and CD2 is a 3-tracker, the 2 remixes and a 3rd bonus track, an acoustic version of "Bleed Well"...besides the 3rd track, the difference between the bonus discs is on this one on Amazon, it's a DVD, while the one in the book version, it's a CD, so you can more easily get those tracks on your computer and iPod.

Now, the internet version of HIM's prior album "Dark Light", you got more stuff and each set was numbered, out of 20,000...not this one...with "Dark Light", you got 2 bonus tracks, "The Cage" (also on the other limited book) and "Venus (In Our Blood)"...the only way to get that song on CD was in this set, which made it cooler...it also came with a better booklet (with photos of fans with their tattoos, so it was more personal), a flashlight of sorts with the heartagram in it, and all of it packaged in a nice, sturdy TIN box with full artwork actually printed on the tin metal!!! The new set for "Venus Doom", in light of the limited "Dark Light", is a bit disappointing, and not worth the price...$62??? Shoulda been no more than $25, INCLUDING shipping and taxes, etc.

Now, the music...I agree with people here...it's heavier and not as atmospheric as recent works...more like "Greatest Lovesongs Vol 666"...it's not HEAVY heavy, but it has more crunch than "Dark Light", and the songs are as melodic and tuneful as ever, with Ville Valo in fine vocal form. His lovesick poetry is as potent as ever...nothing personal, but for art's sake, let's hope he never cures his broken heart. The songs are more intricate and longer, culminating with "Sleepwalking Past Hope" reaching the 10 minute mark!!!! More than half of the 9 songs are over 5 minutes long, but they never drag or lose focus...I love the title track, the first single "The Kiss Of Dawn", "Dead Lovers' Lane" (that's got bullseye hooks all over the song), all 9 really, even the minute & a half "Song Or Suicide" has its place.

Overall, the music is tops, as always, and the internet version's packaging is OK but not worth the price...get the regular version or the cloth booklike version pictured here instead.

At this point in their career (at least for over here in the U.S. anyway),this is a pretty brave album for them to have made. Here's what I mean:

I've been listening to these guys for several years now, ever since I heard "Join Me in Death" something like seven years ago. I've been a fan of their music ever since. Not a diehard-obsessive who hangs on every word out of Ville's mouth, but a fan nonetheless and a new release from them is something I alway look forward too. After "Dark Light" I was really amazed at the progression from "Love Metal". Yeah, it had a much slicker appeal to it and it was definitely more commercial. Normally when a band does this, it cheapens the overall effect for me. Not because I think of it in terms of "selling out", but it really bothers me to know that a band I really like is about to get a lot bigger. Call me a jerk but I get a little annoyed when I see something I love turned into a fashion statement because you know that the jackasses you see claiming to like their music will just be spitting it right back out in six months, moving on to whatever else is "in". "Dark Light" didn't really have this effect on me. I knew that it would make them even bigger, but I was still able to embrace the album for what it was and I still listen to it occasionally. I may not love it as much as "Razorblade Romance" or "Greatest Love Songs Vol.666" but I think it ranks pretty close.

After all the exposure they've gotten through Bam, as well as on their own merit over the years, H.I.M. is now bigger than ever. I've even seen 5th graders running around in heartagram t-shirts. So why was I so suprised with "Venus Doom"? Well, the first thing I thought of was WOW! Is this IT?? Did I put in the right cd? It's definitely heavier and it's kind of a backstep from the direction they were heading in with "Dark Light". Some have said it's just as commercial sounding but I just don't see that. The songs aren't quite as instantly infectious. They require more than a couple listens to fully digest and in my opinion, that makes for a better song. Aside from being heavier, there is of course, much less emphasis on the keyboards. Initially, I wasn't too crazy about that last bit, but the more I came back to the album, I saw that the material just didn't call for it near as much. It's still there, and very effective where it's used. Just check out "Dead Lover's Lane".

At just nine songs, I felt myself wanting more when the album ended. I wasn't quite satisfied. A little unfulfilled. Then I listened to it again. And Again. So on and so forth. Now that I've had time to let it sink in a little, I believe that it's up there with some of their best material. They've greatly matured as a band and just as with many of my favorite albums, you won't even start to hear the best stuff until at least a half-dozen listens. This is also, in my mind, what makes it one of their strongest efforts. The good stuff is in there but you will be required to pay attention.

I'll be honest, I've got all the albums and am a huge fan if Ville and the boys but the new offering Venus Doom.....well for me it just dosen't deliver. Let me explain, Every album before Venus Doom has got those songs that hit you square in the face and infect your soul.

But like I said Venus Doom just falls flat for me, it's as if they're trying too hard to reach something and losing focus on the way. It sounds messy and complicated with some thrashy moments thrown in and at one point I thought that they were going to turn Death metal then they came back from the edge to where they belong.

Basically if you want to enjoy H.I.M. at their best buy any other cd but Venus Doom.

This is one of the best HIM cd's so far. It is harder and way darker than the past albums.

Speaking from my Heartagram I love VD. I had problems with Dark Light and didn't like it right away though I grew to love it or it grew on me but with Venus Doom I liked it right away esp the title song and Cyanide Sun. I admit I was worried that with talk about it being a heavier album that it would sound like everyone else but Ville and Company have such a gift with song composure that sets them apart from everyone else and that is why HIM fanz like moi love them. Even though it is considered heavy that HIM signature of hooky melodic structure is still intact so even old sweethearts of HIM shouldn't be disappointed. The fact that most of HIM actually went to school to learn and read music sets them apart from so many other bands that out out the same dreck. I'm seeing them in cocnert this tour a whopping 5 times! My hope is that it would be cool to do the whole CD from start to end intact. Bands used to do that with new CD's. My brother remembers seeing Pink Floyd doing the whole Dark Side of the Moon CD so it is possible. So my wish would be to hear Venus Doom in concert from beginning to end.Ville Valo went literally thru hell and back in doing this CD with a lot of personal problems and a stint in rehab and his heart and soul are imprinted on this superb CD.

HIM is almost a household name here in Finland. Everybody knows them and that they have sold almost 5 million records worldwide. Ville Valo is voted as being the sexiest man alive etc. I really don't care about that at all. All I care is the music. And "Venus Doom" sure delivers.
Out of all HIM releases my two favorites are their debut album "Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666" and their smash hit (in Europe that is) "Razorblade Romance". Lovesongs is a very heavy album and to my delight so is their latest, Venus Doom. This album maybe isn't as cathcy as "Dark Light" but after listening to it a couple times you realise it is a lot better.
HIM has always admitted that Black Sabbath and Ozzy have influenced them a lot and that is showcased by the track "Sleepwalking Past Hope" being over 10 minutes long! Over all Ville Valo sings very well, better than in years. Lyrics are very moody and "HIM-like" as they should be (in my oppinion).
But the most likeable thing about this album for me is the heaviness. This is no doubt their heaviest album since "Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666" and many old HIM fans will love this fact.