Synnin Viemaa

Longer feelings and no babies.

In spring of year 2002 HIM started to rehearse new songs for the 4th album, which comes to shops one year later. Now they are trying to find old feelings, when it was just nice to play together. But in the same moment the world of the lyrics has changed darker. No more singing about babies, honeys and darlings.

In the spring 2002 Ville Valo had known already, what songs come to the 4th album. Ville had written new songs using some old ideas.

New album's 10 songs were made and varied in a few demo sessions, which Hiili Hiilesmaa recorded. The songs are a lot longer than before and one song's length is even 8 minutes. The record's last chosen song seems only to get better when it gets longer.

"Now we have a meaning to record an album, where there are a lot more feelings, longer feelings, - Ville says. - 10 songs length is already 50 minutes together, so this will be HIM longest album. There might come an 11th song to this album. First we were even thinking about making a double album. One CD with fast songs and another one with slower songs. But then it started to feel like a bad idea".

Ville reminds, that with this 4th album they are going back. Not with technical things, but with attitude against the music they are going closer to the first album.

"The same joy, that we had in Mige's flat in Tuusula when we were playing 7 hours completely shit and enjoyed that a lot. But that doesn't mean that we would play garage music now. HIM doesn't have that kind of regressive working. But time shows. The record isn't done yet, and things have time to change many times. This will be surely the best-practiced record so far. All songs were ready almost a year before going to studio. It made possible to think of some small details".

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"I have tried to make new songs longer and having more feelings, not only that 3,5 minutes pop format, - Ville says. - That method we were trying in the last record and it was pretty nice to do then, but now we have other limits. I have written for the first time lyrics, which are having 5 or 7 verses, just 'cause it's nice to try something new.

New album's lyrics are really dark. That was my meaning to write more provocative and poetic words. And in no-one of the songs there is mentioned baby or I love you. It was the rule that to this album there won't come darlings, babies or honeys.

Now I just wanted to make something completely different. I worked fucking hard for these new lyrics, so that they'd be as different as possible from usual lyrics in nowadays. The lyrics are perhaps a bit more religious than before, not that much based on relationships. They are telling about situations, not so much about personal things. Well, of course they are also personal but they haven't been written egocentrically. There are a lot more difficult things".

Ville tells that at this time they won't play (like kids, you know) in studio, they are going to work there.

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"People have asked often, what kind of music we are playing and what is that our so called "Love Metal". We are trying to make the new album to show what love metal is, what the heartagram is and what HIM is. That's why the new album's name is "Love Metal".

Translated by MaYu

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