Norwegian Magazine Inpoc
/July/2007/

We don't hear so much about finnish rockbands. Not here in Norway.
And when we first here cool music from the land if a thousand seas , we just don't think about that their're from there.
If you are more than medium interested in music you maybe know about finnish bands like 22 pistepirkko and Hanoi Rocks. More known are the "happy-boys" Leningrad Cowboys, power-symphfo-rockers in Nightwish or the mascerade dolls in the eurovision song contest winners Lordi.

Today are Finland biggeste and most known band His Infernal Majesty, or HIM as they just call themselfs now adays.
Ville Valo and his gang, are know ready with a new album, and we got a phonenumber that we could call.

(INPOC) Hello Ville. What's up and where are you now?

-Hey you. Now I'm doing the same I've been doing for the past cupple weeks. I'm sitting in a hotel room, packing down my stuff, that I'm gonna be packing up again tonight, and pack down again tomorrow morning.

(INPOC)Wow, I'm I hearing some complaining?

-No, not complaining, but you get exhausted from touring. And espesially on this tour. We play first of four bands, we only get to play for 40 minutes, and it's in the middle of the day when we play. I'm almost looking foreward untill we are done with this tour.

(INPOC) I see, but you play first? Who are you touring with now then?

-We are playing with Linking Park, MCR and taking back sunday, so it's not that wierd that we play first, the other bands are huge, but it's not the same to play short sets in the middle of the day in full daylight, you see.

(INPOC) Offcourse, I'm backing you on that one.

-And it's not helping that we have to walk around in citys all day either. Not I'm I intrested in art, and not I'm I intrested in arcitecture either. So it's just find a book, and try to kill most time possible...

(INPOC) I'm figuring fast out that Ville Valo is a little moring grumpy today. When I call, HIM are in Boston,USA, and they are in the middle og a long tour. They are gonna get done with USA before they head back home to Europe, to promote their new album Venus Doom.
Venus Doom comes out soon here in Europe, what will it sound like, compaired to you previuos releases?

-We will still sound like HIM, offcourse, but you can perhaps say that we have gotten a little more harder and heavy. We have been hearing a lot on Black Sabbath lately, and that has affected us a lot. Just look foreward to it!

(INPOC) Eh..ok. But where have you recorded the album this time? You usually keep yourselfs at home in Finland.

-And this time is no exception, (laughs..) We like ourselfs best back home, you see. We recorded the album with our good friend Tim Palmer who has also workes with U2, Ozzy, and Pearl Jam. But we mixed it in L.A then. We have to be a little international (irony)

(INPOC) Are you planning on moving to USA? It's obvious there you are trying to make it now.

-No, We have no plans of that at all. I actually don't like myself here that much. I'm from Finland, I'm an europeian, I've my mum and dad here, and my little brother. I wanna be close to them. And they are in europe and then I'm gonna stay there.

(INPOC) But isn't it hard to break through in USA, when you live over here?

-No! It's not hard to break through in USA at all.

(INPOC) Eh...no?

-No I don't think so. You just have to work over a long time, and you will make it.

(INPOC) There is noting to say about Ville Valo's confidence. Not hard to make it in USA?
No, ok...(irony, something like "Yeah Right!)
So you feel that you're starting to get setteled over there then?

-Hey, our last album (dark light) sold to gold over here. Can you get more settled than that maybe?

(INPOC) Ah, I see that I need to do better research.And now you have to correct me if I'm totally wrong, but to me it seems like there are the youngest ones who really are true HIM fans, What do say about that?

- For the first, what is really wrong about that? Laughs...the young ones got parents and parents got money, so then they will buy our albums for their kids. Laughs...only joking. but I don't think that's completly true. Because we have been a band for some time now. HIM has actually exsisted since 1991, and we gave out our first offsiall cd in 1997. So you can say that thouse who bought our cd's back then, and was our fans then, they are adults now, and still buy our cd's. So that we reach out to different generations I just see that as positive.

(INPOC) Yes, it's obvious not wrong to reach out to the young. "The kids are all right, are they not?

-Absoluteley, absolutely!

(INPOC) Ville Valo seems as mentioned earlier a little tierd and grumpy, but he would love to talk. He answers to a lot more than what I ask about, and we end up in a discusion about Nightwish, Turbonegro, Bam Margera and so on. He's obvious a fan of Turbonegro, even though he's the only one in the band that likes them. He's good friends with the guys in The Rasmus, but he sees them not that often. When he thinks about it, he actually has not seen them for two years. But, but...(yeah, yeah...) He's not a great fan of Nightwish He thinks they get to theatrical.

(INPOC) You where on a little tour with Metallica resently. How was that? They are one of the worlds biggest bands.

-It was ok, but we hardly ever met them. I think they lived in Copenhagen the whole time and only flew in with their private jet, played the gig and when back again.

(INPOC) Wow? So you never even said hello to them? And they didn't even watch your conserts?

-Well, I got to meet James Hetfield, and I met Lars Ulrich once. But that was that. But all in all they are really great guys. But it gets that way when you are a huge band like Metallica, and tour that much, then you find yourselfs a base, and then you use that as a home when you are away. Do you undertand what I mean?

(INPOC) I understand...again. But how was it to play for the Metallica fans then? I heard that you got booed of stage here in Norway.

-Well, to play for the Metallica fans are a bit special, because they are so hardcore fans. They only care about Metallica, And only Metallica. You can say that someone hated us, some didn't care and some liked us. About what you can exspect from thouse fans. But it's absolutely an experience I wouldn't wanna be without.

(INPOC) But now you are going out on your own tour, promote the new album, and concure new fans.

-Yes, that's right, Venus Doom comes out on septhember 17th, and then we are gonna make Europe unsafe again:p

(INPOC) Are you coming to Norway this time?

-Well, that you can't ask me about. That you can rather ask my record company about. We haven't heard anything from them lately. No questions about interviews or gigs, so I don't really know whats going on over there with you guys.

(INPOC) What, are you serious? I think every other person I see walks around with HIM-stuff on them, either it's beanie, t-shirts, tattoos or shoes.

-Yes, I've gotten that impression from our website, but anyways it's the record company and the booking in Norway that has to do the work. And if you ask me I'm not gonna nag at them anymore.

(INPOC) Well then it's obviosly up to me then? I'm gonna hear with these pepole.

-Yeah, can't you do that. We really wanna come!

(INPOC) Yes then it looks like I've another job to do then, I'm gonna see what I can do.
I'm just a simple man with a pen and papir...and recorder...and mac...and...yeah...

Translated by annki89, from Valo Daily