Sounds of Europe: HIM
Day Two of our European music travelogue takes us to Finland.
Pierce into the flesh of today
Suicide of love took away all that matters
And buried the remains in an unmarked grave in your heart
With the venomous kiss you gave me
I'm killing loneliness (Killing loneliness)
With the warmth of your arms you saved me,
Oh, I'm killing loneliness with you
The killing loneliness that turned my heart into a tomb
I'm killing loneliness
Nailed to a cross, together
As solitude begs us to stay
Disappear in the lie, forever
And denounce the power of death over our souls
As secret words are said to start a war
With the venomous kiss you gave me
I'm killing loneliness (Killing loneliness)
With the warmth of your arms you saved me,
Oh, I'm killing loneliness with you
The killing loneliness that turned my heart into a tomb
I'm killing loneliness
"Killing Loneliness" is a song released by the Finnish band HIM, released in February 2006 in Germany and in April in the UK as a single from their 2005 breakthrough Dark Light. The song, along with "Wings of a Butterfly", is one of the band's best known songs in the United States.
On the 11 May 2006 episode of Loveline, Ville Valo confirmed that the song was inspired by skateboarder Brandon Novak, who blamed his heroin addiction on a need to, as he put it, "kill the loneliness".
HIM was formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström, and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen, HIM's current lineup consists of Valo, Linde, Migé, and Janne "Emerson Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards. They have released eight studio albums to date; their latest, titled Tears on Tape, was released April 26, 2013.
On September 5, 2006, HIM's fifth studio album Dark Light was certified gold by the RIAA, making HIM the first Finnish band to have a gold album in the United States. HIM had five of their studio albums certified platinum in Finland with Razorblade Romance being certified double platinum in Finland and platinum in Germany.
HIM's genre is debated in some circles; on their album Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, it says their genre is "alternative", but their musical style is also often referred to as "love metal" by Valo and by the group's fans. Critics have referred to them as gothic rock, gothic metal, alternative rock, alternative metal, dark rock, and melodic heavy metal. In addition to "love metal", other self-described terms applied to the band by its members as well as journalists include "Goth 'n roll" and "Scandinavian blues".
Valo has stated that the band started as a "Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts". Some of Valo's biggest influences include The Doors, The Stooges, Black Sabbath, Type O Negative, The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, Iron Maiden and Depeche Mode.
.jpg "HIM was formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko \"Linde\" Lindström, and bassist Mikko \"Migé\" Paananen, HIM's current lineup consists of Valo, Linde, Migé, and Janne \"Emerson Burton\" Puurtinen on keyboards. http://www.jinglejanglejungle.net/2015/02/eu2.html #HIM")
The heartagram is the trademarked symbol of HIM, created by Ville Valo on his twentieth birthday. Valo has stated that the heartagram is a "Modern Yin Yang", and is meant to represent the juxtaposition of 'good and evil', 'light and dark', and 'love and death'.
HIM have used the heartagram on the cover of their albums Love Metal, Dark Light, Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, XX – Two Decades of Love Metal and Tears on Tape. Valo has said that "the heartagram stands for HIM as a band, as an entity, and for 'love metal' in general."
On the 11 May 2006 episode of Loveline, Ville Valo confirmed that the song was inspired by skateboarder Brandon Novak, who blamed his heroin addiction on a need to, as he put it, "kill the loneliness".
On September 5, 2006, HIM's fifth studio album Dark Light was certified gold by the RIAA, making HIM the first Finnish band to have a gold album in the United States. HIM had five of their studio albums certified platinum in Finland with Razorblade Romance being certified double platinum in Finland and platinum in Germany.
HIM's genre is debated in some circles; on their album Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, it says their genre is "alternative", but their musical style is also often referred to as "love metal" by Valo and by the group's fans. Critics have referred to them as gothic rock, gothic metal, alternative rock, alternative metal, dark rock, and melodic heavy metal. In addition to "love metal", other self-described terms applied to the band by its members as well as journalists include "Goth 'n roll" and "Scandinavian blues".
Valo has stated that the band started as a "Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts". Some of Valo's biggest influences include The Doors, The Stooges, Black Sabbath, Type O Negative, The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, Iron Maiden and Depeche Mode.
HIM have used the heartagram on the cover of their albums Love Metal, Dark Light, Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, XX – Two Decades of Love Metal and Tears on Tape. Valo has said that "the heartagram stands for HIM as a band, as an entity, and for 'love metal' in general."
Comments
Post a Comment
I love comments! Did you know that comments that are less than 8 words long are considered spam? So, don't hold back! Spill yer guts. Let me know you stopped by and let me know what you liked about the post, or what you didn't like. If you are a blogger, be sure to include a link to your blog, so that I can easily reciprocate.