Venus Doom

Today marked the US release of HIM's new album, Venus Doom. Ville Valo prepped us for a heavier, doomier album and he wasn't kidding. Swollen guitar riffs, a diminished keyboard presence, and overbearingly emotional lyrics indeed make this the heaviest and darkest HIM album to date.

When I first gave the cd a listen I was shocked. Resolution and hope are acutely absent in these lyrics. Indeed, on this album the light has been temporarily turned off at the end of the tunnel. As perhaps a subconsious dismissal of bands who intend on saving your life, Ville just refuses to take on the responsibility. On this album, misery is what it is. The emotional quagmire notwithstanding, the music itself is what every HIM fan has been waiting for (or, at least what I've been waiting for): haunting melodies, gorgeous key changes, and at the center, the hypnotic vocals that are thankfully not muffled by overproduction as they were on Dark Light. I predict that with this album there will be a drawdown of the teenage fanbase and an increase in adult listeners. I just don't see the content and style speaking to the former demographic.

The album begins with the strike of a match and an inhalation. Of course it does. Ha! After listening to the album a few times today, I have to agree with a Kerrang! review in which the writer states that this album is the result of the band getting great at what they do. So a complete departure it isn't, but why change a formula when you know it works? Hell, it's worked for the Foo Fighters all these years.

Here are some highlights, in my opinion...

"Love in Cold Blood" opens with the lyrics "Serpentine love's thighs wrap around me in search for death…" Quite a metaphor. There is something Queen-like in the chorus, though I can't put my finger on it. It totally works for me.
"Passion's Killing Floor" KILLS live. I just love the lyric "In my arms you won't sleep safely…." Let's not analyze.
"Kiss of Dawn" is a favorite on the album. I think that there is nothing safe about the lyrics in that it is steeped in melancholia, but the structure and the haunting melody makes it hit-worthy.
An epic, 10 minute-long song called "Sleepwalking Past Hope" opens with a beautiful piano introduction that very soon explodes into a meandering choral and instrumental melody that is very identifiably HIM. Another favorite. A little proggy at times, but really not too much.
"Dead Lovers' Lane" is a pop/classic rock gem that is a throwback to the Love Metal era. This song also kills live.
Standout "Song or Suicide" is a short, intimate, raw acoustic recording of a poem set to music. It's so raw that you hear Ville shift in his chair. It's a nice turning point in the album.
"Bleed Well" is a fantastic hair metal song. You know, it's sort of metal, but then chicks can dance to it. Oh, and this also kills live. A throwback to Razorblade Romance.
"Cyanide Sun" is quintessential HIM. It's all melody drowning in a minor key. It's definitely a favorite, though this lyric is so dramatic it made me chuckle a little the first time I heard it: "We've sailed the seas of grief on a raft built with our tears."

While I was kind of concerned that the heavy lyrics would be too much, I love it. I give it an UNEXPECTED. -K