|
Projekt revolution reviews
Then HIM came out, and I swear Ville smoked like 7 or 8 cigarettes in the only 30 minutes they were out there...I was like damn...he's gonna like kill himself, and that would suck...I mean, how many people have that voice like his that can go super high and super low? And his not singing voice is really sexy and Finnish...-drools- They were really amazing....their new song, Kiss of Dawn, was my favorite that they played...they did great on it. Me and Katie were like the only two people standing up and singing during their performance and Katie kept yelling "I love you!" and the people in front of us stared at us...like we were idiots...haha.
by quinnsxhandsomexawkward
#2
To say that those of us here at Euro-Rock Radio get excited when HIM comes to town is a bit of an understatement. As most know finding this band is what started this whole crazy ball rolling for us. Not only do we have our monthly HIM nights here on the show but we run the official Dallas street team for the band as well so needless to say we were extremely busy in the weeks leading up to Projekt Revoultion hitting Texas.
Unable to hit all three dates in the Lone Star State (hey we're not made of money!) we decided that we would attend the Dallas show (obviously) and the Woodlands show the next day. Now some would say we were crazy just being willing to stand outside in the heat for a whole day just to see one band - but to do it two days in a row, well that's got to be a committable offense! Maybe so but that wasn't going to stop us!
The morning of Saturday, August 4th, we headed down to Smirnoff early. Around 10am early. Why you ask? Well because the DallasHIM street team had some major promotion work happening. One thousand bags of promotional items (fliers, stickers, cards) to be handed out was the task at hand and the team went to work. Of course everyone loves free goodies so it didn't take too long to see those bags disappear. But our work was not done there. Oh no.
Once inside the venue we quickly found the girls from Warner Bros. who were running The Street Network booth and they put us to work. So the rest of the afternoon was spent putting up posters, handing out raffle tickets, and filling people in on the HIM scavenger hunt. Ten keys hidden throughout the venue behind doors and each key won a piece of the Killing Loneliness wall. If you haven't seen the video for the song you won't know what that is but trust me it got some attention.
But then the big things came. The thing that Euro-Rock Radio has been hoping for since the first time we went on the air. We've interviewed several bands by now and love them all but HIM is what got us rolling and HIM is who our dream interview was. And thanks to some very cool friends (who we are forever slaves to) at about 3:45 that afternoon our dream was realised.
I was lead backstage to the bus by Tom, HIM's tour manager, and stepped inside to blessed coolness. It was near 100 degrees outdoors but inside the bus the AC was blasting and Ville Valo - frontman of HIM - was bundled up in a hat, hoodie and scarf. I found out later that apparently they were freezing him out. I was introduced and after the guys finished up something they were working on asked to sit down. Originally the interview was to be with Ville and Mige - bassist - in the lounge at the back of the bus. But to my delight Ville decided we'd do things up front where everyone could participate. We all go situated, I pulled out my recorder, Ville lit up his ever present cigarette, and we began.
Now first let me say that I have met the band twice before - very briefly at meet and greets. I was always amazed by just how down to earth, polite, and friendly they are. They didn't disappoint me this time either. With Mige sitting across from me and Ville propped up on the counter of the bus's 'kitchen' they got down to business answering all my questions about the tour, the upcoming album "Venus Doom", and the rumored headlining tour later this fall. We found out that none of them had yet seen the Transformer's movie (of which their song "Passion's Killing Floor" features on the soundtrack) and that Ville was more a Master of the Universe fan himself. Of course there was a lot more but you'll need to listen to the interview or read the transcript to find it all out.
When talking to Ville Valo the thing everyone notices right away is that he keeps eye contact with you the entire time. It quite honestly makes you feel important and it's one of the many things that impresses me about him. The whole band are wonderful guys - well spoken, intelligent, respectful, and just a joy to talk to. As the interview wrapped up I asked for one small favor - a station ID drop for the show. Ville and Mige were happy to oblige and Mige made us all laugh as he nearly forgot what he was going to say. You can rest assured you'll be hearing that station ID very often.
Thirty minutes later I was back out in the heat and on cloud nine. I had just interviewed the band I'd always dreamed of and it had gone beautifully. So it was back to the street team to meet up with them for our scheduled meet and greet with the guys. Only myself and Holly, the team co-leader, had met them before so everyone was excited and nervous. As we were lead back I had only one thing I wanted signed, a book I had gotten in Helsinki from Ville's father's shop. His father, Kari Valo, had signed it "Boy's Father" and Ville, as if he could read my mind, signed his name as well and put "Daddy's Son". The guys were gracious as always, taking as much time as they were able to sign, take pictures, and talk with everyone and would have taken much more time but we were hurried through. They had a show to put on.
The set itself, though far shorter than we wanted, was fantastic. They played three songs off the new album as well as some old favorites and Ville was all smiles - joking with Mige and cracking himself up. Nine songs were all we got and while the amount of HIM fans there might have been smaller than that of other bands they certainly made themselves heard. Without a doubt HIM fans are some of the most loyal and hard working people I know.
The set was over, we were exhausted, and so it was off to get some dinner, relax a bit, and then hit another show with RenegadeRadio bands over at Curtain Club. No rest for the wicked! Sometime in the wee hours of the morning we made it home, crashed for a few hours, and then got up and headed down to the Woodlands.
Thankfully this show we didn't have to work and boy were we glad. Though there are a lot more trees and hence a lot more shade at the Woodlands Pavillion it was HOT and HUMID. Just walking from the car to the venue (which was about a mile by the time we got there) had us all feeling like we'd just climbed out of a pool. But we grabbed some drinks, stopped by The Street Network booth to say hey to the WB girls, and then met up with the Houston HIM team. This time we were sporting our Euro-Rock Radio shirts so we were easy to find.
The Houston HIM team were awesome and we had a blast hanging out. Next time hopefully we can spend more time. As HIM was getting ready to take the stage we found our seats and were on our feet from the moment they came out. This set, in my opinion, was better than Dallas. Same songs were played but the sound was better and Ville wasn't having to give the sound guys directions nearly as much. Again he was all smiles and laughing with Mige and was making eye contact with the scattered fans around the seats. We couldn't be missed after all. We were the only ones standing up and cheering. "Kiss of Dawn" was dedicated to a dear friend who had commited suicide and it was easy to see that the song meant a great deal to Ville. Again the set was shorter than we wanted but that was alright. Because we had been told that yes they were indeed coming back in the fall on a headlining tour and we knew we'd be seeing them again soon.
Set over we had to head on home. Next time I hope we can stay a bit longer and hang out with our fellow HIM teamers. All in all it was an amazing weekend. Thank you so much to Ville, Mige, Gas, Burton and Linde, Tom their tour manager, the folks at Warner, and of course the friends that helped make it all happen. We love you all and can't wait to see you in the fall.
By eurorock radio
Album reviews
Razorblade Romance Review
Even though H.I.M.'s main goal seems to be gaining attention from a female audience, Greatest Lovesongs sure was a success artistically. The contrast between Razorblade Romance and the debut, however, is quite large. Melancholy and angst seem a little artificial, while Greatest Lovesongs had a truly pressuring atmosphere all the time. Razorblade Romance forgets all about that, and the whole concept of Gothic rock and so-called "love metal" repeats itself many times during the album. But the songs themselves are actually very good; when ignoring the implementation, hit songs like "Join Me in Death" and "Right Here in My Arms" work really nicely. And horrendous clichés in lyrics and playing don't really matter, because H.I.M. recycles them well. The slightly overproduced sound may distract for a while, but after all, the song material is of a kind that is hard to fit into a demanding format. Anyhow, the songs as a whole are organized well, and it's easy to listen to the album the whole way through. [The import edition includes bonus tracks.]
Love Metal Review
A lot of people have the propensity to give H.I.M. unnecessary doses of grief simply because of the band's friendship and professional allegiance to pro skater Bam Margera. What's unfortunate about this is that H.I.M. actually produces dramatic metal of high sonic quality, and once again Love Metal further reinforces that notion. Going one better than Razorblade Romance, Ville Valo and company waste no time bringing out the big guns with "Buried Alive By Love," which easily measures up to the group's most well-known moments. The songwriting is as strong as it has been in quite some time and a newly found sense of urgency keeps the record going at a well-tempered pace. For die-hard fans, this is the album H.I.M. has been struggling to make and realize for quite a while, and even the aforementioned detractors of the group would be well served by giving this record a spin.
Greatest Lovesongs: Volume 666 Review
You wouldn't expect a lot from a band whose debut album is entitled Greatest Lovesongs, Vol. 666, but H.I.M. surprises in a very positive way. H.I.M.'s stigma of so-called "love metal" is actually undeserved and relates only to Ville Valo's love-oriented lyrics; the music itself combines metal with '80s rock and some goth influences, and the album as a whole has a very diverse sound. Songs such as "The Beginning of the End" and "It's All Tears" especially prove that H.I.M. can do a lot better than their poor single track "When Love and Death Embrace." Two cover songs on a nine-track debut album might be too much, but Ville Valo seems to beg the difference. In fact, H.I.M.'s versions of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" are very idiosyncratic and fit very well on Greatest Lovesongs, Vol. 666. "Wicked Game," especially, is somehow even better than Isaak's original version, or at least it proves that H.I.M. does have a sense for dynamics instead of playing just quiet or loud, which is pretty typical of H.I.M.'s contemporaries. "Don't Fear the Reaper" intriguingly reduces the volume at the end of the album and the female vocals and piano add hopeful tenderness. Greatest Lovesongs, Vol. 666 succeeds in pleasing everyone, whether they're into rock or pop. |