HIM
Dark Light

Since the release of Love Metal, quite a few things have changed for the Finnish band. "Dark Light" was recorded in America under Sire Records (Warner Group), produced by Tim Palmer (who replaced Andy Wallace on the mix), and Ville Valo appears in the booklet with a new, very short haircut. As soon as the CD packaging is opened, it becomes apparent that this time the product will be very disappointing, even for someone like me who has appreciated them since their debut.

The formula is always the same, but the choruses of this album don't work. The work flows on the usual kick(snare)-snare(ta)-kick-kick-snare time, and the frontman's voice seems less present compared to previous works. Valo had described this album as a kind of soundtrack.
He's right: the main riff of "Vampire Heart", the opening track, is a subtle rip-off of the main theme from Halloween, the single "Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly" is good but compared to the singles that preceded it, it's decidedly underwhelming. One has to wait until the sixth track ("Behind The Crimson Door") to hear something acceptable. The guitars almost don't exist, annihilated by filters and heavy use of keyboards, almost as if they fear being considered too rock. Some solitary feedback attempts to emerge from the speakers but quickly fades, covered by layers of vocal overdubs. In the closing track, the (pathetic) attempt is to give a slightly heavier touch by unleashing pure Him distortion at the end.

This time, Valo's voice and physique are not enough, the pseudo-gothic atmospheres, to save a predictable record, which adds nothing to what has been said so far by a band lacking in innovation, which has stopped experimenting with new solutions.
For all the orphans of Him (those of the early albums), I feel inclined to recommend listening to Frail Limb Nursery to fill the void of this "Dark Light".