Him
Venus Doom

After just two years from the discussed and controversial "Dark Light," which, moreover, definitively launched the band onto the U.S. market (see "partnership" with Bam Margera), the prolific Finnish band HIM returns to the record market, this time delivering an album that largely denies the tendency to create chart hits (admittedly somewhat forcibly) taken by the previously mentioned release.

What is "Venus Doom" like? It is certainly a return to darker and more emotional sounds, I would say perhaps it ideally represents the natural continuation of the album "Love Metal," to be clear, even if, to be honest, there is something new and unexpected: while the basic use of Sabbath-like riffs and more generally seventies mixed with pop melodies is now a trademark of theirs, they add to it terrifying slowdowns of clear doom lineage and the most immediate comparison even calls into question Type O Negative "Bloody Kisses" era, with a Ville Valo who really hits very baritone notes and chilling keyboards that decisively underscore it all.

The initial title track clearly exemplifies this after the usual lighting of a cigarette by the singer before the performance, as if to start the session. In general, "Venus Doom" appears as a solid and engaging song in its refrain, which shifts from a certain roughness in the main riff to a series of keyboard incursions that enrich its refinement. Good start. "Love in cold blood" seems to me to be a strong piece on the album, the constant alternation between soft and very rocking parts is a classic of the Finns, the guitar work, as usual of Gibsonian lineage, knows how to be essential when necessary but also decidedly captivating. The chorus is one of those that installs itself directly in your head. Excellent song.

Here we come to the piece that I modestly consider the best of the entire album, the single "Passion's killing floor". Great performance by Valo who perfectly conveys the morbidity of the lyric, excellent also the entire rhythmic structure, and another great slowdown in the Peter Steele&Co style, which breaks the song in half giving it more variety. Second single on the list "Kiss of dawn": initially, it took me 4/5 listens to digest it as I found it not particularly inspired (the refrain too catchy) and honestly, apart from the central bridge with deep red-like arpeggio introducing a short solo and the very depressing and pressing final part, it deserves a political six but could have done more and better.

"Sleepwalking past hope is the darkest rock/doom metal piece of the entire work, 10 minutes of skilful alternations between the dreaminess of the first and the right amount of roughness of the second, all interspersed with clearly T-O-N style settings, passionate interpretation and an almost stoner/psychedelic ending. A song not easy to assimilate, but here it's evident HIM's desire to try something different from their usual standard and therefore deny a recent past made of "(un)Easy listening".

With the duo "Dead lover's Lane" - "Bleed well", they definitely return to their belonging territory, engaging songs, paced just right, well refined by keyboards never invasive or excessive, vocals very charming for broken hearts, in short, their classic gothic/pop/metal which never displeases if done with sincerity (so certainly not "Dark Light"). The aforementioned duo is interspersed by the unusual "Song or suicide" where the good Valo takes up the folk guitar and delights us for just over a minute with a sad and syrupy harmony enriched with deep lewdness. I am sure many will dismiss it as a self-celebratory episode and somewhat mannered, but just press the skip button to tackle the last song.

"Cyanide song" closes with a bang: great ballad song, decidedly doom and heavy, but very engaging for the fascinating riffing, in the perfect use of the vocal metric that fits ad hoc to highlight the verse that announces the title of the song itself and launches the heartfelt solo.

Ultimately, we are faced with a mature album in songwriting and also presents a certain amount of innovation (referring to what has already been done by the group), seeking a more personal way to reach as many hearts as possible, despite the average length of individual tracks is not insignificant and therefore slows down the assimilation process of the album.

Excellent production and personal artwork, so if you already have everything from HIM (and miss the times of "Love Metal") this "Venus Doom" will not disappoint, if instead you have just recently discovered them, come and discover their darker side.