HIM LOVE METAL ALBUM BMG RELEASE: APRIL 14, 2003 REVIEW: APRIL 15, 2003

After the last album "Deep Shadows…" I gave up on Him. A bunch of commercial Finns with money on their fake-dark collective mind, I thought. A couple of years pass and…wham! I’m hit from behind with "Love Metal" - the ultimate proof that Him, albeit still commercial, have it in them to make good goth rock.
"Love Metal" is equal parts sleazy ballads and harder stuff. Somehow Him has managed to make both sides sound more produced and more musical, but still quite tough in a nice kind of way, which is surprising and great. The album actually makes me think of "Symbol of Life" by veterans Paradise Lost from time to time, and that’s a high thing.
Even though not Paradise Lost-like at every turn, "Love Metal" actually doesn’t contain any bad songs. From strong "Buried Alive by Love" through heartfelt "Sweet Pandemonium" to sensitive "The Path", it contains good, but not great tunes. The main criticism is that it doesn’t have any real peaks, it’s too even.
Hats of for Valo & company!

KALLE MALMSTEDT