H.I.M formed in 1991 in Finland and consist of Ville Valo (Vocals), Mikko Lindstrom (Guitar) Janne Puurtinen (Keyboards), Mikki Paananen (Bass) and Mika Karppinen (Drums). The band name HIM initally stood for His Infernal Majesty, but the band decided to drop this as a lot of their Finnish fans had problems pronouncing it. HIM describe themself as “Love Metal” and are well reputed for having a very eclectic musical style and being a fan of cover versions`- covering Chris Isaaks, Neil Diamond and Blue Oyster Cult Amongst others
The band released their first full-length album Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666 in 1997. It contained 66 tracks (the majority of them empty and was 66 minutes and 6 seconds long. Their second album Razorblade Romance was released in 1999 (but was re-released in the US in 2002). It was around this time that Bam Margera from Jackass started to take an interest in the band and helped promote them in the US.
In 2001, HIM released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, followed by Love Metal in 2003 and Dark Light in 2005.
Venus Doom was released in September 2007 and is HIM’s most recent album. The song Passion’s Killing Floor was on the Transformers soundtrack.
HIM are famous for one thing beside from their music… The Heartagram. It is a Pentagram with a heart embedded in it and is said by Ville Valo to represent love and hate, a theme that the band are obsessed about and is reflected in many of their songs. Many HIM fans have this as a tattoo.
Albums: Greatest Love Songs 66 (1997), Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001), Razorblade Romance (2002), Love Metal (2003), Dark Light (2005), and Venus Doom (2007).
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