HIM Razorblade Romance (Jimmy Franks Recording Company / Universal Records)
This is definitely an interesting album to say the least, and shows that the power of this album to generate attention can withstand the test of time. When this album was originally released in 2000, it was a smash hit in Europe, but has since become a pretty big sleeper hit in the United States. With the bands infamous heartagram logo all over MTV’s hit series Viva La Bam and some clever marketing courtesy of retail chain Hot Topic, the band has gained some attention in the United States.
I still honestly had zero clue who this band was, until my buddy Billy Cox at Roadrunner Records handed me a copy of the MTV 2 Headbangers Ball Volume 2 compilation CD at a recent Soulfly show one night. When I left the show, I immediately popped disc 1 of the 2 disc compilation into my car CD player, and put it immediately on Sweet Six Six Six[ by HIM. I was hooked immediately and started looking for this album. Sweet Six Six Six[ and Poison Girl immediately hooked me in with it’s ]Type O Negative[ influenced guitar riffs and Join Me In Death hooked me in immediately with is lush and soft melody’s.
Another treat on the album, is a cover of Chris Isaac’s Wicked Game which actually did the original justice, without sounding like a blatant rip-off. That song right there showed me that vocalist Ville Valo and company can deliver the goods musically. The only remotely weak cut on the album is I Love You (Prelude To Tragedy) which is a upbeat rock of a tracker, but has some of the cheesiest (and overly gothic) backing vocals. Still, the songs adds an element of fun to the album. Razorblade Kiss is a moody rocker of a song with some strange tempo changes throughout the song Sigilum Diaboli is definitely the heaviest cut on the album. Top this all off with some pretty nice artwork, albeit in a pink shade, and you have a flavor of something different in your album collection.
Definitely good music if you are looking for something different to balance your old school and / or extreme metal collection… or if you are looking for something different musically, Finland’s HIM is definitely the answer
.Price Ranges[: 12-16 US dollars. Totally Worth it!
For Fans Of[: Type O Negative, CKY (Cap Kill Yourself), Eighteen Visions, Nick Cave and The Badseeds, Marilyn Manson, Chris Isaac
Ratings 4 / 5
I am also putting in this link as a way of saying thanks to Billy Cox (and Roadrunner Records) for hooking me up with this CD and helping me discover some new music. This is a really good compilation if you want an accurate sampler of what is out there in metal today: ]Various Artists MTV 2 Headbangers Ball Volume 2 – said Joshua V. on Nov 11, 2004
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