Niki N. Phaser

Finnish love metal pioneers, HIM are often mistaken for some poppy band, but in fact the core of their music is guitar-driven heavy metal. On that, they (actually Ville Valo, the songwriter) add some melodic synths or romantic lyrics. Still, to be completely truthful, two out of their six albums are more love than metal: Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001) and Dark Light (2005), the latter being famous for making HIM the first Finnish act to go gold in the US. The title track of this album, which at one point was speculated to be released as a single, marks the highest pop point in their career. It is the one song where Valo’s vocals seem to be genuine happy and the catchy piano tune of the chorus certainly adds to that feeling of benign nostalgia. We have to remember that this song was written when he was having a difficult time being the “miserable poet”, i.e. the days of his highly-publicized engagement to a Finnish TV star. But, back to the sound, the guitars are loud, but not heavy and the multi-layered direction they adopted for the record really hits home. All sorts of synth sighs form a subtle sonic spectre, that reminds us of the black-sabbathy-horror aspect of HIM. Still, it is that hypnotic Twin Peaks spookyness, that Ville Valo often cites as an influence, not something 666-esque.

The light is definitely in the music, so the dark is underlined through the lyrics, which speak of “the poison tears of a life denied” and “To learn how to die, In peace with her God”. They are inspired by a Norwegian book of the same title, authored by Mette Newth. It is the story of a 13 year old girl dying of leprosy in a miserable hospital. Hence, the female character in the song, whose fears are blinded by the dark light, and hence the gentle lullaby melody. Dark Light wasn’t played live, maybe because it’s so un-rock for a love metal band, but it surely represents a special and unique moment in HIM’s history and for that alone, should get your attention.

LISTEN TO VILLE VALO’S HAPPY MOMENT HERE

With the album Korova Milky Bar, Polish alternative band Myslovitz had a rather brief moment in the spotlight, which means the lead single, The Sound of Solitude received considerable airplay on European MTV stations, which made it a bit of a hit. Unfortunately, the promotion kept getting smaller afterwards, which is a shame, because Myslovitz are by no means a one-hit-wonder. In their native land, they are quite big.

The Sound of Solitude, today’s ignored-gold, is the kind of song which really captures feelings and releases them at every listen. The soft background jangle guitars provide a rather uplifting setting for the sad melody and the almost whispered introspective lyrics about solitude and taking a path by yourself. Listening to this song, you get that strange feeling of missing the very wonderful moment you are experiencing because you know it will not last forever. Beware, it will make you wanna hug your friends and family.

LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF SOLITUDE