Love Metal is the third album from Finnish Gothic rock band HIM. The album had three singles with The Funeral of Hearts, Buried Alive by Love, and The Sacrament. The album was well received by fans and critics at the time of release. Over the years, the band members have reflected on this album and mentioned it as the one they think of as their best work. The sound of this album builds on the foundation of its predecessor and according to the band, has more influence from bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Iggy Pop.
Buried Alive by Love demonstrates the influence of those musicians with its well-crafted instrumental right out of the gate. The Funeral of Hearts has a very beautiful guitar solo. Beyond Redemption is a nice mid-tempo track that has some really heavy and dark vocalizations that give the album a very haunting feel. Soul on Fire has a cool gear switch after it’s build to the chorus and again back into the verse. The harmonics on the track are a great contrast to the crunchy guitars.
Lead singer Ville Valo has gone on to say that he thinks of this album as the bands best work retrospectively. I can definitely hear what he means by this in the connectivity of each track and the blending of the bands early sound and more heavy rock instrumentals. This isn’t the album I would call my personal favorite from the band but, I surely agree with the musicianship being top notch on this album.
- Buried Alive by Love
- The Funeral of Hearts
- Beyond Redemption
- Sweet Pandemonium
- Soul on Fire
- The Sacrament
- This Fortress of Tears
- Circle of Fear
- Endless Dark
- The Path
- Love’s Requiem
Initial Score: 4.75 stars
1v1 Adjusted Score: TBD
...And The Hero Will Drown 