HIM The Book Chapters 1-28 (Scans + Italian -till 20- & English Translation)

English translation:

Chapter fourteen

The 3rd album from HIM will cause a lot of controversy, that was clear after the first listening session. The band however is very relaxed. Singer Ville and bass player Mige don’t have time to think about these issues. They were involved very deeply in the production process, and now they are on the road to deliver their “baby” and talk about the new album.
I meet them in a five star hotel in Rheinlanden. Ville and Mige expect me to ask about their new cd but I’ll try to turn the interview in a different direction.

Why aren't the band members introduced on stage?

Mige: We didn’t even think about that. Some bands make a real spectacle, they stop the show for like 10 minutes, every band member plays a solo and is introduced.

Ville: And the audience falls asleep! We don’t feel like doing that, it doesn’t feel natural or spontaneous.

In the past few years hotels have become a big part of your lives. How do you feel about that?

Ville: Life in hotels can turn you into a monster or a nervous wreck if you’re not mentally strong enough.

Mige: You can lose reality but you don’t have to worry about washing your clothes, and you can jerk off on the sheets.

Do you know the statistics, how many times you have slept in your own bed, and in a hotel room?

Ville: The past year we were on the road for 160 days, and most of the nights I slept in a hotel. I think we stayed in about 150 hotels.
I like luxury hotels with lots of flair, and I insist on very clean rooms without feather pillows because I have allergies.

In a famous German magazine there was an article about hotel rooms, when the room looks clean it doesn’t mean it is clean…

Mige: Of course, in the bath tub, shower, or even in the bed there are always germs or other micro organisms, but what can you do?
They are also God’s children and how can you fight them, you can't even see them?

What is your favorite hotel?

Ville: In England they have this new hotel chain where I like to stay. Every room has a hi-fi, a huge bathroom and like in most English hotel rooms, a coffee machine. When you wake up you don’t have to order or go to the hotel restaurant.

Mige: In London there is this hotel and the suites have different themes. You have the Casablanca room, an American 70's disco-room and other themes.

What is the worst hotel you’ve been in?

Mige: We haven't had many bad experiences yet. You hear stories about cockroaches, but we haven’t seen them. Maybe we will if we ever get to tour in the U.S., the motels along the highways have a certain reputation.

Ville: We’ll stay on the bus!

Ville you mentioned your need for coffee in the morning, what about breakfast?

Ville: I don’t drink coffee on a regular basis. I’m not very hungry, I don’t have an appetite in the morning and the food in hotels isn’t that good.

Since the success of “Join Me” and RR, lots of fans gather in the lobby of your hotel. Do you ever use a false name or have special security in your rooms?

Ville: We haven't had any problems with that so far. Sometimes just for fun we use false names, once I used Billy Idol.

Your Rebel Yell cover is legendary. What do you think of Billy’s come back with Steve Stevens on guitar, and the acoustic version of Rebel Yell on the Greatest Hits album?

Ville: I think it’s stupid. I don’t know if Stevens cooperated but it sounds cheap. They used the same songs as the previous compilation. The album has a different cover, and 2 bonus tracks…A new album would have been more interesting.

Did you hear the rumors he refused to record Don’t You Forget About Me?

Mige: After all these years he recorded it as a bonus track.

Ville: Too bad, Simple Minds had a huge hit with it!

On the Billy Idol version you can hear the song doesn’t fit him.

Ville: He probably knew that back then. He writes all the songs himself and didn’t want to do someone else’s song, I imagine.

Would you like to record a cover?

Ville: When I hear a great Desmond Child song I get weak, but I’m not sure about the rest of the guys.

To get back at the hotel-theme, have you written any songs in hotels?

Ville: Musically, little. But when I spend a day at the hotel relaxing, I might write some great lyrics.

Markus Sturmer
Metal Heart 09/2001

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

Italian Translation

Capitolo quattordici

Il terzo album degli HIM causerà un sacco di polemiche, ed è evidente dopo la prima listening session. La band, tuttavia, è molto rilassata. Il cantante Ville e il bassista Mige non hanno il tempo di pensare a questi problemi. Sono stati coinvolti molto profondamente nel processo di produzione, e ora sono sulla strada per consegnare il loro "bambino" e di parlare del nuovo album.
Li incontro in un hotel a cinque stelle a Rheinlanden. Ville e Mige si aspettano che io faccia domande sul loro nuovo cd, ma cercherò di girare l'intervista in una direzione diversa.

Perché non introducete i membri all'inizio dei concerti?

Mige: Non abbiamo nemmeno voluto pensarci. Alcuni gruppi fanno un vero spettacolo, si fermano lo spettacolo per quasi 10 minuti, ogni membro della band suona un assolo e viene introdotto.

Ville: E il pubblico si addormenta! Non abbiamo voglia di fare che, non è una cosa naturale o spontanea.

Negli ultimi anni gli hotel sono diventati una parte importante della vostra vita. Come ti senti a riguardo?

Ville: La vita in hotel si può trasformare in un mostro o un relitto nervoso, se non sei abbastanza forte mentalmente.

Mige: Si può perdere la realtà, ma non dovete preoccuparvi di lavare i vestiti, poi ci si può masturbare sui fogli.

Sapete le statistiche, quante volte hai dormito nel tuo letto, e in una camera d'albergo?

Ville: L'anno scorso siamo stati in viaggio per 160 giorni, e la maggior parte delle notti ho dormito in un albergo. Penso che siamo rimasti in circa 150 alberghi.
Mi piacciono gli hotel di lusso e con classe, e insisto su camere molto pulite, senza cuscini di piume, perché soffro di allergia.

In una famosa rivista tedesca c'era un articolo sulle camere d'albergo, quando la stanza sembra pulita non significa che sia pulita davvero ...

Mige: Certo, nella vasca da bagno, doccia, o anche a letto ci sono sempre i germi o altri microrganismi, ma cosa si può fare?
Essi sono anche figli di Dio e come si può combattere, non si può nemmeno vederli?

Qual è il vostro hotel preferito?

Ville: In Inghilterra hanno questa nuova catena di hotel dove mi piace stare. Ogni camera ha un impianto hi-fi, un grande bagno e, come nella maggior parte delle camere d'albergo inglese, una macchina per il caffè. Quando ti svegli non hai bisogno di ordinare o andare al ristorante dell'hotel.

Mige: A Londra vi è questo hotel e le suite sono dotate di diversi temi. Hai la stanza Casablanca, un americana anni 70, oppure la disco-camera e altri temi.

Qual è il peggior hotel in cui hai dentro?

Mige: Non abbiamo avuto molte esperienze negative ancora. Si sentono storie di scarafaggi, ma non li abbiamo visti. Forse ci sarà, se mai arriveremo negli Stati Uniti per un tour, i motel lungo le autostrade hanno una certa reputazione.

Ville: Staremo sul bus!

Ville lei ha citato il vostro bisogno di caffè la mattina, che dire della colazione?

Ville: non bevo caffè su una base regolare. Non ho molta fame, non ho l'appetito al mattino e il cibo negli hotel non è molto buono.

Dato il successo di "Join Me" e RR, un sacco di fan si riuniscono nella hall del vostro hotel. Ti capita mai di usare un nome falso o hanno particolari stratagemmi di sicurezza nelle vostre stanze?

Ville: Non abbiamo avuto alcun problema con ciò finora. A volte solo per divertimento usiamo nomi falsi, una volta ho usato quello di Billy Idol.

La tua cover di Rebel Yell è leggendaria. Cosa ne pensi di Billy è tornato con Steve Stevens alla chitarra, e della versione acustica di Rebel Yell nel Greatest Hits?

Ville: Penso che sia stupida. Non so se Stevens ha collaborato, ma sembra una cosa economica. Hanno usato le stesse canzoni, come la compilation precedente. L'album ha una copertina diversa, e 2 bonus track ... Un nuovo album sarebbe stato più interessante.

Avete sentito le voci che si era rifiutato di registrare Don't You Forget About Me?

Mige: Dopo tutti questi anni lo ha registrato come bonus track.

Ville: Peccato, Simple Minds ha avuto un enorme successo con quella canzone!

Sulla versione di Billy Idol è possibile ascoltare la canzone non gli si addice.

Ville: Probabilmente lo sapeva già. Lui scrive tutte le canzoni da solo e non volevo fare canzoni di altri, immagino.

Volete registrare una cover?

Ville: Quando sento una grande canzone dei Desmond Child ho un debole, ma non sono sicuro su gli altri ragazzi.

Per tornare al tema-hotel, hai scritto canzoni in hotel?

Ville: Musicalmente, poco. Ma quando trascorro una giornata rilassante in albergo, mi permetto di scrivere dei bei testi.

Markus Sturmer
Metal Heart 09/2001

Traduzione in italiano a cura di Baudelaire In Braille solo per HIMI, non copiare o ripostare in qualsiasi altro sito. (Linka invece di copiare)

English translation:

Chapter fifteen

HIM and Umbra et Imago

A bizarre sight…We’re in the lobby of an expensive hotel in Cologne to interview 2 of the top stars of the Gothic scene. One of them, Mozart, is in full uniform and mask, and the other, Ville Valo, looks like a dark reincarnation of Jim Morrison, he is dressed from head to toe in black. On his clothes are hand painted monograms, words and signs. You can imagine the puzzled faces of the other guests at the hotel when these two are posing for the photographer.
The reason for all of this is two extraordinary new albums, DSBH by HIM, and Dunkle Energie
(Dark energy) by Umbra et Imago.

With the dark/light opus of HIM you just have to listen to the guitar-work, like with the new album of Umbra et Imago. Both albums have remarkable moments, although the style is similar to their previous albums.
HIM combines many distinct styles, rock songs meet ballads, songs of love meet songs of pain, it’s a constant game of contrasts, accompanied by powerful guitars and Ville’s unforgettable voice.

During a break (from the photo shoot) the guys talk about Iggy Pop. On Ville’s left hand it says Ozzy, and on his right Iggy. Ville asks if I have seen the Harald Schmidt show with Iggy. No????
" We recorded it and watch it all the time!"
Mige muses what it would be like to tour with Iggy Pop. Mutti ( Silke) knows Iggy Pop. What is he like, is he a nice guy, asks Mige.
Enough, more pictures.

Hotel management is visibly relieved when the photo shoot is finally over.
Mozart wants to change, so he leaves. Ville and Mige are laughing when I ask them where Mosi is. Mosi sounds like mutsi, which is Finnish for mutti (mom) and Silke is Mutti. When Mozart returns, he likes his new name, and they start to play word games. Vati ( dad) is fatsi in Finnish. Both Finns know the German word that sounds a bit like this. They are both grinning….
Changing the subject I ask them how they got to know each other, and what they think of each other's music.

Ville and Mige with mischievous grins: We've heard sooooo much about Umbra et Imago!

Ville: We have seen loads of pictures, and I have to admit I was a little scared to meet Mozart.
Mige confirms this, and Mozart laughs.

The guys haven't seen Mozart perform live but their former keyboard player Juska aka Zoltan did.

Mige: He came back from the show and his hands were shaking…he said: OMG they hang girls in chains…

Ville: That’s probably the real reason he left the music business…

Mige: Indeed he was afraid of Mozart! Of course we can also have pretty girls hanging in chains....

Ville: We've heard some exciting stories about Mozart’s club and would love to have a look in the Kulturruine ( culture ruins) but our schedules are packed, and to be honest, we are way to frightened…

Mozart , who doesn’t believe a word, talks about HIM:
I've known about HIM since their first album. The first thing I noticed was the brutal, heavy guitar sounds. Our first festival together was really rushed, but at the Méra Luna festival we had an opportunity to party together and celebrate Linde’s birthday.

Ville: Indeed, we were all wasted….

Mozart: It was great fun, and I think we became friends after that.

Ville: Because we’re both sex symbols! (the room erupts in laughter)
Mozart and I are like Yin and Yang, together we are the perfect sex symbol.

Mozart: Ville has a horny, cool charisma, and I’m more direct and extreme.
We didn’t ask for this to happen, it’s been forced upon us and it isn’t always pleasant.

Ville: We don't have sex on stage, that happens backstage!

Anja Lochner

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

Italian Translation

Capitolo Quindici

HIM e Umbra et Imago

Uno spettacolo bizzarro ... Siamo nella hall di un albergo di lusso a Colonia per intervistare due delle stelle della scena gotica. Uno di loro, Mozart, è in alta uniforme e la maschera, e l'altra, Ville Valo, sembra una reincarnazione oscura di Jim Morrison, è vestito dalla testa ai piedi in nero. Sui suoi vestiti sono dipinte a mano monogrammi, parole e segni. Potete immaginare i volti perplessi degli altri ospiti in albergo quando questi due sono in posa per il fotografo.
La ragione di tutto questo è di due nuovi album straordinario, DSBH degli HIM, e Dunkle Energie (Energia oscura) di Umbra et Imago.

Con l'opus buio / luce degli HIM basta ascoltare il lavoro di chitarra, come con il nuovo album di Umbra et Imago. Entrambi gli album hanno dei momenti notevoli, anche se lo stile è simile al loro album precedenti.
Gli HIM uniscono molti stili diversi, canzoni rock che si incontrano con delle ballate, le canzoni d'amore soddisfano canti di dolore, è un continuo gioco di contrasti, accompagnati da chitarre potenti e dalla voce indimenticabile di Ville.

Durante una pausa (dal photoshooting), i ragazzi parlano di Iggy Pop. Sulla mano sinistra di Ville è Ozzy,e Iggy sulla sua destra. Ville chiede se ho visto lo show Harald Schmidt con Iggy. No???
"L'abbiamo registrato e guardato tutto il tempo!"
Mige immagina che cosa sarebbe come andare in tour con Iggy Pop. Mutti (Silke) conosce Iggy Pop.Lui è un bravo ragazzo, chiede Mige.
Basta immagini per adesso.

L'hotel di gestione è visibilmente sollevato quando il servizio fotografico è finalmente finito.
Mozart vuole cambiarsi, così se ne va. Ville e Mige stanno ridendo quando chiedo loro dove è Mosi. Mosi suona come mutsi, che è in finlandese per Mutti (mamma) e Silke è Mutti. Quando torna Mozart, ama il suo nuovo nome, e cominciano a divertirsi con dei giochi di parole. Papà è "fatsi" in finlandese. Entrambi i finlandesi conoscono la parola tedesca che suona un po 'come questa. Sorridono entrambi….
Cambiando argomento chiedo loro come sono arrivati a conoscersi, e cosa pensano della musica in generale.

Ville e Mige con sorride malizioso: Abbiamo sentito taaaaaaanto a proposito di Umbra et Imago!

Ville: Abbiamo visto un sacco di foto, e devo ammettere che avevo un po 'paura di incontrare Mozart.
Mige lo conferma, e Mozart ride.

I ragazzi non hanno visto esibirsi dal vivo Mozart ma il loro ex tastierista Juska aka Zoltan ha fatto.

Mige: E 'tornato dalla mostra e gli tremavano le mani ... ha detto: O mio dio si appendono le ragazze in catene ...

Ville: Questo è probabilmente il vero motivo per cui ha lasciato il business della musica….

Mige: In effetti aveva paura di Mozart! Naturalmente possiamo anche avere belle ragazze appese in catene ....

Ville: Abbiamo sentito alcune storie interessanti del Club di Mozart e mi piacerebbe avere uno sguardo nelle Kulturruine (rovine della cultura) ma i nostri orari sono già prestabiliti, e ad essere onesti, siamo abbastanza spaventati...

Mozart, che non crede una parola, parla di lui:
Ho conosciuto su quanto il loro primo album. La prima cosa che ho notato è stata la sua brutalità, i suoni di chitarra pesanti. La nostra prima festa insieme è stato davvero veloce, ma al festival di Mera Luna abbiamo avuto l'occasione di festeggiare tutti insieme e festeggiare anche il compleanno di Linde.

Ville: infatti, noi tutti siamo stati sprecati ....

Mozart: E 'stato molto divertente, e penso che siamo diventati amici dopo.

Ville: Perché siamo tutti e due dei sex symbol! (La sala scoppia a ridere)
Mozart e io siamo come lo Yin e Yang, insieme siamo il simbolo del sesso perfetto.

Mozart: Ville dispone di una cornea, di un carisma fresco, e io sono più diretto ed estremo.
Non abbiamo chiesto di far accadere questa cosa, siamo stati costretti e non è sempre piacevole.

Ville: Non facciamo sesso sul palco, ma questo succede dietro le quinte!

Anja Lochner

Traduzione in italiano a cura di Baudelaire In Braille solo per HIMI, non copiare o ripostare in qualsiasi altro sito. (Linka invece di copiare)

English translation:

Chapter sixteen

In our own words DSBH

Salt in our Wounds
Because of the spooky intro we made this the first song. We wanted to scare and annoy people who want to listen to this album. There are some Indian influences, Mige likes that a lot.

Heartache every Moment
The piano is a tribute to John Carpenter’s Halloween. This song took a lot of work and Kevin Shirley contributed very much on this song. In the lyrics there are some parallels to RR. It is my favorite rock song.

Lose you Tonight
We nicked the drum rhythms off of Cathedral’s Voodoo. The guitar solo is a tribute to John Frusciante.

In Joy and Sorrow
This is our next single and the last song I wrote for the album. The song has beautiful string arrangements by John Fryer, I think he stole them from Massive Attack. The lyrics are inspired by Indian wedding vows.

Pretending
This was our first single, not our first choice, we liked it more as an album track. To shoot the video we had to spend a day at an amusement park, it was fun. This is our sentimental version of Iggy Pop’s Mask.

Close to the Flame
This song has a beautiful Christmas melody and is the follow up to Gone with the Sin. We tried to create a maximum sound with a minimum of instruments.

Please Don’t Let it Go
This was originally meant as a Stooges tribute. We recorded an acoustic version with Kevin Shirley and liked it so much we left it this way.
This track is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Beautiful
This song caused a lot of concern for the record company because nobody liked it. Too sentimental for those cold hearted people…
I don’t give flowers on Valentine’s day so I dedicate this song to a special person.

Don’t close your Heart
This song is sung by a person, who tries to rescue another person, who sang Join me….( grins) The most organic song on the album.

Love you Like I do
The first song I mixed myself. I tried to copy the sound of Elvis. When I recorded the first demo, I was totally wasted and I wanted it to be finished quickly so I could drink more. The outré is a tribute to Black Sabbath.

Orkus 11/2001

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans


Italian Translation


DSBH con le nostre parole

Salt in our wounds
A causa dell' introduzione spooky l'abbiamo scelta come prima canzone. Abbiamo voluto spaventare e infastidire le persone che volevano ascoltare questo album. Ci sono alcune influenze indiane, che a Mige piacciono molto.

Heartache Every Moment
Il pianoforte è un omaggio ad Halloween di John Carpenter. Questa canzone ha richiesto un sacco di lavoro e Kevin Shirley ha contribuito molto a questa canzone. Nel testo ci sono alcuni parallelismi con RR. E' la mia canzone rock preferita.

Lose You Tonight
Abbiamo abbiamo tolto i ritmi di batteria alla "Cathedral’s Voodoo". L'assolo di chitarra è un omaggio a John Frusciante.

In Joy and Sorrow
Questo è il nostro prossimo singolo e l'ultima canzone che ho scritto per l'album. La canzone ha dei bei arrangiamenti per archi, ad opera di John Fryer, credo che li abbia rubati ai Massive Attack. I testi sono ispirati ai voti dei matrimoni indiani.

Pretending
Questo è stato il nostro primo singolo, non la nostra prima scelta, ci piaceva di più come una traccia per l' album. Per girare il video, abbiamo dovuto trascorrere una giornata in un parco di divertimenti, è stato divertente. Questa è la nostra versione sentimentale di Mask di Iggy Pop.

Close To The Flame
Questa canzone ha una bella melodia natalizia ed è il seguito di Gone With The Sin. Abbiamo cercato di creare un suono al massimo con un minimo di strumenti.

Please Don't Let it Go
Questa era originariamente nata come un tributo agli Stooges. Abbiamo registrato una versione acustica con Kevin Shirley e mi è piaciuta così tanto che l' abbiamo lasciata in questo modo.
Questo brano è la luce alla fine del tunnel.

Beautiful
Questa canzone ha causato molta preoccupazione nella casa discografica perché a nessuno piaceva. Troppo sentimentale per quella gente dal cuore freddo ...
Non me ne frega dei fiori il giorno di San Valentino quindi dedico questa canzone a una persona speciale.

Don't Close Your Heart
Questa canzone è cantata da una persona, che cerca di salvare un'altra persona, la stessa che ha cantato Join Me .... (Sorride) La canzone più organica dell'album.

Love You Like I Do
La prima canzone che ho mixato da solo. Ho provato a copiare il sound di Elvis. Quando ho registrato il primo demo, ero totalmente distrutto e volevo che venisse finito in fretta in modo che potessi bere di più. l' outré ( outro ndr) è un tributo ai Black Sabbath.

Orkus 11/2001

Traduzione in italiano a cura di Magdalene Vampyre solo per HIMI, non copiare o ripostare in qualsiasi altro sito. (Linka invece di copiare)

English translation:
Chapter seventeen

Hotels
Nimoti did not translate this article, she said it is exactly the same as the Billy Idol chapter. They just took the same living in hotels comments and made another article, there is nothing new in this chapter.

Alberghi
Nimoti non ha tradotto questo articoli, ha detto che è praticamente uguale a quello di Billy Idol. Hanno preso spunto dal capitolo "vivere negli hotel" e hanno fatto un'altro articolo, non c'è niente di nuovo in questo capitolo.

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

English translation:
Chapter eighteen

While Germany is covered in snow and mud, most people like to stay at home drinking gluhwein and eating cookies. HIM is traveling in the south and east of Europe.
We called Ville Valo in a hotel room in Prague. Ring…ring…Valo? Finally!!! It isn’t easy to contact the dark Finnish rocker. Since the release of their third album on 27-08-2001 they have been on tour. But now we are lucky, and shortly before the sound check we can talk to him. The next day they will leave for Poland and Russia.

"Well, after the huge German tour we had about a week off", Ville says. He sounds a bit tired, although it’s only 5.30 pm.

Are you feeling home sick? Missing friends and family?

VV: Ah, one always wants what you don’t have…when I’m on tour I want to be at home, and when I’m home I can’t wait to go on tour again. But I’ve got my cd’s with me, I can talk to my friends on my cell phone, and the BBC news you can watch it everywhere.

Reading isn’t a problem, like most young Finns Ville’s English is perfect.

VV: I prefer to read English books, I have about 7 books with me, so I won’t get bored.
The highlight of the tour so far was the gig in Dom Sportova in Zagreb. First time we played there, a huge venue and the crowd went crazy! It was great!
The venues aren’t that different, but the prices are from country to country.

Are you happy with the arrival of the Euro?

VV: It seems convenient, it costs a lot to change money in every country, but I do like the feeling of having coins from different countries jingling in my pocket.

The tour seems to be running smoothly....

VV: Yesterday the singer ( female) of our supporting act fell off the stage, is that spectacular? Somebody nicked my beanie and threatened to tear my jacket, but we stay calm.

It is a desolate life on the road, as Ville describes it, sleep as long as possible, take a long bath, do a lot of promotion, sound checks, gigs, eat and drive to the next place.
I think he's turned on his professional-mode, well who could blame him with all the hype going on.

VV: The difference between the private me and the public me is I’m not telling everything in interviews. The promotion doesn’t bother me, we need that.
Fortunately I don’t have a stage personality, like Marilyn Manson. When he has a day off, I think he’s happy just to sit in his hotel room not wearing make up or his platform shoes.
On tour I rarely write any songs.

What would Ville be doing if he didn’t have this band?

VV: I don’t know… would I still be making music ? I never thought about that, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t have a plan B. I’d probably take a break to think things over. But so far HIM is exactly what I want. When we write a song, we want to reach people. But we don’t know how they will react to the song, if they will like it or not.

Right now Ville is just concentrating on the tour, they have three more gigs to do after today, then they have 14 days of Christmas holidays and at the end of the year a “home game” in Helsinki.

That’s tradition, every New Year’s Eve we play the at the same club, we know the owner. What else is there to do on that night? Get drunk with your friends…well we do that and then go on stage.

And after that?

We’ll see, we’ll see…. The 69Eyes are working on a new album, maybe they will invite me to do some backing vocals.

Sabine Gabriel
Orkus 02/2002

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans


Italian Translation


Mentre la Germania è coperta di neve e fango, molte persone amano stare a casa a bere vin brulè e mangiare biscotti. Gli HIM sono in viaggio nel sud e nell'est dell'Europa.
Abbiamo chiamato Ville Valo in una stanza d'albergo a Praga. Suona ... suona… Valo? Finalmente! Non è facile contattare il tenebroso rocker finlandese. Dal momento che dall'uscita del loro terzo album, 27-08-2001, sono stati in tour. Ma ora siamo fortunati, e poco prima del sound check si può parlare con lui. Il giorno successivo partiranno per la Polonia e la Russia.

"Beh, dopo l'enorme tour tedesco abbiamo avuto circa una settimana di riposo", Ville dice. Lui sembra un po 'stanco, anche se sono soltanto le 17:30.

Senti nostalgia di casa? Ti mancano amici e familiari?

VV: Ah, si vuole sempre ciò che non si ha… quando sono in tour voglio essere a casa, e quando sono a casa non vedo l'ora di andare di nuovo in tour. Ma ho i miei cd con me, posso parlare con i miei amici sul mio cellulare, e le notizie della BBC sono visibili ovunque.

La lettura non è un problema, con l'inglese, come la maggior parte dei giovani finlandesi, Ville è perfetto.

VV: preferisco leggere libri in inglese, ho circa 7 libri con me, quindi non mi annoio.
Il punto culminante del tour finora è stato il concerto a Dom Sportova a Zagabria. E' stata la prima volta che abbiamo suonato lì, un luogo enorme e la folla è impazzita! E' stato fantastico!
I luoghi non sono così diversi, ma i prezzi sono da paese a paese.

Sei felice dell'arrivo dell'euro?

VV: Sembra conveniente, costa molto cambiare i soldi in ogni paese, ma mi piace la sensazione di avere le monete di diversi paesi che tintinnano in tasca.

Il tour sembra andare avanti senza problemi ....

VV: Ieri la cantante del nostro gruppo spalla è caduta dal palcoscenico,non è spettacolare? Qualcuno poi mi ha tirato il cappello e ha minacciato di strapparmi la giacca, ma noi restiamo calmi.

E' una vita desolata sulla strada, come la descrive Ville, dormire più a lungo possibile, fare un lungo bagno, fare un sacco di promozione, sound check, i concerti, mangiare e guidare fino al luogo successivo.
Penso che si sia messo in modalità "professionale", insomma chi potrebbe dargli torto, con tutta questa promozione in corso.

VV: La differenza tra il me privato e il me pubblico è che io non dico tutto nelle interviste. La promozione non mi preoccupa, abbiamo bisogno di questo.
Fortunatamente non ho una personalità da palco, come Marilyn Manson. Quando ha un giorno libero, credo che sia felice di stare nella sua stanza d'albergo senza truccarsi o senza le scarpe con la zeppa.
Durante il tour raramente scrivo canzoni.

Cosa farebbe Ville se non avesse questa band?

VV: non lo so ... farei ancora musica? Non ci ho mai pensato, io sono il tipo di persona che non ha un piano B. Farei sicuramente una pausa per riflettere. Ma finora gli HIM sono stati esattamente quello che voglio. Quando scriviamo una canzone, vogliamo raggiungere le persone. Ma non sappiamo come reagiranno alla canzone, se gli piacerà o no.

In questo momento Ville si sta concentrando solo sul tour, hanno tre concerti da fare dopo oggi, poi avranno 14 giorni di vacanze di Natale e alla fine dell'anno una "partita in casa" a Helsinki.

Questa è una tradizione, ogni Capodanno suoniamo nello stesso club, conosciamo il proprietario. Che altro c'è da fare in quella notte? Ubriacarsi con gli amici ... beh lo facciamo e poi saliamo sul palco.

E dopo?

Vedremo, vedremo ….i The 69 Eyes stanno lavorando su un nuovo album, forse si mi invitano a fare un po' di cori.

Sabine Gabriel
Orkus 02/2002

Traduzione in italiano a cura di Magdalene Vampyre solo per HIMI, non copiare o ripostare in qualsiasi altro sito. (Linka invece di copiare)

English translation:

Chapter nineteen

Ring, ring….Somewhere in rainy Helsinki a phone rings. Yepp, a cheerful voice on the other side of the line, and soon we’re in the middle of a conversation about love, symbolic death, old naked men and countless reasons to look forward to the release of their new album.

"It is a rock album, melodic and melancholic", so Ville tells us, and also remarkable. The new single, Funeral of Hearts is released in March.
"An excellent love song, with loud guitars, epic organ and piano melodies and the basic atmosphere of When Love and Death Embrace, without turning into a ballad. I’m very happy this is our first single, and also very curious how people will react", a cheerful Ville tells us. "I think it is the best song I have ever written". Not obvious, because the album wasn’t finished due to lack of time. So they worked really hard for two days, and this song was recorded. " We mixed the song together with Tim Palmer, he has worked with U2, Ozzy Osbourne and the Mission. He did a great job, it sounds so awesome"…smiles Ville proudly.

The development should be clear." We took the best of our albums and mixed it together. We wanted to have the mood of the first album. The mood, as in unusual instrumentation, and musically interesting arrangements, and ambitious song structures. I wanted the music to be melodic again with a passion for the dark. There are lots of bands that play melancholic, sad and tragic songs, and most of them suck…at least, for me. They can’t experience the Finnish melancholy like I do, I live here, and it’s cold and dark but I’m happy with that."
It seems that Ville was inspired by Charles Baudelaire ( 1821-1867) and he writes some darkly romantic lyrics.

Another influential person is Timo K. Mukka, a Finnish writer of the sixties. "He has written a lot of melancholic things, I’m going through things now that he was going through in the sixties, he has the same vibe as our lyrics. The best way of killing your heart is to fall in love, because it doesn’t belong to you anymore. Love is the Funeral of Hearts. It’s laid in a coffin, waiting to be cremated."

Interesting is the fact that the video for FOH is directed by Stefan Lindfors, a Finnish designer, and he enters a whole new world with it. Ville explains their choice." He wanted to do the video and had some great ideas, for example me in a row boat in the Arctic ocean in Norway. Of course I wanted to go to Norway and Lapland, I’ve never been there. We saw the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. It was extremely cold, like -40 C, but also very beautiful, I’ve seen landscapes I never saw before". He tells us about the 3 old, gold and naked men, David Lynch style. "We’re not sure what will be in the video, Stefan is still working on it".
"Funeral of Hearts is just a small part on the album, but we like it a lot, and think it will be a great single.
It is very us, very HIM!"


Doreen Krase
Orkus 03/2003

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans


Italian Translation


Suona, suona .... Da qualche parte nella piovosa Helsinki un telefono squilla. Sì, una voce allegra dall'altra parte della linea, e presto ci troviamo nel mezzo di una conversazione sull'amore, la morte simbolica, vecchi uomini nudi e innumerevoli motivi per guardare avanti verso l'uscita del loro nuovo album.

"E 'un album rock, melodico e malinconico", così Ville ci dice," e anche notevole". Il nuovo singolo, Funeral of Hearts è uscito nel mese di marzo.
"Una canzone d'amore eccellente, con forti chitarre, organo epico, melodie di pianoforte e l'atmosfera di base di When Love and Death Embrace, senza però trasformarsi in una ballata. Sono molto contento di questo è il nostro primo singolo, e anche molto curioso di come la gente reagirà " dice Ville allegro "Penso che sia la canzone migliore che io abbia mai scritto". Non è ovvia, perché l'album non era finito a causa della mancanza di tempo. Così hanno lavorato duramente per due giorni, e questa canzone è stata registrata. "Abbiamo mixato la canzone insieme a Tim Palmer, ha lavorato con gli U2, Ozzy Osbourne e The Mission. Ha fatto un ottimo lavoro, sembra così impressionante" ... sorride Ville con orgoglio.

Lo sviluppo dovrebbe essere chiaro. "Abbiamo preso il meglio dei nostri album e abbiamo mescolato tutto insieme. Volevamo avere lo stato d'animo del primo album. Lo stato d'animo, come tipico della strumentazione insolita,degli arrangiamenti musicali interessanti, e la struttura delle canzoni ambiziose. Volevo che la musica fosse di nuovo melodica ma con una passione per le tenebre. Ci sono un sacco di gruppi che suonano canzoni malinconiche, tristi e tragiche, e la maggior parte di loro fa cagare... almeno, per me. Questi non possono sperimentare la malinconia finlandese come faccio io , io vivo qui, e fa freddo e buio, ma sono felice di questo."
Sembra che Ville sia stato ispirato da Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) e adesso scrive alcuni testi cupamente romantici.

Un' altra persona influente è Timo K. Mukka, uno scrittore finlandese degli anni Sessanta. "Ha scritto un sacco di cose malinconiche, sto passando ora le cose che lui passava negli anni sessanta, ha la stessa atmosfera dei nostri testi. Il modo migliore per uccidere il tuo cuore è quello di innamorarsi, perché non ti appartiene più. L'amore è il funerale dei cuori. Sta in una bara, in attesa di essere cremato. "

Interessante è il fatto che il video per FOH è diretto da Stefan Lindfors, un designer finlandese, e si fa l'ingresso in un mondo tutto nuovo. Ville spiega la loro scelta. "Voleva fare il video e aveva alcune grandi idee, per esempio me in una barca a remi nel mare Artico in Norvegia. Certo che volevo andare in Norvegia e in Lapponia, non sono mai stato lì. Abbiamo visto l'aurora boreale, le luci del nord. Faceva molto freddo, qualcosa come -40 ° C, ma è stato anche molto bello, ho visto paesaggi che non ho mai visto prima ". Ci racconta dei 3 vecchi uomini nudi dorati, in stile David Lynch. "Non siamo sicuri che faranno parte del video, Stefan ci sta ancora lavorando".
"Funeral of Hearts" è solo una piccola parte del disco, ma a noi piace molto, e credo che sarà un grande singolo.
Fa molto noi, fa molto HIM! " (gioco di parole inglese ndr)


Doreen Krase
Orkus 03/2003

Traduzione in italiano a cura di Magdalene Vampyre solo per HIMI, non copiare o ripostare in qualsiasi altro sito. (Linka invece di copiare)

English translation:

Chapter twenty

Listening session

When it gets dark outside Ville takes his acoustic guitar, sits down and starts to play. He plays whatever comes to mind, he is in his own world. Melodies arise, and even songs. Like this Ville can relax and unwind. "Creating songs this way is the most beautiful thing there is" he says.

The 11 tracks on the latest album, Love Metal were created this way. Every single one of them has grown from Ville’s soul, and he loves them all. "Love Metal is the only album that reflects my personal taste.. I had so much fun writing this".
While working on DSBH the whole world was waiting for another hit, "everything had to be done fast, because we didn’t want to disappoint anyone". There were hundreds of meetings, much more than Ville could handle.

It was as if everybody was stressed out at the same time. Ville is at home, in bed with the flu, while in Cologne the press gathered to listen to the first sounds of Love Metal.
"I love to write songs, more than anything else, it is the reason I became a musician. With all the other things the essence sometimes gets lost, you have so many meetings that have nothing to do with music, you don’t even have time left for yourself".

After the DSBH-tour the band decided to take a short break. "For the the rest of the band stress wasn’t that bad, but for Ville it was", says Mige Amour, who came to Cologne to fill in for Ville. Mige is talking and drinking beer with the assembled journalists. "Ville is always the center of attention, after a gig I can take it easy but Ville has a lot of obligations".

Mige is a close friend of Ville. They used to spend a lot of time together and know each other well. "Ville is very close to me", Mige says. "Back in the day we used to hang out together but in the last few years there isn’t time for that anymore. So while he handles most of the promotion, I’ll have a drink with the others".

During his doctor ordered break, Ville enjoys being at home he says "drinking a beer. I can rest, think a lot and have the most crazy ideas. That is almost as important as writing songs".

The past few months Ville was able to forget everything about the music business, and focus completely on writing songs. "I even listened to old songs of Black Sabbath and the Sex Pistols, and jammed to them. I had so much fun being able to dedicate myself entirely to music". At the end of this process Love Metal was written.

This is a rock album with a dark atmosphere, which reminds the listener a bit of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. "We were all influenced by Black Sabbath and everybody should hear where we come from". On the album Ville’s favorite companion, his acoustic guitar, shows up in quiet moments, sober, characteristic and impressive.

"When Ville played us the demos we were all impressed", Mige says, while in the background Love Metal plays. You can see it makes him happy to hear the new album. "It is harder than the previous album and it will be fun to play this live".

The band is aware that taking a break made them stronger and they have grown together. "The short break was great and it made everyone realize they can’t live without music", Ville says. "This time nobody put pressure on us, we took all the time we needed. My batteries are fully charged"!


Sandra Eichner
Orkus 4/2003

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

Italian Translation

Listening session

Quando fuori diventa buio Ville prende la sua chitarra acustica, si siede e inizia a suonare. Suona qualunque cosa gli viene in mente, è nel suo mondo. Le melodie nascono, e anche le canzoni.Ville può rilassarsi e distendersi. "Creare canzoni in questo modo è la cosa più bella che c'è", dice Ville.

Le 11 tracce del nuovo album, Love Metal, sono state create in questo modo. Ognuna di loro è cresciuta dall'anima di Ville, e lui le ama tutte. "Love Metal è l'unico album che riflette il mio gusto personale .. Mi sono divertito così tanto a scrivere quest'album".
Mentre lavoravano su DSBH il mondo intero era in attesa di un'altra hit, "tutto doveva essere fatto velocemente, perché non doveva deludere nessuno". C'erano centinaia di incontri, molti di più rispetto a quelli che Ville avrebbe potuto gestire.

Era come se tutti fossero stressati nella stessa maniera. Ville è a casa, a letto con l'influenza, mentre a Colonia la stampa si radunava per ascoltare i primi suoni di Love Metal.
"Mi piace scrivere canzoni, più di ogni altra cosa, è il motivo per cui sono diventato un musicista. Con tutte le altre cose l'essenza a volte si perde, hai tanti incontri che non hanno nulla a che fare con la musica, non hai nemmeno tempo per te stesso ".

Dopo il tour di DSBH la band ha deciso di prendersi una breve pausa. "Per il resto della band lo stress non era così male, ma per Ville lo era", dice Mige Amour, che è venuto a Colonia per sostituire Ville. Mige parla e beve birra con i giornalisti riuniti. "Ville è sempre al centro dell'attenzione, dopo un concerto posso prendermela comoda, ma Ville ha un sacco di obblighi".

Mige è un caro amico di Ville. Erano soliti passare molto tempo insieme e si conoscono bene. "Ville è molto vicino a me", dice Mige . "Tempo fa di solito uscivamo insieme, ma in questi ultimi anni non c'è mai stato tempo. Così, mentre lui gestisce la maggior parte della promozione, io avrò un drink insieme agli altri".

Durante il periodo che il medico ha ordinato a Ville di rimanere a casa, Ville si rilassa stando a casa, "Bevo una birra. Posso riposarmi, penso molto e ho le idee più pazze. Questo è importante quasi quanto scrivere canzoni".

Gli ultimi mesi Ville è stato in grado di dimenticare tutto ciò che riguarda il mondo della musica, e concentrarsi completamente sulla scrittura di canzoni. "Ho anche ascoltato le vecchie canzoni dei Black Sabbath e Sex Pistols, e mi sono bloccato con quest'ultime. Mi sono divertito così tanto da essere in grado di dedicarmi interamente alla musica". Alla fine di questo processo Love Metal è stato finalmente scritto.

Questo è un album rock, con un'atmosfera dark, che ricorda all'ascoltatore un po Paranoid dei Black Sabbath. "Siamo stati tutti influenzati dai Black Sabbath e tutti dovrebbero sentire da dove veniamo". Il compagno preferito da Ville nell'album, la sua chitarra acustica, si presenta in momenti di tranquillità, sobri, caratteristici ed impressionanti.

"Quando Ville ha fatto partire la demo eravamo tutti impressionati", Mige dice, mentre suona Love Metal in sottofondo. È possibile vedere come lo rende felice sentire il nuovo album. "E 'più difficile del precedente album e sarà divertente da suonare live".

La band è consapevole del fatto che prendendo una pausa è diventata più forte e i membri della band sono cresciuti insieme. "La breve pausa è stata perfetta e ha fatto sì che tutti si rendessero conto di non poter vivere senza musica", Ville dice. "Questa volta nessuno metteva pressione su di noi, abbiamo preso tutto il tempo che ci serviva. Le mie batterie sono completamente cariche!"


Sandra Eichner
Orkus 4 / 2003

Traduzione in italiano a cura di Baudelaire In Braille solo per HIMI, non copiare o ripostare in qualsiasi altro sito. (Linka invece di copiare)

English translation:

Chapter twentyone

The Dark Force of the North is back. They proved they could work under a lot of pressure (with the album DSBH), this time they had fewer international producers and got rid of all the advisers and know-it-alls. Only the most necessary people worked on the album, therefore it doesn't sound over produced.

Ville Valo stayed in Cologne for a couple of days for practical reasons. He did a lot of press meetings and drank some beers. We met Ville in a hotel bar. He was in a good mood, he survived a party the previous evening and we ended up talking about horror movies, especially The Ring.
"I haven't seen the American remake yet", said Ville, who is wearing an Evil Dead shirt. "I watched the original Japanese version at home, and it was the creepiest movie I've seen in years. The end was so tense that I had to call one of our roadies and had a few beers with him until I was able to sleep"!

You don’t have to be a genius to understand it wasn't just a coincidence that Juliette Lewis had a leading part in the video of Buried Alive by Love, the second single off Love Metal.
Ville says, "Juliette is a really nice person. She doesn’t have to adjust that much for her movies, she is out of control in a good way. The first time I met her was at a party in Philadelphia. She was our first choice, she’s so much better than some arrogant model or diva. She told me recently she is focusing on her musical career right now, instead of acting. I listened to some of her songs and it sounds like Blondie, the good Blondie I mean. I don’t write songs for her, I’m way too busy with HIM".

No wonder, when one considers that Ville handled his dog's death with the lyrics to 'The Funeral of Hearts', Love Metal's first released single.. well that's the rumor an anonymous Informant spread....

"This is probably one of the subjects I assimilated with the lyrics" says Ville, as he tries to stay somewhat serious, "one of the subjects.. in general it's just about interpersonal relationships, not me necessarily".

Ville won't 'escape' me that easy.. did his dog really die?

"I was five.. but I can remember it pretty well and I know that it's horrible when your favorite animal dies. For some reason - probably a psychological one - since he died I have developed allergies to animals."

But there is a difference between the love for an animal and the love for a human being?

"We are not talking about love making, not to cause any misunderstandings.... but love can be similar in both cases, you take responsibility. You give and you take".

While we're on that topic: Could it be that many of HIM's lyrics might be about completely different things than the listener might think they are?

"I don't think that there is a great difference between the people's interpretations and the real meaning of the lyrics. But well.. what is the real meaning of a lyric?! If you could interpret every word, it would be a boring and predictable undertaking. People can interpret what they want to. But they shouldn't try to know every little thing about everything. It's like the difference between a book and it's movie. There are differences also and perhaps it should be like that. It would be ideal if the listeners could form their own picture about the music and the lyrics. That's one of the reasons why I'm not so much into music-videos. They take away your imagination! They are a necessary evil. In ideal cases they're close to the musician's general idea and you can live with it. But it's not good if you watch the video and remember it more than the actual song. The media give you the feeling that this is the way it should be done, and what can you do about it"?

Valo’s lyrics contain a certain mystic, but there are also lines that puzzle me, for example.... I’ve crossed oceans of wine to find you.

"It’s simple, really, it is a word game. Dracula said: I’ve crossed oceans of time to find you, and time and wine sound a bit similar so....and it’s also a little bit of a mean gothic joke. But it worked out fine, at least I can remember the song.
I usually work on a few songs at the same time, and when I don’t like an idea I put it away. That’s why our B-sides, or bonus tracks are also great songs, at least, most of them. There are some bands who've lost the feeling of good and bad songs, for example, Suede ( from Sweden) have such great songs on their B-sides, the original songs are faded. So they released an album with only B-sides".

Nikolas Krofta
Metal Heart 5/2003

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

English translation:

Chapter twentytwo

Buried Alive by Love
When we started to work on our songs, it became clear this had to be the opening song for the album. A pleasant rock&roll start, and the hardest song we have ever done. It has a “swing” and a good groove, and a lot of punk energy. A bit like Iggy and the Stooges. The energy is like It’s all Tears, one of our older songs.

The Funeral Of Hearts
On every album there is one song that defines our style. When somebody asks what we sound like, we would play this track. We could play harder and faster songs, but this one has the most important trademarks of HIM, melancholic, characteristic guitar sounds, and my voice. This song has a unique touch and isn’t like any other song we've done. It will also sound great by a campfire. The genesis of this song is a funny story. Mige came to visit me and I was strumming my acoustic guitar. He asked me what I was playing so I performed the entire song. He was thrilled and said the song HAD to be on the album. He kept bugging me, so I finished the song, and now it is the first single! This is the kind of magic that creates extraordinary songs. Paranoid by Black Sabbath was done in the same way. I created more last-minute Art-songs, like In Joy and Sorrow, Gone with the Sin and When Love and Death Embrace. The best songs are written without pressure and not thinking too much about it.

Beyond Redemption
I like the raw guitar sounds combined with the 50's and 60's sounds, like Elvis Presley meets Megadeath. A simple effective song with a great feeling, it will sound great live. When we did a gig in Hamburg a couple of weeks ago, our expectations were exceeded.

Sweet Pandemonium
Tim Palmer did one hell of a job on the final mix. He has sure qualified himself to do our next album. The guitar riff is stolen from Black Sabbath, it is so obvious, we can’t hide it….And the slow soporific groove is new to us, our older albums don’t have anything like this.

Soul on Fire
It reminds me a bit of I Love You, the first song off RR, or Diabolikal Rapture. The riff is similar, but it can also remind you of the latest Cult album, an excellent album that failed because of bad promotion.

The Sacrament
Same style as Funeral of Hearts, a sentimental song with influences of folk and acoustic guitars. Burton has some remarkable keyboard parts . I begged him to do something Wagner-style, and he did, just like that!

This Fortress of Tears
Black Sabbath meets Pink Floyd, and they meet HIM. Again a Black Sabbath riff, although between the passages it sounds more like Pink Floyd, the Wishing you were here era, which is my favorite song . It is very melancholic, and the guitar solo could be from Corrosion of Conformity. Raw, no effects, straight in your face, I like that.

Circle of Fear
Somewhere between the Mission, U2 and HIM, and a bit of Led Zeppelin is also there.
I didn’t know Tim Palmer produced the best selling album by the Mission, I found this out later. Tim told me some very interesting stories.

Endless Dark
This is what we sounded like in the beginning of HIM. A positive Neil Young song. Linde plays it very well.

The Path
Epic, but simple. The build up at the end works out very well. We improvised a lot in the studio. It is our tribute to Kyuss and to the Mexican deserts, or in our case, the Finnish ice massifs.

Ville Valo
Metal Heart 7/2003
Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

English translation:

Chapter twentythree

When HIM singer Ville Valo and London After Midnight front man Sean Brennan meet each other you never know what is going to happen. They have a lot in common, suggestive imaginations and music filled with desire, tragedy, and lust. On the other side, the contrast on this sunny Saturday in Cologne couldn’t be bigger.

Before he does this interview, Ville lays down on the floor in the hotel lobby, asks in fluid German for a beer with ice, rubs his tummy and curls up on his coat. Compared to this paragon of a rock star, Sean looks like a fairy prince, dressed in a S/M outfit, questioning himself if this is really happening. His dark eyes are inscrutable, he stays very quiet, and shows no curiosity.

Both have a whole day to get to know each other. Between filming and photo shoots with the guys,( Sean piled on Ville, Ville with big wide eyes crawling around Sean, Sean and Ville poured into one chair), they were lurking at the bar, sizing up each other. First polite, then thawing, and later on animated. We feared they told all their jokes without us…

What do you guys usually do when you have a Saturday off?

VV: I don’t know, maybe I would dream for a day like this? I’m here, surrounded by friends and free drinks. Back home I probably would wank and grab my guitar.

SB: I would rehearse, we do that on Saturday, even if I’m the only one there. I would be wondering where everybody was.

Did you two meet for the first time at Méra Luna festival last year?

VV: Yes, we were there on the same day and playing the same stage, but we didn’t have the time to talk to each other. I saw a little of London after Midnight, but it wasn’t the first time I heard their music. I listened to Selected Scenes in 1995, before we even released our first EP. My girlfriend is a huge fan of London after Midnight, so Sean has a lot of autographs to give me after we are done.

SB: You see, that’s a great thing about Europe, you have access to so much music, in America you hear or get nothing. OK HIM has a solid fan base, first underground, and now it’s becoming a wider audience. In 1995 I didn’t know any European bands. In the US it’s black or white. Either you’re a megastar, like Christina Aguilera, and earn a lot of money, or you’re completely underground, there is no in between.

Recently HIM was in L.A to record their new album and do the video for Buried Alive by Love. Were you able to observe the local scene, and what did you think of it?

VV: Not really, we were there with the guys from Jackass and they took us to the crazy MTV parties, there were dancers just like in video clips.

More the Aguilera side of the scene?

SB: Look, they saw the cool side of the scene, the money side, he got to see the side of L.A I don’t know. I’m poor, I live in the poor musicians ghetto.

Is it time to do a school exchange program, Sean should go to Helsinki?

SB: First Ville must tell me if it’s worth it.

VV: Mmmm, Helsinki not that much, but I can recommend Tampere. There you have a real gothic and industrial scene, and a lot of club nights. The Helsinki scene has grown old.

SB: ( laughs and claps) Old people, that’s our target group!

VV: No really, Tampere is a student town with more girls than boys, that’s what you want, a lot of great bars concentrated in one street, or a district like the Sunset strip in L.A. All the kids from Finland go there, while the rest of the country is very conservative.

Sean you've expressed you dislike for current American political policies, especially the response to the terrorist attacks. You were on tour then, did you think twice, at that time, about going to Europe, let alone boarding an airplane ?

SB: Sure. Other than that I hate flying anyway....

VV: me too! Every flight after September 11th is an uncomfortable experience. But you have obligations, you gotta do what you gotta do…

The world has become a peculiar place…

VV: It has always been like that, war and terrorism are everywhere, but the whole media is focused on America, and the subject of censorship.

SB: America is a strange country, we have been touring a lot in Europe, middle and south America, and returned with the feeling that America lost its adhesion, it turned into a bizarre wonderland. People live in ignorance. They don’t give a damn about others, and don’t understand why nobody likes the U.S.A. I feel ashamed of most Americans. With that amount of money we can do something really good. Instead 1% of the super rich have control over the White House and want Bush there. It’s the worst situation, he’s an absolute asshole, he doesn’t know what he is doing, and doesn’t care that the rest of the world sees him as an enemy.

VV: Wait a minute.....(a long pause)

SB:(undeterred) Lately I’ve been having doubts if it makes any sense to be an artist. What is the use, does it really help to improve people’s lives?

VV: I think you are a great artist and your music is beautiful. When we talk about politics and everything that is going on in America, don’t forget music is a way of escaping for lots of people. Listening to an album or going to a gig are ways to forget about injustice and fear. Personally I’m not thrilled about political music.

Don’t you listen to Dead Kennedys?

VV: I’ve listened to their music, not the lyrics. At that time, I was just a kid. I preferred to listen to Ronnie James Dio, he was talking about dragons and other fantasy stuff, it was my trip to Disneyland, escapism for a few hours.

SB: I understand Ville very well, but I feel like I have to consider the consequences of my actions. I prefer reality to escapism.

Do you want to bring children in this world?

VV: I want to have a family, later. I love children and I would be a great dad!

SB: No, not really. I’ll take care of Ville’s children when he’s on tour. I’ll be their godfather.

VV: We have come to the subject of responsibility. When you want things to change in this world you have to raise your children in this spirit, teach them love, respect and values.

What would John Cleese say? And now for something completely different!
We’ll talk about your “brainchildren” now. HIM’s Love Metal is almost in clean diapers, and the new LAM album is almost done. How do you know when it's time to deliver?

VV: You’re never sure about that, an album is never finished. Back in the day, in the 60's and 70's a band would tour for about 2 years to see how the audience would react and what the best songs were to put on an album before they recorded it. Today most of the material is kept secret, due to the internet . I would have released RR after a massive tour. That would have rocked! But I’m still learning, it is hard to let go.

SB: We have re-released our older cd’s and improved the sound. At that time we didn’t have the proper equipment. But you make the most of the situation you are in, so you’re never really finished.

VV: Songs are a sonic diary, a snapshot of your career. You don’t have to be embarrassed about that. You should be proud to create something beautiful with a small budget and lousy equipment. LAM’s Spider and the Fly were very influential to me. I wish I could create something like that under those circumstances. It is my complicated way of saying Thank You Sean!

What would be the common denominator between you?

VV: Dry humor. We are both serious, but also sarcastic and a little skittish.

SB: I agree with Ville, but it is also obvious we both put our feelings in our music.

VV: Indeed, it’s about true feelings.

SB: Ideally every band has many dimensions, which open up one at a time, the deeper you get involved. But there are many layers of Hell…

VV: Aha Dante!!! We are only in the 9th circle, but we’re working on that. Or even better we slide further down.

That’s what people mean by a downwards spiral. But let’s go back to the surface again, both HIM and LAM are very expressive and extroverted artists, and your music is wide ranging and beautiful. How different are Sean and Ville on or off stage?

VV: That is a very difficult question. It is easy to wear a mask, and way more difficult to be yourself, and HIM as a band chooses the last one. I don’t want masks anymore. OK, I love Alice Cooper and all the stage characters, but my favorite artists are like Johnny Cash. He doesn’t need stage magic. In a way he wears a mask too, but he represents something real for me. I think this question has to be answered by somebody who knows Sean and me really well. It is a puzzle of a thousand pieces.

SB: People with a strong stage personality like Jim Morisson and Johnny Cash are larger than life. I’m not comparing myself with them. I don’t have a high opinion of my stage performance, I’m too shy. One thing all stage performers have in common is that the stage is like a filter, a magnifying glass of your life. All experiences are amplified and looked over. I studied at the Film Academy, it was an inspiration for me, it helped me to express myself. But it can be different, like Radiohead, who don’t care about publicity, or on the other side there is Marilyn Manson, who connects great music with a crazy image.

VV: While Sean was learning about filming I was learning to play jazz. Maybe that explains something? I started to play bass, and played absolutely everything, reggae, bebop, grindcore, fusion. I was in seven different bands at that time, simply because I loved music. I couldn’t imagine being a singer, the center of attention. I was way too shy for that. I started to sing because nobody else wanted to.

We don’t have to feel sorry for you, do we?

VV: No, I’m happy with it now.

Let’s talk about your album’s titles, Love Metal for Ville, and the preliminary name for the LAM album, according to their website is Violent Acts of Beauty. What do you two want to tell us?

VV: ( snorts) Love Metal, that is difficult… Violent Acts of Beauty mmm. I’m from Finland and English isn’t my native language, I'm an outsider, and I experience things in a visual and sensual way. I chew on words, taste them. Sean has this great feeling for language, his lyrics turn me on, I’m crossing my legs right now!!! Sean is also very direct in his choice of words, there is more aggression and hate. I’m simply an old hippie who smoked too much pot when I was younger.

SB: ( laughs) We’re like yin and yang, and you haven't even heard our new songs!

VV: I like Sean’s lyrics because I don’t always understand them. It stays a mystery, like Neil Young, when you don’t understand everything the images are much stronger, they speak to the unconscious mind. Sound and lyrics bounce off each other, and that is the power of music. If things were different we would have been poets.

Isn’t that a bit the same, don’t all art forms pour out the same creative well? Like poetry, music, acting and so on?

SB: When you’re attached to a certain art form, like we are to music, you see things different, not universal. For every song you have a trigger, and you respond to it. Without that inspiration, you can’t write songs. If I could fake it, I would be writing *N Sync shit, and earn millions. But it doesn’t work that way, music is my life.

VV: For me it’s organized madness. There is so much information, you can’t cope with it all, you suck it in without digesting or understanding it, and then IT happens. I try not to over analyze it.

We're near the end of this interview, 3 quick questions, just out of curiosity.
The latest book you read?

SB: The Universe in a Nutshell by Steven Hawking.

VV: An autobiography of Lemmy Kilmister, White Line Fever.

The last movie you saw?

SB: Bowling for Colombine.

VV: Cinema? I never go there. I saw the Jackass movie in London because Steve-O invited us to the Premiere. I hate cinemas, the air is too dry, I have to cough all the time during the movie, which is annoying.

SB: Ah, so you are one of those horrible people who cough all the time!

VV: Noooo, it’s the miserable air conditioning. I also have a bladder the size of a walnut, I have to climb over people every 15 minutes so I can have a piss. But I borrow videos and dvd’s, the last one was Cradle of Fear.

Oh, the Alex Chandon movie, with Dani Filth! It's nothing but a B-movie....

VV: Well I liked it!!!

So did I. Ok, the final question, what's the last album you bought?

VV: No idea, I get a lot of cd’s, very often I forget to listen to them.

SB: He is a rich rock star!

VV: No, I pay for them, probably a reggae album, oh no I remember, Turbo Negro, Corrosion of Conformity, a rock album.

SB: The new Foo Fighters.

Surprised? So am I. Like I said, with Ville Valo and Sean Brennan, you never know.
Later on Sean signed everything Ville brought for his girlfriend.
They left together, into the Cologne night….

Melanie Aschenbrenner
Orkus 5/2003

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

Chapter twentyfour

At the movies

"I just like movies", Ville confesses, "I like great movies, I like cult movies, but I can gain something from bad movies too! I want to see Driven by Rennie Harlin. He’s a Finnish director, and has done some successful movies in Hollywood. I heard that Driven is really, really bad but I still want to see it."

Ville is wearing an Evil Dead t-shirt, of course we need to talk about that…

"I liked the first one, it was low budget but charming. The second part was ok, I can live with that, but the third part was too exaggerated, it didn’t appeal to me."
"I gave my younger brother a luxury box set of Evil Dead as a present, it’s in leather and looks very expensive. I should buy one for myself or visit my brother more often!"

Valo’s favorite movie isn’t a Hollywood block buster, it is a Japanese movie, a sort of comedy about a soccer player who does a lot of kung fu tricks to open up the game.

"It sounds cheesy, but it is very well made, and funny. I ordered it from Japan, via the internet, it has a great picture and sound. I just can’t remember the title…."

No problem Mr Valo, we’ll get back to you later.

Nikolas Krofta
Metal Heart 7/2003
Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

English translation:

Chapter twentysix

Making of the Sacrament
Castle Ploskovice, Czech Republic

The newlyweds, dressed in their festive clothing, have to wade through the mud to have their wedding pictures taken in front of the castle's ornate door. A short distance away is a white, steaming, catering truck. Inside vegetables are cleaned and preparations are made to feed the entire video crew. If you look at the faces of the wedding party, they look very surprised to see Ville and his crew sitting at a table, drinking coffee and playing chess. Outside there are dozens of peacocks screaming.
The summer residence of Anna Maria Toscano von Sachsen-Lauenburg was selected by Bam Margera to shoot the second video for the Finnish Goth Rock band HIM.

Since 11 am this morning the preparations started full speed in the basement vaults, declared by Bam to be the orgy room. And indeed you can why when looking at the lavishly furnished cellar, with fountains and statues. The scene is done rather quickly so there is some time left to look around.
Hours are passing by, in which a lot of coffee is consumed, they play chess again, and are freezing…the weather isn’t very cooperative. The lighting team is doing the best they can to create sunshine for Ville’s balcony scene and the bed scene with model Vanda Vosatkov. We had a chat with Bam, who is very eager to tell us about his love for HIM’s music, and shows off some of the injuries from his Jackass stunts. It is obvious he has a crush on Ville when you see his tattoos, which he shows proudly.

Meanwhile the speaker for Ville’s playback is connected, and it becomes hectic on the balcony.
The Sacrament is played at double speed so they can synchronize the slow-mo-parts. It sounds like the Smurfs and everybody is grinning. Sir Valo doesn’t care, he concentrates on acting and is flirting with the camera until the take is finished. The video crew is satisfied with the take and start preparing for the bed scene.
The model doesn’t know one word English ( there is an interpreter) but she feels at ease. It isn’t a problem for her to take her clothes of and lay on the bed with red satin sheets in front of about 20 men. You can’t blame the camera and lighting men for taking a closer look at her, she is beautiful.

Silke, aka HIM’s mutti, annoys the professional photographers by telling them Ville won’t do any topless shots today. You can hear some cursing. The irritations are soon forgotten as the music starts again, and our heartthrob is strutting on the bed.
After all this we have to wait again for a very long time. It’s getting dark, and half the crew attacks the buffet. The State Hall is being prepared for the final shot of today in which the entire band shows up for the playback.

Because everything took much more time then planned, everybody is getting tired, and the antique furniture is being used to lie down on. The administrator of the castle isn’t very pleased with the guys lounging on the furniture, she starts yelling at Mige, but he doesn’t understand her and doesn’t move....but there is an interpreter who explains everything to him and makes him get up.

At last, when the Sacrament plays for the last time this day, people have the feeling they are at a live gig.
Mige and his knights sling their guitars and are on their way to the Prague hotel.

Christian Hector
Orkus 9/2003
Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

English translation:

Chapter twentyseven

At the end of their record contract HIM will release a live album and a DVD, and the following year a Greatest Hits album. After the planned tour with Ozzy Osbourne , the Finns are in no hurry for a follow up deal. They can take it easy, the next album won’t be released before 2005. Bass player Miko Paananen aka Mige tells us what he thinks of the music business, teen culture and Bam Margera.

In November a live album/DVD will be released, what can we expect?

Mige: We put together material from seven different gigs we played at Semi Final in Helsinki, for both the live album and the DVD.

Will there be an documentary about the history of the band on the DVD?

Mige: No, we didn’t want that. A book was published and it's horrible! In my opinion there shouldn’t be a documentary about our band.

Also, a Greatest Hits album will be released. Will there only be singles on it, or perhaps some unpublished songs?

Mige: Both I hope. The Greatest Hits cd from the Smashing Pumpkins is great, it consists of a cd with the singles, and a cd with special remixes. I would prefer something like that for us. But it’s up to the record company.

Live album, DVD, Greatest Hits album, sounds like a summary section of the record company.

Mige: It is. Our record deal is almost finished and the label decided which tracks to use. Apart from this, I like compilations very much. I think it is awesome when a band has recorded over 20 albums and there is one album with their greatest hits.

Can you tell us something about a new record deal right now?

Mige: No, we need to take our time for that. There is no need to make a decision this year.

It didn't take long for HIM to become a big success, what do you think of all the attention?

Mige: I don’t think about it. The music is the most important thing, and it didn’t change that much, we do as a band what we've always wanted to do. Of course there are a lot more people being nice to us. Most things that happen when you become more popular and sell more records are ridiculous. The entire music business is bullshit.

The next album isn’t planned before 2005. What will you do in the mean time? Side projects or activities that have nothing to do with HIM?

Mige: Some of us will definitely do side projects, personally I won’t.

What will you be doing?

Mige: ( grins) I will build a sauna in Finland, and of course there's always HIM business to take care of.

Your guitarist Linde became a father this year, can you see yourself having a family one day?

Mige: No, it’s not my thing, really. When you’re away from home all the time, and leading this crazy life, it doesn’t suit me. But later it might happen.

At a HIM gig in London I noticed the audience was different, mostly skater kids. In Germany there are mainly gothic people, a funny combination isn’t it?

Mige: It’s great there are so many different people at our gigs, a fusion of different cultures. It is nice to play for a mixed audience instead of reaching just one group of people.

What exactly is the connection between HIM and Bam Margera? Is it promotion for the UK/US or are you just friends?

Mige: It's so funny, people are taking this way too serious. Bam likes our band and has done some videos for us. I would prefer that kids find us because of Bam rather than the teen magazines.

Meike Spanner
10/2003

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans

English translation:

Chapter twentyseven

Linde goes Rock&Roll
Album review

When you expect not to be taken seriously, you’re basically on the safe side. That must have been the thought of Lily Lazer, aka Mikko Linde Lindström about the bad reviews of his solo side project Daniel Lioneye.
HIM fans adored the first solo work of the singing guitarist, but the press weren’t very enthusiastic. Apparently it didn’t hurt Daniel, or Linde at all.

The fun oriented cast of DL with Mige on bass and Valo on drums promised, promises and keeps promising to be a fun factor. With a motto like "anyone can do it if you really want it", it took only 5 days to make the album including mixing and mastering. "We recorded the album in the winter of 2000. It was written and recorded in only 5 days. Most tracks are first takes" says the self pronounced King of Rock&Roll, and he seems to be proud of that. "I wasn’t sober once in the studio".

Rock&Roll attitude or Finnish reality? Hard to guess… Just like the lyrics by the way, which are very true to life. To quote Daniel Lioneye, "It’s all about drinking, fucking and drugs, the usual shit. I write whatever comes to mind".
The result is, according to DL, "loud and dirty, and please don’t take it too seriously". Objective listeners didn’t like that…

"Because HIM recordings are always very expensive I wanted to do something completely different. Everything in the recording studio should sound raw. There was no master plan, but everything was flowing and you can hear it on the album".

When you’re famous you can have some fun once and a while. The fan base of the tall blond rasta hailed the album, and the hardcore HIM fans ordered the album on Ebay.
Don't doubt the statement “just for fun”, because Linde says he’s telling the truth.

"When I started to write the songs, the total process went spontaneously. At first I wanted the songs just for myself, but it was so much fun playing them and even more to reverse the roles".

Shameless imitations, stolen riffs. Presley meets Danzig, passes the Stones and embraces Lemmy of Motörhead. Next to him stands Ritchie Blackmore, who pats Tony Iommi on the shoulder, saying: they are young and having fun… Iommi plucks his shirt and starts to meditate.

DL and company give everything they’ve got on the King of Rock & Roll. I’m gonna give you what you need, I’m gonna make your ears bleed. Intense, but in 5 days…5 days…

International P-Lover and Eldorado Baby are sufficiently legitimized, due to full drunkenness, and with We gonna Rockin Tonight, you just have to grin. Also Dope Danny and Lonely Road are amusing. But with Lioneye's version of Dylan’s Knocking on Heavens Door, my patience is gone, and I’m happy it is the last track on the album.

Lioneye, Mige and Valo gave it their all and had fun. HIM fans will love it.
It appears that DL is a guy who just wants to irritate the world, and they are exploring how far they can go.

Linde's guitar playing skills are great, but you have to get used to his voice.
And the lyrics: bananas… is this Rock & Roll cliché with punk elements: no.

Iggy Pop maniac Linde promised in 2001, when he has the time he will think about the next album…

Tania Witte

Credits to nimoti for the english translation, and to Elegy_69 for the scans