H.I.M. Step Away From 'Light' and Into 'Doom'

H.I.M. -- who, after the success of 2005's 'Dark Light,' hold the distinction of being the only band from Finland to go gold in the U.S. -- are set to return this September with' Venus Doom,' an album that frontman Ville Valo says lives up to its name. "There's a lot more doom metal in there," Valo tells Spinner. "A lot of Sabbath and old-school Metallica. I wanted the album to be more aggressive, heavier and more out there"

The new direction also allowed Valo to switch up vocally. "I wanted to sing lower -- use my baritone a lot more," he says. "When all those influences come together, it's like, 'I wanna do that [Mark] Lanegan, Leonard Cohen-y type of vibe.'"

Valo's darker tone adequately matches the somber subject matter, particularly on the potential first single, 'Kiss of Dawn,' which is inspired by the suicide of one of Valo's friends. "The whole song is a tribute to him," he says. "It's also a love song. I love that dude. He was a great friend of mine. We hung out and had great f***ing conversations. It's a celebration of life, rather than death."

But this isn't all to suggest that H.I.M. has suffered an identity crisis. Valo assures that the music is still very much in the vein of melodic melancholy, and that the aggressive sonic pushes are for reasons as simple as all in the name of fun.

H.I.M. will have a chance to see how the new stuff stacks up with Metallica when they open a few dates in Europe for the metal gods. "It's going to be fun," Valo says. "I grew up with 'Master of Puppets.' For us it's kind of scary to play such big places. Wembley [Stadium] is like 70, 80,000 people. It's a totally new experience."