HIM is the best rock band around these last years. And this third album 'Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights', with the politically incorrect cover of lead singer Ville Valo holding a cigarette (and wearing makeup of course), keeps going in the exact same style as the two former albums.In other words: no surprises but no disappointments either. Good rock music, well-arranged melodies, love'n'hate lyrics... business as usual!
The album starts greatly with a potential hit, 'Salt In Our Wounds' (typical HIM lyrics). Then proceeds with another catchy rock song, 'Heartache Every Moment'. It's unmistakably the HIM sound!
From track 3 on, it becomes more routine. Like 'we've heard this before', including the single 'Pretending' which is a good song but very ordinary. On track 6, the more silently rocking 'Close To The Flame', this routine becomes nearly a bit boring - but then the album goes uphill again.
'Beautiful' is another rather calm song, still in the usual HIM style but more thought through and polishedly arranged, and yet pretty straight forward.
'Don't Close Your Heart' is a very catchy song, also a potential hit since it sounds a lot like 'Pretending'...
...but the brilliant highlight on 'Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights' is the closing and pretty long 'Love You Like I Do', with its cool guitar sound, its amazing keyboards, its heavily slowish feel, its quiet rough sound!! Great!
So, all in all, another worthwhile HIM album, though continuing in the exact same style as before.
I'd like to start by stating that unlike most reviewers (or so it seems), i only give an album 5 stars if i find it to be completely outstanding and deserving of five stars. So when i give this album five stars... trust me, in my opinion, it deserves it1. Salt In Our Wounds - 4/5 - This song definately does a great job at setting the tone for the rest of the album. The verses of the song are rather somber and laid back, but then it breaks into the chorus which is very melodic and much heavier. Sounds very much like an old 80's goth/rock love song. Reminds me alot of the cure.
2. Heartache Every Moment - 3/5 - I give this a 3 out of 5 simply because it's not bad, but it's not great. It's simply a good song. I definately like the verses in this song more than the chorus. The chorus kind of gets old very quickly, but the lyrics to the whole song are great. One of the more heavy songs on the album, though it has a touch of popness to it because of the bells being played in the backround.
3. Lose You Tonight - 3/5 - At first i probably would've given this song a 2 out of 5, but it is one of those songs that really grows on you. However, i'm beginning to go back to being sick of this song. The chorus is decent, but the song lacks the beauty and the energy of all the other songs on the album.
4. In Joy and Sorrow - 5/5 - What more can i say? This is my favorite song off of my favorite album done by my favorite (or atleast tied with favorite :P ) band. So basically it represents everything i like in music. It starts out by going into the lyrics almost right away, with no musical entrance or anything of the sort. As is the case with many HIM songs, the chorus is what makes this song what it is. The chorus is the most beautiful thing i've ever heard in my life, and has such an amazing blend of different sounds coming from the keyboard, guitar, and other beautiful instruments. Just an amazing song.
5. Pretending - 5/5 - Like "Lose You Tonight", this song grows on you, only at a quicker rate. The lyrics are fantastic, and the energy of the song is very uplifting. It seems to be uplifting and energetic while still containing HIM's goth rock qualities.
6. Close to the Flame - 4/5 - Unlike most HIM songs, this song didn't grow on me, in fact, it did the exact opposite. However, it's still an enjoyable song. Though it's not as pretty as other mellow songs done by HIM, it has it's beauty to it, and the keyboards and violin in the backround add a nice touch to it.
7. You Are The One - 5/5 - For some reason this song seems to get the least amount of attention from the media and fans, and i'm not quite sure why. The song flows very smoothly, and for some reason is ten times better when be listened to it while driving in a vehicle. One of HIM's lighter, more laid back songs.
8. Please Don't Let It Go - 5/5 - The lyrics and music on this song combined are just amazing. It starts out a rather mellow song, but by the end of it there are blairing guitars and lead singers Ville Valo's voice wailing "Please don't let it, please don't let it go" over and over as a wonderful fanale to the end of the song. One of HIM's finest and most well constructed songs ever.
9. Beautiful - 4/5 - I enjoy HIM's mellow songs, but the only reason i give this s 4 instead of a 5 is because even this song is a bit too mellow and boring for my extreme liking. The music and ville's voice combined are beautiful (haha, get it? yes, lame joke, i know) but after some time it gets a bit on your nerves. This is one of those songs that you skip over many times until you are in the mood for hearing it, but when you do finally listen to it, you love it.
10. In Love and Lonely - 2/5 - Probably the worst song on the album along with "Love You Like I Do". Don't get me wrong, it's not a HORRIBLE song, but it's definately below average compared to all of HIM's other work. The song sounds too much like some of their other songs (Ex. Again) and is a bit too repetetive for my liking.
11. Don't Close Your Heart - 4/5 - If i liked this song just a fraction more than i do, it'd probably have gotten a 5 from me. The reasons i give it a four being because i'm not crazy about the guitar solo in it or the guitars at any point in the song, really. However, the parts of the song with Ville singing more than make up for the poor musicality of it.
12. Love You Like I DO - 2/5 - Though i like this a bit more than In Love and Lonely, it still doesn't deserve a 3. It's mellow, yes, but not a beautiful kind of mellow song that you'd expect from a mellow HIM song. It's somewhat a shame actually, because the whole album is very uplifting and beautiful, but then it ends with such a miserable, dark song. Oh well, still a great album :)
If looking at my remarks on each song individually you can't tell what kind of style of music this album is, then have no fear, i'll try to sum it up now best as i can. For the most part, it's soft rock, with a few exceptions such as "Lose You Tonight". This album is definately lightert than every other HIM album, and i'm not sure i'd even consider this album as "Love Metal", as the bands music is often referred to.
However, i'd reccommend this album to about anyone, because i've known goths, punks, preppy's, and all kinds of other people to like HIM's style of music. So purchase this today, i can almost promise you'll be satisfied :)
