Forget About HER. Check Out HIM!

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Forget About HER. Check Out HIM!
by Nick Law - January 16, 2009

Have you ever woke up after a long night of drinking and found yourself in Finland? I know I have. And although some of the southern cities like Helsinki enjoy moderate climates most of the year, a lot of the towns up north can be quite cold, particularly in that pesky area known as the Artic Circle.

However, if you’re not into freezing conditions and Vikings, there are various things in Finland that any warm blooded American can enjoy, and I’m not just talking about the beer (although there is a lot of that).

For more than 15 years, the Finnish rock band known as HIM has been rocking Scandinavian music fans with the amazing vocals of Ville Valo, the guitar of Mikko Lindstrom and the bass of Mikko Paananen. But it wasn’t until their 1999 album Razorblade Romance that the band started to transcend their European popularity and make waves in North America.

In 2002, the album was officially re-released in the United States with the help of Bloodhound Gang front man Jimmy Pop. Throughout their early run in the U.S., the band adopted the name HER due to the fact that a Chicago jazz band named HiM refused to sell their name. Eventually, the Finnish HIM was able to regain the rights to their name, but not before selling several copies of Razorblade Romance in the New England area under their temporary alias. To this day, several Bostonians still refer to the band as HER.

If you’re looking for the band’s greatest work to date, look no further than Razorblade Romance. With tracks such as “Right Here In My Arms”, which was featured in the Bam Margera CKY video series, and “Join Me In Death”, which can be heard in the sci-fi movie The Thirteenth Floor, this is without a doubt the album that put HIM on the map.

Bam Margera himself has even gone as far as to proclaim HIM as his favorite band and has used several of their tracks in his later works, including his MTV series Viva La Bam and the more recent Where the F*@k Is Santa?

Many different versions of Razorblade Romance exist, with the album making its gradual journey from Finland to Europe and eventually to the United States. Having only heard the American version, I can’t honestly say which is the best. The next time you black out and wake up in Finland, ask any used record store owner and I bet he or she will tell you the band’s original domestic album, like any other hard to find piece of music, is simply the best.

Who knows what’s in store for the Finnish band here in America. Have they peaked our interest with Razorblade Romance, or will we one day look back and think of the 2002 album as only the beginning? It’s hard to say, but with the cult following that the band has already assembled in the states and a high profile number 1 fan such as Bam Margera, I think we haven’t seen anything yet.

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