HIM 'Venus Doom' (Sire/London/Rhino) RATING: 8/10

By JEFF MAKI

So Bam Margera's favorite sons of “love metal” are back with their new opus, Venus Doom, an album that mildly strays from HIM's more recent pop-oriented material and pays tribute to some of the most important doom-metal bands of the early '90s, namely Type O Negative and Paradise Lost. While saying Venus Doom is heavy may be somewhat of a stretch, it does feature elements of the band's earlier recordings that made them a name in the first place (even before the Margera factor). A good portion of the pop sensability is noticeably absent, but the band should earn back respectability, given their stubbornness to easily create a mainstream record.

Prior to the record's release, vocalist and teen-idol Ville Valo said the album was part HIM, Metallica and Sabbath. “All roads lead to Black Sabbath in the realm of rock n' roll,” Valo told Live-Metal.net last year, and Sabbath influence in semi-present here. Produced once again by Tim Palmer (Ozzy Osbourne), Venus Doom is different from their breakthrough album, Razorblade Romance, but not far from Love Metal. The catchy pop choruses are mostly gone, save the radio-friendly “Bleed Well,” the dark and romantic “Dead Lovers Lane” and the surprisingly heavy, yet memorable first single, “Kiss of Death.” Instead, HIM turns heads with atmospheric mood, chunky riffs and awesome guitar soloing. The band even lets it rip in several parts, amping up the energy level once again. And let's not forget that they still have one of the best vocalists around in Valo.

The masterpiece here is by far the 10-minute-plus “Sleepwalking Past Hope,” a song that effectively combines the accessibility of HIM's past material with gloom and doom, and never gets boring along the way. The opening title track has Valo in top form and even breaks mid-way for a Type O-style low octave vocal. “Love in Cold Blood” and “Cyanide Sun” sound more like the band that recorded Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights than the one that recorded Dark Light. The keyboards are toned down here in favor of more pianos, giving the record a feel of sorrow and loss. There is no gloomy ballad here other than the minute-long “Song or Suicide.” The album could have used another. Also, at only nine songs, one wonders why there couldn't have been two or three more here. Nevertheless, the album's flow is the band's best since Love Metal.

Venus Doom is not a drastic departure from anything HIM has ever recorded. Whether this band is writing songs for radio airplay or satisfying a craving for doom metal, they can do no wrong—they are that talented as songwriters and musicians. OK, so maybe other than the “Disposable Heroes”- like opening of “Venus Doom,” nothing here sounds like Metallica and saying there is a strong Sabbath influence is also a stretch. But HIM has created yet another strong album, full of dark energy, moving lyrics and great rock songs. This is not their best, but Venus Doom gives HIM fans little if anything to complain about.