![\"Tears](\"http://thefrontrowreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HIM_Cover_72dpi-300x300.jpg\")
by Reggie Edwards
Finnish Love Metal band H.I.M. are set to release their eighth studio album,
Tears on Tape, in the United States on April 30, a release which is starting to create a lot of buzz from fans and media alike.
Tears on Tape will be the band’s debut on record label Razor & Tie and their first release since 2010’s
Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, a wait that’s not only got the fans antsy but the band as well.
Frontman Ville Valo recently sat down with The Front Row Report to talk about the band’s upcoming release.
“Obviously, the band and myself are super proud of it,” says Valo. “The last couple weeks are a bit nerve-racking and in a few days here we’ll hear what people are actually gonna think about it. It’s been a long time in the making so it’s a positively stressful time.
“We’ve run into some troubles with the whole process,” explains Valo, “Our drummer, for the first time in his life [he’s been playing drums for about 35 years], started to feel this super sharp pain in his hands and wasn’t really able to play at all and everyone was super worried about what was going to happen- was he going to be able to play ever again?
“Then the docs found out he had some nerve damage in his hands from the same injury and all sorts of stuff. It was pretty heartbreaking. It took a long time for him to heal up,” Valo says. “It took about eight months, so we just had to wait it out since we’re all friends- it’s a family thing.”
The artwork for
Tears on Tape is an interesting one, featuring a newly designed Heartagram, one that Valo explained deeply.
“We had some alternatives for the artwork,” Valo says. “Then I had the chance to meet with one of my friends in London, who’s a designer and artist. For some reason the stuff we had didn’t quite relate to the music in a way I wished so I asked my friend if he just wants to come up with
something. I’ve always loved the pseudo-occult-type of vibe. What a symbolism, which, hopefully will enable people’s imaginations to run wild as opposed to being something very literal.
“We wanted it to be kind of psychedelic and half kind of pseudo-satanic and rock and roll and gritty and earthy and organic,” says Valo. “And that’s basically what he came up with and the actual booklet is going to be very nice for the CD and for the vinyl as well that he painted around 30 paintings for the whole thing; so it’s not just a cover it’s basically like a mini-gallery.
“When you start looking at the artwork it’s not your normal, you know, you have the photograph of the band and lyrics and so-forth, it’s more like a visual treat, so I’m really happy how it turned out,” he says.
We’re still about two weeks out from the release and already people are asking questions, which has Valo very excited.
“Already people are asking ‘what does this and that mean,’ and I always think that’s a great thing to be able to get some talking going on,” explains Valo.
Listen to the entire interview below or click to go to our YouTube channel:
HIM interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ3vKrY2fGo
![\"Tears](\"http://thefrontrowreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HIM_Cover_72dpi.jpg\")
by Reggie Edwards
Finnish Love Metal band H.I.M. are set to release their eighth studio album, Tears on Tape, in the United States on April 30, a release which is starting to create a lot of buzz from fans and media alike.
Tears on Tape will be the band’s debut on record label Razor & Tie and their first release since 2010’s Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, a wait that’s not only got the fans antsy but the band as well.
Frontman Ville Valo recently sat down with The Front Row Report to talk about the band’s upcoming release.
“Obviously, the band and myself are super proud of it,” says Valo. “The last couple weeks are a bit nerve-racking and in a few days here we’ll hear what people are actually gonna think about it. It’s been a long time in the making so it’s a positively stressful time.
“We’ve run into some troubles with the whole process,” explains Valo, “Our drummer, for the first time in his life [he’s been playing drums for about 35 years], started to feel this super sharp pain in his hands and wasn’t really able to play at all and everyone was super worried about what was going to happen- was he going to be able to play ever again?
“Then the docs found out he had some nerve damage in his hands from the same injury and all sorts of stuff. It was pretty heartbreaking. It took a long time for him to heal up,” Valo says. “It took about eight months, so we just had to wait it out since we’re all friends- it’s a family thing.”
The artwork for Tears on Tape is an interesting one, featuring a newly designed Heartagram, one that Valo explained deeply.
“We had some alternatives for the artwork,” Valo says. “Then I had the chance to meet with one of my friends in London, who’s a designer and artist. For some reason the stuff we had didn’t quite relate to the music in a way I wished so I asked my friend if he just wants to come up with something. I’ve always loved the pseudo-occult-type of vibe. What a symbolism, which, hopefully will enable people’s imaginations to run wild as opposed to being something very literal.
“We wanted it to be kind of psychedelic and half kind of pseudo-satanic and rock and roll and gritty and earthy and organic,” says Valo. “And that’s basically what he came up with and the actual booklet is going to be very nice for the CD and for the vinyl as well that he painted around 30 paintings for the whole thing; so it’s not just a cover it’s basically like a mini-gallery.
“When you start looking at the artwork it’s not your normal, you know, you have the photograph of the band and lyrics and so-forth, it’s more like a visual treat, so I’m really happy how it turned out,” he says.
We’re still about two weeks out from the release and already people are asking questions, which has Valo very excited.
“Already people are asking ‘what does this and that mean,’ and I always think that’s a great thing to be able to get some talking going on,” explains Valo.
Listen to the entire interview below or click to go to our YouTube channel:
HIM interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ3vKrY2fGo