Venus Doom
Encyclopedia
Venus Doom is the sixth studio album by Finnish
rock band HIM, released on 14 September 2007 (Germany
, Finland
, Sweden
and Ireland
), 17 September 2007 internationally and 18 September 2007 in the United States. Frontman Ville Valo
calls the album the band's heaviest yet, describing the roots of its sound in Metallica
's album Master of Puppets
.
(Ozzy Osbourne
, Dredg
) and Hiili Hiilesmaa
(The 69 Eyes
, Apocalyptica
). Ville Valo
told Kerrang!
magazine that there is a concept in a couple of the tracks written during the same period of time. Venus Doom is the first HIM studio album to feature a song featuring nothing but an acoustic guitar, aside from vocals.
The album has nine tracks to represent the nine circles of hell from Dante's The Divine Comedy
. The acoustic version of "Bleed Well" references this, featuring a verse that was dropped from the final recording. The verse contained the line 'we'll descend to the ninth and last, where we're judged' referencing the next track, the ninth track "Cyanide Sun."
On 26 September, the album debuted at #12 in the US, with 38 000 copies sold. This is a record for a Finnish act. It made #31 in the UK. In Finland Venus Doom peaked at #2, and in Germany it debuted at #3.
At the 50th annual
Grammy Award
s, Matt Taylor and Ville Valo, for HIM, was nominated for "Best Boxed/Special Limited Edition packaging" for Venus Doom, but lost to What It Is!: Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (1967-1977) (performed by various artists and artwork by Masaki Koike).
site, asking fans to use the painting as the base for the Venus Doom cover. The art work by Harouni is used for the regular edition of the album.
, England
, 28 April 2007 and in Glasgow
, Scotland
, 29 April. The band also played the tracks "The Kiss of Dawn
" and "Passion's Killing Floor" at the 7 July 2007 concert at Brussels
, Belgium
.
Many songs from the album were leaked prior to its release, such as the song "Venus Doom" and also "Passion's Killing Floor" weeks before it was released on the Transformers soundtrack
.
" starting 21 June in the Los Angeles area. Meiert Avis
, who directed HIM's previous video "Wings of a Butterfly
", was the director. The production team put out a casting call for a "beautiful girl (model type) to perform in the lead role of the video". Auditions were held on 19 June. Ville Valo has stated that the song "The Kiss of Dawn" was for a "close friend who committed suicide
soon after the band wrapped the recording sessions for Dark Light".
The song "Passion's Killing Floor" is on the Transformers soundtrack
, which was released on 3 July 2007.
The second single is "Bleed Well
," which was released on 5 December 2007.
Additional Tracks
Japan Promo Edition DVD
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
rock band HIM, released on 14 September 2007 (Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
), 17 September 2007 internationally and 18 September 2007 in the United States. Frontman Ville Valo
Ville Valo
Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. He has received the "Golden God" award in 2004 by the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer. Valo has a baritone vocal range. Valo was ranked number 80 in Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time...
calls the album the band's heaviest yet, describing the roots of its sound in Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's album Master of Puppets
Master of Puppets
-Personnel:Metallica* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on track 1, first solo on tracks 2 and 7* Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals* Lars Ulrich – drums* Kirk Hammett – lead guitarProduction...
.
Overview
Venus Doom has both the longest and shortest running HIM tracks to date; the longest being "Sleepwalking Past Hope" (10:03) and the shortest being the acoustic "Song or Suicide" (1:10). The album was produced by Tim PalmerTim Palmer
Tim Palmer is a British music producer, audio engineer and songwriter of rock and alternative music.-1980-1990:Palmer worked as an assistant engineer at Utopia Studios in London, England in the early 1980s...
(Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Dredg
Dredg
Dredg is an American rock group formed in 1993 in Los Gatos, California. The band consists of vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer Dino Campanella....
) and Hiili Hiilesmaa
Hiili Hiilesmaa
Kai "Hiili" Hiilesmaa is the vocalist of the rock band The Skreppers, drummer of doom metal band KYPCK, was the keyboardist of hard rock/sleaze/blues band Daniel Lioneye, as well as a respected producer from Finland...
(The 69 Eyes
The 69 Eyes
The 69 Eyes are a multi-platinum selling Finnish gothic rock band. They are currently signed to EMI Finland. The band's albums are now distributed worldwide. The End Records acts as the band's official North American distributor, as Nuclear Blast Records provides distribution in Mainland Europe,...
, Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén...
). Ville Valo
Ville Valo
Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. He has received the "Golden God" award in 2004 by the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer. Valo has a baritone vocal range. Valo was ranked number 80 in Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time...
told Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine that there is a concept in a couple of the tracks written during the same period of time. Venus Doom is the first HIM studio album to feature a song featuring nothing but an acoustic guitar, aside from vocals.
The album has nine tracks to represent the nine circles of hell from Dante's The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
. The acoustic version of "Bleed Well" references this, featuring a verse that was dropped from the final recording. The verse contained the line 'we'll descend to the ninth and last, where we're judged' referencing the next track, the ninth track "Cyanide Sun."
On 26 September, the album debuted at #12 in the US, with 38 000 copies sold. This is a record for a Finnish act. It made #31 in the UK. In Finland Venus Doom peaked at #2, and in Germany it debuted at #3.
At the 50th annual
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s, Matt Taylor and Ville Valo, for HIM, was nominated for "Best Boxed/Special Limited Edition packaging" for Venus Doom, but lost to What It Is!: Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (1967-1977) (performed by various artists and artwork by Masaki Koike).
Cover art
The cover art was painted by artist David Harouni. Ville Valo purchased one of Harouni's paintings at New Orleans' Harouni Gallery and later asked Harouni if it could be used as the cover. The band launched a contest on their Street TeamStreet team
A street team is a term used in marketing to describe a group of people who 'hit the streets' promoting an event or a product. 'Street Teams' are a powerful promotional tool that has been adopted industry wide as a standard line item in marketing budgets by entertainment companies, record labels,...
site, asking fans to use the painting as the base for the Venus Doom cover. The art work by Harouni is used for the regular edition of the album.
Early song previews and leaks
The band played "Dead Lovers' Lane" live at the "Give it a Name Festival" in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 28 April 2007 and in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, 29 April. The band also played the tracks "The Kiss of Dawn
The Kiss of Dawn
"The Kiss of Dawn" is a song by the Finnish band HIM, released 10 September 2007. It is the fourth track and first single from the 2007 album Venus Doom. Ville Valo has stated that the song was for a close friend who committed suicide soon after the band wrapped the recording sessions for Dark...
" and "Passion's Killing Floor" at the 7 July 2007 concert at Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Many songs from the album were leaked prior to its release, such as the song "Venus Doom" and also "Passion's Killing Floor" weeks before it was released on the Transformers soundtrack
Transformers: The Album
Transformers: The Album is a compilation album of various artists music from the 2007 live-action Transformers movie. The official single from the album is "Before It's Too Late " by the Goo Goo Dolls. The soundtrack debuted at number 21 on the U.S Billboard 200, selling about 32,000 copies in its...
.
Songs
HIM filmed the music video for the first single off the album, "The Kiss of DawnThe Kiss of Dawn
"The Kiss of Dawn" is a song by the Finnish band HIM, released 10 September 2007. It is the fourth track and first single from the 2007 album Venus Doom. Ville Valo has stated that the song was for a close friend who committed suicide soon after the band wrapped the recording sessions for Dark...
" starting 21 June in the Los Angeles area. Meiert Avis
Meiert Avis
Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Groban amongst many others....
, who directed HIM's previous video "Wings of a Butterfly
Wings of a Butterfly
"Wings of a Butterfly", also released as "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly", is a song by the Finnish metal band HIM. It is the second track on the 2005 album Dark Light and was released as the album's first single that year. The song reached #1 on the Finnish charts, #10 in Germany and the UK, and...
", was the director. The production team put out a casting call for a "beautiful girl (model type) to perform in the lead role of the video". Auditions were held on 19 June. Ville Valo has stated that the song "The Kiss of Dawn" was for a "close friend who committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
soon after the band wrapped the recording sessions for Dark Light".
The song "Passion's Killing Floor" is on the Transformers soundtrack
Transformers: The Album
Transformers: The Album is a compilation album of various artists music from the 2007 live-action Transformers movie. The official single from the album is "Before It's Too Late " by the Goo Goo Dolls. The soundtrack debuted at number 21 on the U.S Billboard 200, selling about 32,000 copies in its...
, which was released on 3 July 2007.
The second single is "Bleed Well
Bleed Well
"Bleed Well" is a song by the Finnish band HIM, and the second single from the 2007 album Venus Doom, where it is the eighth track on the album. The single is currently available as a one-track single on iTunes as of 18 November 2007, where the maxi-single has been available since 9 December 2007...
," which was released on 5 December 2007.
Track listing
All songs are composed by Ville Valo in appreciation to Nataly Page.- "Venus Doom" – 5:08
- "Love in Cold Blood" – 5:54
- "Passion's Killing Floor" – 5:10
- "The Kiss of DawnThe Kiss of Dawn"The Kiss of Dawn" is a song by the Finnish band HIM, released 10 September 2007. It is the fourth track and first single from the 2007 album Venus Doom. Ville Valo has stated that the song was for a close friend who committed suicide soon after the band wrapped the recording sessions for Dark...
" – 5:54 - "Sleepwalking Past Hope" – 10:03
- "Dead Lovers' Lane" – 4:28
- "Song or Suicide (Acoustic)" – 1:10
- "Bleed WellBleed Well"Bleed Well" is a song by the Finnish band HIM, and the second single from the 2007 album Venus Doom, where it is the eighth track on the album. The single is currently available as a one-track single on iTunes as of 18 November 2007, where the maxi-single has been available since 9 December 2007...
" – 4:24 - "Cyanide Sun" – 5:54
Additional Tracks
- "Love in Cold Blood" (Special K Remix) – 4:25 Special/Limited Edition bonus track
- "Dead Lovers' Lane" (Special C616 Remix) – 4:29 Special/Limited Edition bonus track
- "Bleed Well" (Acoustic) – 3:53 Limited Edition only bonus track
- "Killing LonelinessKilling Loneliness"Killing Loneliness" is the second single released by HIM, a Finnish band, and was released in February 2006 in Germany and in April in the UK from their 2005 breakthrough Dark Light...
" (Live) – 4:21iTunes only bonus track - "Wings of a ButterflyWings of a Butterfly"Wings of a Butterfly", also released as "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly", is a song by the Finnish metal band HIM. It is the second track on the 2005 album Dark Light and was released as the album's first single that year. The song reached #1 on the Finnish charts, #10 in Germany and the UK, and...
" (Live) – 3:19 iTunes only bonus track - "The Kiss of Dawn" (Video)- 3:54 Japanese version only
Japan Promo Edition DVD
- "Venus Doom EPK: Interview"
- "The Kiss Of Dawn" (Video)
Deluxe Edition
Available for pre-order on Heartagram.com was a deluxe version of Venus Doom which including a book with the handwritten lyrics to all nine tracks and three polaroids taken from around the studio, also had two discs - Venus Doom and a bonus disc. The bonus disc features three tracks, both remixes from the special edition bonus disc version of Venus Doom and an acoustic version of "Bleed Well".- Love In Cold Blood (Special K RMX)
- Dead Lovers' Lane (Special c616 RMX)
- Bleed Well (Acoustic VRS)
HIM
- Ville Hermanni ValoVille ValoVille Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. He has received the "Golden God" award in 2004 by the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer. Valo has a baritone vocal range. Valo was ranked number 80 in Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time...
— lead vocals - Mikko Viljami "Linde" Lindström — lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Mikko Henrik Julius "Migé" PaananenMikko PaananenMikko Henrik Julius Paananen , better known as Migé or Migé Amour, is the current and founding bassist of the rock band HIM.-History:...
— bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Janne Johannes "Emerson Burton" PuurtinenJanne PuurtinenJanne Johannes Puurtinen, better known as Emerson Burton, is the current keyboard-player in the Finnish rock band, HIM. He was born 17 October 1974, in Helsinki. Burton made his second debut as a temporary member of the band at the concert arranged at the Semifinal Club on 12 January 2001...
— keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Mika Kristian "Gas Lipstick" KarppinenMika KarppinenMika Kristian Karppinen, better known as Gas Lipstick , is currently the drummer for the rock band HIM. He is also the drummer of Finnish deathgrind band To Separate the Flesh from the Bones, punk band Ääritila and metal band Bendover. He also was a drum tech for Stratovarius at one point and was...
— drums
Technical Staff
- Producers: Hiili Hiilesmaa, Tim Palmer
- Engineers: Hiili Hiilesmaa, Tim Palmer
- Mixing: Tim Palmer
- Mixing Assistant: Jamie Seyberth
- Mastering: Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
- A&R: Michael GoldstoneMichael GoldstoneMichael Goldstone is an American music industry executive.He began his career at MCA Records, where he worked in marketing and artist development before moving into A&R. Segueing to PolyGram, he signed Mother Love Bone and, after the death of lead singer Andrew Wood, signed the remaining members to...
- Art direction: Matt Taylor, Ville Valo
- Design: Matt Taylor
- Photography: Ville Valo, Tim Palmer, Matt Taylor, Ville Juurikkala
- Cover Painting: David Harouni
Chart
|
|
External links
- Heartagram.com - HIM Official Website
- Venus Doom - audio