History of the Band
HIM is a gothic band from Finland formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko Lindström, and bassist Mikko Paananen. HIM's genre is debated in some circles; their musical style is often referred to as "love metal" by Valo and by the group's fans. Ville Valo has stated that the band started as a "Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts". Valo stated in an interview on the Love Metal Archives Vol. I DVD, that he was fed up with journalists and interviewers asking him (Valo), and the rest of the band what the genre of HIM was. He said in answer to that question, they created the genre "love metal" (which was also the name of their 2003 album.) Critics have referred to them as gothic rock, gothic metal, alternative rock, hard rock, "neo-glam", alternative metal, doom metal.
The Band Name
Their first band name was His Infernal Majesty. The band changed the name to HIM from the "Wicked Game' single onwards, though the single for "Your Sweet Six Six Six" includes a 'His Infernal Majesty' sticker.
Their second major US release, Razorblade Romance, was released under the name HER because a Chicago based post-rock band named HIM held the trademark on the name. While they toured Europe, primarily Germany, at this time, they used the name HIM and HER. HIM eventually bought the rights to the name "HIM" in the United States and used it worldwide from there on. HIM has also had other names like Black Salem and Thulsa Doom (in 2000-2002), when as stated above the band had problems with the name in the U.S. Those names have been used in several gigs, mostly in Finland, HIM's native country.
The Heartagram
The heartagram is the trademarked symbol of HIM, best described as a combination of a heart and an inverted pentagram (love & hate), created by Ville Valo the day of his twentieth birthday. Valo has said that "the heartagram stands for HIM as a band, as an entity, and for 'love metal' in general." Many fans of the band have heartagram tattoos, or tattoos of other HIM emblems — such as the single heart on Valo's right wrist, and a number of fan-submitted photos of same decorated the lyric booklet for the limited edition of Dark Light. Ville Valo has allowed his close friend, Jackass star, actor, and professional skateboarder, Bam Margera to share the license on the heartagram image and Margera has accordingly used it for his promotional purposes, including using it on his Adio shoes and Element skateboards. Because of the shared license, the symbol is often thought to belong solely to Margera. Other well known individuals have also received a tattoo of the logo such as Kat Von D. According to Valo, the band has become better known for their logo than their music.
HIM is a gothic band from Finland formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko Lindström, and bassist Mikko Paananen. HIM's genre is debated in some circles; their musical style is often referred to as "love metal" by Valo and by the group's fans. Ville Valo has stated that the band started as a "Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts". Valo stated in an interview on the Love Metal Archives Vol. I DVD, that he was fed up with journalists and interviewers asking him (Valo), and the rest of the band what the genre of HIM was. He said in answer to that question, they created the genre "love metal" (which was also the name of their 2003 album.) Critics have referred to them as gothic rock, gothic metal, alternative rock, hard rock, "neo-glam", alternative metal, doom metal.
The Band Name
Their first band name was His Infernal Majesty. The band changed the name to HIM from the "Wicked Game' single onwards, though the single for "Your Sweet Six Six Six" includes a 'His Infernal Majesty' sticker.
Their second major US release, Razorblade Romance, was released under the name HER because a Chicago based post-rock band named HIM held the trademark on the name. While they toured Europe, primarily Germany, at this time, they used the name HIM and HER. HIM eventually bought the rights to the name "HIM" in the United States and used it worldwide from there on. HIM has also had other names like Black Salem and Thulsa Doom (in 2000-2002), when as stated above the band had problems with the name in the U.S. Those names have been used in several gigs, mostly in Finland, HIM's native country.
The Heartagram
The heartagram is the trademarked symbol of HIM, best described as a combination of a heart and an inverted pentagram (love & hate), created by Ville Valo the day of his twentieth birthday. Valo has said that "the heartagram stands for HIM as a band, as an entity, and for 'love metal' in general." Many fans of the band have heartagram tattoos, or tattoos of other HIM emblems — such as the single heart on Valo's right wrist, and a number of fan-submitted photos of same decorated the lyric booklet for the limited edition of Dark Light. Ville Valo has allowed his close friend, Jackass star, actor, and professional skateboarder, Bam Margera to share the license on the heartagram image and Margera has accordingly used it for his promotional purposes, including using it on his Adio shoes and Element skateboards. Because of the shared license, the symbol is often thought to belong solely to Margera. Other well known individuals have also received a tattoo of the logo such as Kat Von D. According to Valo, the band has become better known for their logo than their music.
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