Dark Light (HIM album)

Overview

The album was released in stores, with a glossy black plastic wrap covering the front, so in order to see the real cover, one needed to purchase it. This album was originally supposed to be produced and mixed by Andy Wallace, an accomplished American producer, but vocalist Ville Valo said he made HIM sound too "American" and they fired him, hiring Tim Palmer with whom they had worked before on Love Metal and And Love Said No. The first single released from the album was "Wings of a Butterfly," and the second single was "Killing Loneliness." The album charted at #18 in both the U.S. and in the UK. In Germany, Dark Light reached #4.

The Special Digibook Edition was limited to 50,000 copies. The Heartagram Internet Edition was limited to 20,000 copies and came in a tin case with a 24-page booklet with handwritten lyrics by the band's lead singer, Ville Valo, a certificate of authenticity and a keychain laser pen that shines the Heartagram, the band's logo.

Dark Light was the first Finnish album to sell gold in the United States, meaning it has sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S., and 1,500,000 copies worldwide. The album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200.It was rated #9 in Metal Hammer's albums of the decade .

Sounds and Themes

The writing of Dark Light was inspired by a Finnish book with the same title and a collection of ancient mythologies and religions (mainly Christianity). Songs including mythological references are "Wings of a Butterfly," "Venus (In Our Blood)," "Drunk on Shadows," and "In the Nightside of Eden." "Wings of a Butterfly" is a reference to a Greek myth in which two souls destroyed something beautiful to live forever, and "Venus (In Our Blood)" has the line "Venus denies your seven towers," referring to another Greek myth portraying hell as seven towers protruding from dark waters. In the song "In the Nightside of Eden," there is a line, "we descend to the circle number four," a reference to The Divine Comedy's adaptation of hell, an adaptation that many mistake for an actual part of the Bible.

Several of the songs include Easter eggs. In the exclusive bonus track "Venus (In Our Blood)," there is a little girl's voice speaking at the beginning, and in reverse the little girl says "Where are we going, Daddy?" There is backmasked voice at the end of "In the Nightside of Eden" and "Behind the Crimson Door," continuing their trend, has a whispering voice at the bridge of the song.

The album has been described as "[H.I.M.'s] pristine washes of keyboards sound dangerously sunny on the sparkling "Wings of a Butterfly," while the gorgeously romantic title track wouldn't sound out of place on an old episode of Buffy. Glossy and user-friendly, H.I.M. are the gentler (if not kinder) side of devil worship"

Track listing

All songs are composed by Ville Valo except where noted,

Promo DVD

HIM

Technical Staff