HIM

Finland's most successful rock band was formed in 1991 by singer Ville Valo, guitarist Linde Lindstrom and bassist Mige Paananen in Helsinki, initially primarily as a Black Sabbath tribute act. They were originally called His Infernal Majesty but abbreviated it to HIM before releasing their first Finland only release EP 666 Ways to Love: Prologue in 1996, which has subsequently become something of a collector's item. Their first full-length album Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666 followed a year later with guest vocals by actress Sanna-June Hyde on "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and Asta Hannula on "For You". The band's popularity spread with second album Razorblade Romance on the back of their hit single "Join Me in Death", although in America they temporarily had to change their name to HER to avoid confusion with the US band HiM. Despite the formation of offshoot blues band Daniel Lioneye, HIM continued to progress with the 2003 album Love Metal, including their first UK hit single "The Funeral of Hearts". Their major US breakthrough came in 2005 with the album Dark Light with two hit singles "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly" and "Killing Loneliness"; and they maintained their popularity with 2007's Venus Doom, including the track "Passion's Killing Floor", used on the soundtrack of the Transformers movie. In 2010 they released another new album, Screamworks: Love In Theory & Practice, followed later that year by the remix album SWRMXS. The band went on a hiatus after the drummer Gas Lipstick was forced to take medical leave. A compilation album, XX: Two Decades of Love Metal, was issued on October 2012. After several months on uncertainty, HIM finally regrouped and recorded their eighth and final album Tears on Tape, released in 2013. Four years later, the band disbanded after a farewell tour.

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