I still don't understand why people keep bit*hing about Exciter: it has with no doubt the most mature lyrics of depeche (shine, freelove, sweetest condition, I am you), lyricwise I could easily say that Exciter is the best DM. As for the songs of the album that leaked, I think that Wrong is a descent song (not my favorite of Depeche), fragile tension is kind of OK, and the rest so far is not too impressive. On PTA the songs didn't go well together in my opinion, and Dave's songs were mostly the weak part (IMHO). But the thing is that his approach is different, his melodies, harmonies, and especially lyrics, are so different (if I don't want to say weaker) than Gore's. I think he has quite good ones that he showed on songs like Hidden Houses, Kingdom, Dirty Sticky Floors, and hmm let us say Suffer Well. Inspired by Ville’s relationship with Jonna Nygrén, the singer has mused at length on the fragility of a relationship between damaged souls, but he holds nothing back with a Luciferean farewell for the ages: ‘ My hell begins from the 10th and descends to the circle / Six hundred threescore and six / And from there I crawl beneath Lucifer's claws just for one last kiss.I personally believe that Dave shouldn't write songs for Depeche mode, and this has nothing to do with his songwriting skills. Taking in passages of shadowy prog and a grandstanding pop-metal crescendo, there are even shades of the arch morbidity that would later be successfully exploited by fellow Scandi-superstars Ghost. Not just the longest track in their back catalogue, but also the deepest and darkest, the Black Sabbath influence is heavily pronounced here, with a huge doom riff sitting front and centre of the mix, while Ville’s vocals and a delicate piano line sporadically break the maelstrom. They should take 10 minutes to submerge themselves in the staggering brilliance of Sleepwalking Past Hope.
Naysayers often point to HIM’s reliance on archetypical gothic romance and slinking aesthetic as some sort of proof that they shouldn’t be taken seriously. Looking back for this Top 20, it’s impossible to imagine anyone ever bettering their singular sexy/sinister appeal. 666 caught the attention of dark hearts across the continent.Ī quarter-century and a further seven LPs down the line, the band still polarises the metal community (their main support slot for Metallica at Wembley Stadium in July 2007 invoked a rather hostile reaction) but hits like Right Here In My Arms and Buried Alive By Love have lost none of their late-night rock club appeal, while deeper cuts like Venus Doom linger as proof that these lads could really push the boundaries when they wanted to. Recorded over 15 days in the summer of 1997, the beguilingly murky sounds of debut LP Greatest Lovesongs Vol. Mige’s departure in 1993 for national military service led to a temporary halt in proceedings, but his return in 1995 – along with the recruitment of guitarist Mikko 'Linde' Lindström, drummer Juhana 'Pätkä' Rantala and keyboardist Janne 'Burton' Puurtinen – saw them roar back to life. When Ville Valo led HIM offstage, for the final time, at Helsinki’s 700-cap Tavastia club on December 31, 2017, they left behind not just one of the most obsessive cult fanbases in heavy music, but also a catalogue of songs that blurred the lines between alt.rock, goth and doom unlike anything that’d come before.įorming all the way back in 1991 with Ville (his six-string bass substituting for a guitar), childhood friend/four-string bassist Mikko 'Mige' Paananen, and a revolving assortment of drummers performing under the ‘His Infernal Majesty’ banner, the balance between smouldering romance and big riffs was there from the outset.