HIM (Finnish band)

HIM is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström, and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen, HIM's current lineup consists of Valo, Linde, Migé,Janne "Emerson Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards and Jukka Kroger on drums. They have released eight studio albums to date; their latest, titled Tears on Tape, was released April 26, 2013. On September 5, 2006, HIM's fifth studio album Dark Light was certified gold by the RIAA, making HIM the first Finnish band to have a gold album in the United States. HIM had five of their studio albums certified platinum in Finland with Razorblade Romance being certified double platinum in Finland and platinum in Germany.

History

666 Ways to Love (1991–1997)

As His Infernal Majesty, the band recorded 3 demos and one EP; only 2 of the demos and the EP were released. Their first demo, 'Witches and Other Night Fears' was recorded in 1992, the sole copy of which is rumoured to reside with Valo. His Infernal Majesty then released Demo Tape 1 in 1993 and Demo Tape 2 in 1995; these two demos have been named by fans as 'This Is Only The Beginning'. Their debut EP, 666 Ways to Love: Prologue, was released in 1996 solely in Finland, with only 1,000 copies printed. It was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, and was recorded at Finnvox Studios, MD and Peacemakers, Helsinki. Later in their career it was re-released as a vinyl record by The End Records in the box set "lashes to ashes, lust to dust". However it was in the diehard bundle once again making it limited to only 2,000 copies. The woman on the cover is Valo's mother, who (according to an interview with Valo) worked in a shoe shop at the time.