Heartagram
| HIM | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | His Infernal Majesty, HER |
| Origin | Helsinki, Finland |
| Genres | Gothic rock, gothic metal |
| Years active | 1991–1993, 1995–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Daniel Lioneye |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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HIM is a Finnish gothic rock band from Helsinki. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up in 1993, but was reformed in 1995 by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström. After being rejoined by Mige, as well as keyboardist Antto Melasniemi and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, the band, now called HIM, released their debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 in 1997. In 2000, now with drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen and keyboardist Juska Salminen, the band released the album Razorblade Romance, which reached the number-one spot in Finland, Austria and Germany. Its first single, "Join Me in Death", also charted at number-one in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum in their home country and gold in Germany. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, HIM released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights and Love Metal in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Both cracked the top ten in several countries, with latter being the band's first album to chart in the United Kingdom.
After relocating to Los Angeles, HIM released Dark Light in 2005, which became the group's most successful album to date, cracking the top ten in five countries. With Dark Light, HIM also became the first Finnish group to receive a gold album in the United States. Dark Light was followed by Venus Doom in 2007, the making of which was marred by problems in Valo's personal life. Despite this, the album gave the band their highest chart position in the US at number 12. After 2010's Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, HIM went on hiatus as drummer Gas Lipstick took medical leave. Following several months of uncertainty, the band regrouped and eventually released the album Tears on Tape in 2013. In 2015, Gas Lipstick announced his departure from the band to pursue other musical projects, and was subsequently replaced by Jukka "Kosmo" Kröger. On March 5, 2017, HIM announced that the band would be disbanding following a farewell tour in 2017.
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