Back when I first heard the lineup for this summer's Projekt Revolution tour, my first thought was, "How much eyeliner can one touring festival truly handle?" Alongside some of more frenetic bands like Mindless Self Indulgence and Linkin Park, the lineup boasted the who's-who of melancholic rockers like Placebo, My Chemical Romance and Finnish exports HIM. Needless to say, the Projekt Revolution tour was, once again, a huge success despite the fact that most bands on the roster have less to do with revolution and more to do with massive amounts of album sales and Hot Topic endorsements.

In a recent Rolling Stone spread, readers were treated to an inside scoop on how Projekt Revolution bands spent their time backstage during off hours, and it turned out to be a lot more than Guitar Hero marathons on the bus. Linkin Park's Chester Bennington played golf, My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way worked on his paintings, the members of Saosin got dirty on motorbikes, and the guys in HIM snuck off to shoot guns. Who knew?! For a tour that's name suggests an uprising, it seems Finland's love metallers were the only one's who actually took up arms.

Since HIM's formation in Helsinki in the early '90s to its stateside debut Dark Light in 2005, news that the band likes to get a bit naughty here and there should come as no surprise to those who have followed the band over the years. If anything, it's that particular mischievous quality mixed with the band's romantic, Scandinavian melancholia that makes the group so devilishly endearing.

For years HIM has won audiences overseas but only recently has the band garnered any recognition above cult following here in the states. Much of that, as we all are privy to, has been thanks to skateboarder-turned-reality TV prankster Bam Margera who took it as his personal crusade to popularize the band in America by parading it's signature Heartagram logo around like it was the Holy Grail. Margera's tactics worked and -- in addition to release of the band's widely successful Dark Light -- HIM has established themselves as key players in the increasingly hard to break mainstream rock world.

Though the band has only been off the Projekt Revoultion tour for a few weeks, HIM isn't wasting anytime getting back on the road. Today marks the release of the band's latest full length Venus Doom in Europe, and tomorrow it's available in the States. Frontman Ville Valo recently told Ultimate-Guitar.com,

"[Venus Doom is] going to be a lot heavier than anything we've done before that's the whole idea. It's like we're mixing My Bloody Valentine's Loveless with Metallica's Master of Puppets. ... There won't be as much ear candy on this one. There are a lot of riffs, and it's more guitar-oriented than keyboard-driven. Really, we just wanted to rock our own socks off."
[...]
"We wanted to make a really rockin' album one that would explode your speakers," he said. "But we also wanted to maintain the melancholy aspects of love and loss in the lyrics and then have the really sweet vocals amidst this storm of guitars.

"Lyrically, it's about me losing a relationship and then actually regaining it, and losing my sanity and regaining it," Valo continued. "As you grow up, life gets more and more complex, even though when you're a kid you think things are going to get easier. It's like a f---ing puzzle that just keeps on having more and more pieces to it. It's very personal, this album. It's like me getting rid of my demons and putting the pain in the music. It's cathartic, and it's about cleansing yourself and trying to have the courage to take that one step further."
[...]
"It's been a tough year," Valo said with a sigh. "I'm not complaining at all. But I've had really sh---y things happen to me in my life, so this is definitely the darkest album we've done, lyrically. It's also a celebration of life. It's about remembering the ones you loved with a smile rather than being all dark and brooding and having hair in your face and trying to be Robert Smith from the Cure."

HIM gave SuicideGirls a few tracks to hear for ourselves...

Listen to "Venus Doom" here.

Listen to "Sleepwalking Past Hope" here.

Listen to "Kiss of Dawn" here.

Listen to "Passions Killing Floor" here.

Check here for upcoming tour dates with openers Bleeding Through.

For those of those who are interested, I'll be catching up with Ville Valo soon for an exclusive interview, so if you have any questions you'd like to ask him then leave them here for me in the comments section...

sea

HOPEFUL

Mexico

SEP 17, 2007 04:16 PM

heres a question:

will he make out with me?

no seriously. thanks!!! haha

ericwine

Charlotte Hall, MD

January 2007

SEP 17, 2007 04:35 PM

If he won't make out with Sea, he's nuts.

Gillionaire

Manchester, NH

February 2007

SEP 17, 2007 04:39 PM

"How much eyeliner can one touring festival truly handle?"

Are we really surprised that some rock stars where eye liner? I mean, rock stars have only been doing it for DECADES.

noctem

I'm lost

October 2004

SEP 17, 2007 04:39 PM

I'm looking forward to picking this up tomorrow

ericwine

Charlotte Hall, MD

January 2007

SEP 17, 2007 04:47 PM

Gillionaire said:

"How much eyeliner can one touring festival truly handle?"

Are we really surprised that some rock stars where eye liner? I mean, rock stars have only been doing it for DECADES.

Yeah, but they wear more with each passing decade...

PointBlank

New York, NY

November 2004

SEP 17, 2007 05:03 PM

Fastest "From Playlist to Recycle Bin" ever.

Not good.

Vanessa

SUICIDEGIRL

USA

SEP 17, 2007 06:30 PM

I met Ville last year in Abuquerque and we took a horrible yet great photo together.
Tell him i say hi.

CocoabutteR

Brooklyn, NY

March 2006

SEP 17, 2007 07:16 PM

V-Squared really is a fantastic guy. We get together every once and a while, eat some Panda Express and watch movies like Urban Cowboy.

Zort

Milton, ON

July 2006

SEP 17, 2007 07:41 PM

God I love this band, Ville Valo is my fucking idol.
Beautiful lyrics, a vocal range going from screaming to singing with perfect transitions, amazing song construction from the opening riffs, through the hook and chorus.
This is truly rock at it's finest.

Ferretbite

Mexico

September 2006

SEP 17, 2007 08:02 PM

ericwine said:
Yeah, but they wear more with each passing decade...

Alice & Dee are incontrovertible proof of the contrary.

Sadista

Charlotte, NC

November 2006

SEP 17, 2007 09:34 PM

I went to the Projekt Revolution show mainly to see HIM. As much exposure as they've gotten through MTV and whatever, it looked like maybe ten of the 10,000 kids there even knew who they were. Oh well, more for me!

Tekky

SUICIDEGIRL

Ontario, Canada

SEP 17, 2007 11:58 PM

i saw HIM a few years ago the first time they played in canada...

and they blew my goddamn mind.
what a great show.
and ville makes me happy in the pantsular area.

and i'm going to mention how bloody pissed off i was when i found out about the toronto date for the HIM/MSI/etc show...THE DAY AFTER THE SHOW.

*tear*

hellboy7

Austin, TX

July 2004

SEP 18, 2007 07:48 AM

Just downloaded the album from iTunes. MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE. Been a fan since 2000.

RubberSoul

Los Angeles, CA

February 2003

SEP 18, 2007 01:17 PM

Do people actually listen to that? I thought it was just a marketing scheme for Jackass movies and Hot Topic t-shirts.

Fraiya

SUICIDEGIRL

Pennsylvania, USA

SEP 18, 2007 03:17 PM

I just got back from buying Venus Doom. It's fantastic so far. I got to see them last year after they released Dark Light. Hopefully I can catch them again this year. They put on a damn good show.

BOARDS:

TOPICS:

Los Angeles, CA

October 2006

SEP 17, 2007 03:55 PM

HOPEFUL

Mexico

SEP 17, 2007 04:16 PM

Charlotte Hall, MD

January 2007

SEP 17, 2007 04:35 PM

Manchester, NH

February 2007

SEP 17, 2007 04:39 PM

I'm lost

October 2004

SEP 17, 2007 04:39 PM

Charlotte Hall, MD

January 2007

SEP 17, 2007 04:47 PM

New York, NY

November 2004

SEP 17, 2007 05:03 PM

SUICIDEGIRL

USA

SEP 17, 2007 06:30 PM

Brooklyn, NY

March 2006

SEP 17, 2007 07:16 PM

Milton, ON

July 2006

SEP 17, 2007 07:41 PM

Mexico

September 2006

SEP 17, 2007 08:02 PM

Charlotte, NC

November 2006

SEP 17, 2007 09:34 PM

SUICIDEGIRL

Ontario, Canada

SEP 17, 2007 11:58 PM

Austin, TX

July 2004

SEP 18, 2007 07:48 AM

Los Angeles, CA

February 2003

SEP 18, 2007 01:17 PM

SUICIDEGIRL

Pennsylvania, USA

SEP 18, 2007 03:17 PM