HIM is a band that I have always heard mentioned in the music circles I enjoy but have never actually checked out beyond the radio airwaves. That has all changed with the release of Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice though. The follow-up to 2007’s Venus Doom and the band’s seventh studio album overall is as majestic as it is catchy and as wry as it is fluid. In short, Screamworks has it all.
It’s hard to pick just a single track or three here as definite highlight material, as it all kind of flows together seamlessly. The band weaves in and out of moods musically but somehow the vocals always manage to uplift it all and make it seem almost…happy. This is something I wasn’t really expecting given the Goth Rock tag the band seems to be associated with. While the ballads here are very good, it’s actually the rockers that are certain hits as singles. “Scared to Death,” “Like St. Valentine,” and “Shatter Me With Hope,” are all driving songs that you are lyrically universally and easy to connect with on many different levels. The highlight though is “Ode to Solitude,” a tour de force that features lyrics that read like poetry and a delivery that will make any fan of great Rock and Roll smile and sing along. “Ode to Solitude” is the kind of anthem that is impossible not to like and also the kind that will last forever.
These Finnish rockers are unbelievably flawless on this record and I’m hard pressed to name another record that could start your 2010 off as well as this one. HIM are quite possibly my new favorite band. I contend that everyone who calls themselves a fan of great music should own this album.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
