HIM - Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights [Portugal Import]

HIM took their love metal somewhere glossier and more melodic on Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, and this Portugal import puts the Finnish band's 2001 album back on vinyl.

Following the breakthrough of Razorblade Romance was never going to be easy, and the band spent around eleven months on their third album under pressure to repeat that success. Ville Valo and company worked with producer Kevin Shirley, known for his work with Aerosmith and Bon Jovi, alongside T. T. Oksala, with sessions split between Helsinki and Hollola. It was also the first album to feature keyboardist Janne Puurtinen, better known to fans simply as Burton.

Pretending, the lead single, went to number one in Finland and remains one of their most recognisable songs, its heavy riff wrapped around a soaring, heartbroken chorus. In Joy and Sorrow is a lush, aching ballad, while Heartache Every Moment and Close to the Flame show off the band's flair for gothic romance with a polished pop sheen. Even the title fits the mood: it is a photography term, chosen for its yin and yang symbolism.

Dark, dramatic and unashamedly romantic, it captures HIM at the height of their powers, and it still sounds made for candlelight and the volume turned all the way up.