HIM (His Infernal Majesty) is:
Ville Valo-Vocals
Daniel Lioneye (Linde)-Guitar
Mige-Bass
Burton-Keyboards
Gas Lipstick-Drums
Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights is an excellent collection of songs that sets a warm, feel-good type of atmosphere for the listener. This album compared to their others is much slower and mellow then previous releases. This album contains elements of goth/rock/pop. Deep Shadows includes some of the most well known singles such as "Pretending", “Heartache Every Moment", and "In Joy And Sorrow".
Salt In Our Wounds (3:57)
This intro to the album gives away pretty much how the album will feel as you listen to it. It starts out with some odd jazzy type sounds, and quickly comes Ville singing "Here we are in the mainstream of love waiting for the call to soothe are hearts...". Through out this song acoustic and electric guitar is being played. Their is also some simple drum beats with some nice keys, however the bass seems very faint. This song overall, is very mellow until about 2:20 when Linde comes in with one of his superb guitar solos to add some life to this track. (4.5/5)
Heartache Every Moment (3:56)
This track opens up with some beautiful piano and a nice acoustic guitar to back it up. Their is even some interesting sound affects going on. The drums and bass really do stand out, and Ville's voice seems a bit modified to set the mood. Linde, once again, plays another amazing guitar solo - not exactly speed, but rhythm. The track fades away with the intro piano. (4.5/5)
Lose You Tonight (3:41)
The opening is a creepy fuzzy guitar intro, and in a few seconds you hear a bird - which I believe is a crow. This track includes some eerie dual vocals from Ville, along with an interlude on the keys at about 1:50. This song is fairly short, although the chorus is repeated many times which makes the song seem to drag on. (3.5/5)
In Joy And Sorrow (4:00)
This track is really an emotional song about how their is many high points in life, as well as low. This song also refers to the title of the album; Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights. (Joy, Sorrow - Highlights, shadows.) Anyway, the song starts out with Ville singing and playing an acoustic guitar. The double bass peddle is played on the drums as a buildup to the chorus. Towards the middle of the song it becomes quiet and you hear really faint voices in the back ground. - which is supposedly subliminal. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album. (5/5)
Pretending (3:54)
This was a nice track to put in the middle of the album mainly because it is a little more upbeat then the rest. Ville really has some high quality vocals throughout the song and also has some nice lyrics - "Love is a flame that can be tamed and though we are its swirling prey oh my darling we are not the ones to blame". Ville really shows angst in this song - not through yelling or screaming, but through his mood, lyrics and his passion for singing. At 2:25, Linde shows off his guitar skill with another solo. Shortly after, the chorus is repeated once more and Ville ends with his opening line. (5/5)
Close To The Flame (3:46)
Starts out very slow and remains this way throughout the entire song. This track is very bland and boring and certainly not a highlight, although it was released as a single. The bass actually stands out a bit in this song, but their is certainly nothing to get excited about. Honesty, this song really bores the hell out of me. (1.5/5)
Please Don't Let It Go (4:29)
This song being very sad, also has a really nice feel-good feeling to it. This track includes some acoustic guitar. Ville sings "We are drifting apart but I want you to know wherever you are I belong...". The chorus can somewhat seem annoying because it is repeated so much throughout the song. And again, Linde plays a speedy guitar solo towards the middle of the track. "Please don't let it go" is repeated many times as the song fades out. (4/5)
Beautiful (4:33)
This song is really sung with passion and also with much repetition. Repeating the word beautiful many times throughout this song may seem annoying; however Ville really makes his point across. Once again, their is some nice acoustic guitar, and some sound affects are also included. Their is a lack of instrumentals in this song - it really focuses on Ville Valo. (3.5/5)
Don't Close Your Heart (4:38)
"I know how it feels to be own your own in this cruel world where hearts are bound to turn to stone oh your alone" is the opening line. This song is about how they are in a relationship and they are on the borderline of breaking up and he wants the relationship to last - also very similar to "Please Don't Let It Go". This track includes some catchy guitar riffs and nice keys. The drums are very simplistic and the bass, once again, is very faint. (4/5)
Love You Like I Do (5:13)
This song is really different from the others on this album and really stands out. Ville's voice is very deep and you can tell that he is trying to imitate one of his favorite singers-Tapio Rautavaara. This song even includes an organ being played. In between verses you can hear wildlife- such birds chirping. This is probably the only track on the album with good descent drumming. This song is very atmospheric mellow, and is a wonderful outro. (4.5/5)
PROS:
-Atmospheric
-Many guitar solos
-Flows evenly
-Good for taking a break from heavy music
-"In Joy And Sorrow" and "Pretending"
-Excellent vocals
CONS:
-Simplistic drumming
-"Close To The Flame"
-Some repetition
-Bass can be faint
Well that's my last HIM review until they release more music. Feel free to leave comments on what you liked, disliked, and if I need improvement. Thank You - Nightside.
