You wouldn't expect a lot from a band whose debut album is entitled Greatest Lovesongs, Vol.
666, but H.I.M. surprises in a very positive way.
H.I.M.'s stigma of so-called "love metal" is actually undeserved and relates only to Ville Valo's love-oriented lyrics; the music itself combines metal with '80s rock and some goth influences, and the album as a whole has a very diverse sound.
Songs such as "The Beginning of the End" and "It's All Tears" especially prove that H.I.M. can do a lot better than their poor single track "When Love and Death Embrace." Two cover songs on a nine-track debut album might be too much, but Ville Valo seems to beg the difference.
In fact, H.I.M.'s versions of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" are very idiosyncratic and fit very well on Greatest Lovesongs, Vol.
666.
"Wicked Game," especially, is somehow even better than Isaak's original version, or at least it proves that H.I.M. does have a sense for dynamics instead of playing just quiet or loud, which is pretty typical of H.I.M.'s contemporaries.
"Don't Fear the Reaper" intriguingly reduces the volume at the end of the album and the female vocals and piano add hopeful tenderness.
Greatest Lovesongs, Vol.
666 succeeds in pleasing everyone, whether they're into rock or pop.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your Sweet Six Six SixVille Valo | H.I.M. | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | Wicked GameChris Isaak | H.I.M. | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | The HeartlessVille Valo | H.I.M. | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | Our Diabolikal RaptureVille Valo | H.I.M. | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 5 | It's All Tears (Drown in This Love)Ville Valo | H.I.M. | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | When Love and Death EmbraceVille Valo | H.I.M. | Play | 06:08 | 14 MB | 45 MB |
| 7 | The Beginning of the EndVille Valo | H.I.M. | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | (Don't Fear) The ReaperDonald Roeser | H.I.M. | Play | 06:30 | 14 MB | 40 MB |
| 9 | For You (Intro) | H.I.M | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 41 mins | 96 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 295 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guido | Make-Up |
| 2 | H.I.M. | Group, Primary Artist |
| 3 | Hiili | Producer |
| 4 | Chris Isaak | Composer |
| 5 | Mikka Karppinen | Drums |
| 6 | Mikko "Linde" Lindström | Guitar |
| 7 | Mikka Paananen | Bass |
| 8 | Donald Roeser | Composer |
| 9 | Pauli Saastamoinen | Mastering |
| 10 | Vertti Teräsvuori | Photography |
| 11 | Ville Valo | Composer, Songwriter, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |