HIM - Screamworks: Love In Theory & Practice, Chapters 1-13

Oh marmite, there’s nothing quite like it, is there? That said HIM really have become exemplary icons of the phrase in the last few years. They have hordes of die hard fans worldwide, who with remarkable vehemence lap the band up and hang on every one of front man Ville Valo’s words. But on the extreme flip side they’re as equally loathed by others, many of whom are ridiculously pre-occupied with being more metal than thou.

Predecessor Venus Doom was written by Ville Valo when he was still lurking in the shady mire of his alcoholism, resulting in that record being a far more darker and despondent affair. Screamworks is almost a full 180 on that, feeling like a therapeutic release for Valo. The output here is unashamedly clean and buoyant, like the effervescent melodies of 'Heartkiller'. The somewhat unexpected tones are evident as soon as Valo opens his mouth on album opener, 'In Venere Veritas'.

'Scared To Death' then drops into swaying keys, all replete with some mind numbingly awful cheese. The lyrics are ridiculously amiable – “I’m not afraid to say I love you”, but the hooks are still inescapable.

'Shatter Me With Hope' laces up more of those hooks, this time with more startling ease which harks back to the poppiest moments of Razorblade Romance. In fact, when at its most poppy and accessible, Screamworks owes much to Razorblade Romance; but just lacking that bit of vitality that made the latter album such a staggering one.

Conversely though, 'Ode To Solitude' is up there with 'Your Sweet 666' and 'Buried Alive By Love' as being one of HIM’s finest moment, effortlessly lodging itself in your head with not as much compromise.

Certain numbers like 'Disarm Me (With You Loneliness)' and 'Acoustic Funeral' pass off as being emblematic of HIM swinging the melancholic airs on their heads. But to close, 'The Foreboding Sense Of Impending Happiness' makes a congenial nod to their morose side. Overall HIM’s seventh’s effort is largely repetitious, and is heavily deficient of that salience that’s been the centrepiece of the band’s past, most notable, records.

6/10