When news of a farewell tour broke in 2017, HIM (His Infernal Majesty) devotees responded in shock and speculation. Passionately revered, fervently reviled, as funeral rites came to a deserving and celebrated end, HIM departed gracefully into the twilight. Reminding the world one last time why they were impossible to ignore. At a time when hard rock and heavy metal held firm in the throes of rage and promiscuity, singer Ville Valo championed the tender and tortuous matters of the heart exclusively. Occasionally to his detriment. On January 13, 2023, Valo is set to release his debut solo album, ‘Neon Noir’. A collection of twelve songs that are certain to leave an indelible mark upon his heartagram branded career. Perhaps the most significant one yet.
Valo weaves a familiar tapestry. The forlorn world of woe and saccharine sentiments conceived in HIM never far from the narrative in ‘Neon Noir.’ Melancholic, Love Metal-esque themes found in leading singles “Loveletting”, “Echolocate Your Love” and “The Foreverlost” sound like old flames with new wicks. Not with any baleful influence. But instead echoing amicably alongside the deeper, more gripping cuts that ‘Neon Noir’ has to offer. Such as the spellbinding “Run Away from the Sun.” A crooning vocal delivery complimented by a chiming chorus melody that will leave this piece humming around your mind from dusk ‘til dawn. Having written all the lyrics and performed all the instruments himself, Valo shows beyond doubt that he has more than a few strings to his blackened bow.
Infernally infused with 80’s influence, there is a montage at work here. From the gothic cries of The Cure, the evoking keyboard of Depeche Mode, married to a subtle abstract touch that can be found in The Chameleons and Cocteau Twins, Valo draws from what makes him tick without ever feeling like an imitation. Infectiously embedded in the album’s bracing, guitar-driven title track as well as the quirky “Baby Lacrimarium.” Culminating at its finest during “In Trenodia.” When it comes to ‘Neon Noir’, “In Trenodia” sounds like its reason to exist. An elegant moment of embrace with an intensely honest lyric, it is the closest thing to a warm hug from a vampire you can experience. And you should definitely experience it.
Every musician requires faith. To leap from one note to another and trust in a feeling, an idea not yet present to our senses. As do lyricists. Uttering that which must be said but must never be heard. Words we speak to wind and waves. The truth often inconvenient. On ‘Neon Noir’, Ville Valo accomplishes something truly special as he lays it all on the line. Making both leaps courageously. Without a sliver of daylight between them. Honoring his past without wrapping his entire identity up in it. If Valo is concerned as to whether anyone will still be interested in the racket he makes, watching the second hand on the clock making laps around it, he may release that breath from his tightened chest. For the personal is universal. If we are honest about it. To which he is.
