Screamworks : Love in Theory and Practice Album Review

Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice is the newest release from Finnish "love metallers" HIM. HIM haven't released a full length album since 2007's over-elaborate, over-produced and quite frankly a step in the wrong direction "Venus Doom." Maybe I’m being a bit harsh; Venus Doom had some up points. The title track for example is amazing and the epic, sprawling Sleepwalking Past Hope is a ten minute roll in the figurative glee-goo. At least the singles off of Venus Doom weren't overplayed like Dark Light's Rip out the Wings of a Butterfly.

Back to Screamworks, which is HIM's seventh studio album.
Screamworks opens up with In Venere Veritas which is a melodic stroll through a tragic story, referencing Cupid, a mausoleum and wounds that don’t heal. Not dark at all eh? After the reasonably rocky opening, we are lead on to Scared to Death which takes you by the hand and paints a picture in your head of true pain and the fear people have of falling in love. Heartkiller follows, which again ups the tempo and attempts to blow your ears off with guitars. As a long time "Heartafan" I can honestly say that Heartkiller is a let down compared to HIM's other work. It seems like it insists upon itself, and as for a first single from the album, quite a let down, the video that goes with it is equally disappointing, but we will get to that at the end. After the reasonably up-tempo Heartkiller, we are thrown back in a slow pit by Dying Song which is melodic and quite haunting, Dying Song leads the way to Disarm Me (With Your Loneliness) which is also reasonably down tempo but as storming as anything HIM have ever done. After Disarm Me is Love The Hardest way, which if you like HIM, and I’m assuming you do, or you want have the album, or even thinking about getting it, you will love, the first time I heard it I was completely blown away by it. Katherine Wheel opens with a slow intro but leads into some excellent guitar and percussion work throughout, the first time I heard the song I had a very elaborate music video planned out in my head, I feel any good song should have an effect as such. It even manages to name check the album. In The Arms of Rain is the second if two reasonably disappointing songs but its worth listening to for the reason that it is the track directly before, in my opinion, the albums highlight of Ode To Solitude which will blow your head off in a good way with the way its composed and the deliverance Ville gives of the emotion and heartache the song entails. Shatter Me With Hope is as good if not better as anything HIM have ever done, that one song easily puts everything on 2005's Dark Light to quite a shameful shame, by being the second best song on the whole of Screamworks. Acoustic Funeral (for love in limbo) is a life affirming song, with a name like it has you wouldn’t think as much but it really is that good. Like St. Valentine makes you want to find that girl you love and tell her everything you have ever wanted to tell her. Ever. The fact that I found the video on Valentine’s Day just makes me titter. The concluding song, The Foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness is a song typical of any melodic band wanting an easy way to close an album; the over-repetition makes me think they were just cutting corners. Screamworks was also released as a special edition featuring all the songs in acoustic, know as Baudelaire in Braille which was a great idea because HIM are just as good acoustic as they are plugged in.

As I mentioned above, the Heartkiller video is an epic letdown, but I’ll let you judge that for yourself, there are people out there who love the video's simplicity but I think it is HIM's worst video to date, it pales in comparison to videos such as Buried Alive By Love and The Funeral of Hearts (both from 2003 release Love Metal)

Heartkiller Video Link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC-UBpsIn3w