Razorblade Romance＜Clear Vinyl＞

Even though H.I.M.'s main goal seems to be gaining attention from a female audience, Greatest Lovesongs sure was artistically a success. The contrast between Razorblade Romance and the debut, however, is quite large. Melancholy and angst seem a little artificial, while Greatest Lovesongs had a truly pressuring atmosphere all the time. Razorblade Romance forgets all about that, and the whole concept of gothic rock and so-called love metal repeats itself many times during the album. But the songs themselves are actually very good; when ignoring the implementation, hit songs like "Join Me in Death" and "Right Here in My Arms" work really nicely. And horrendous cliches in lyrics and playing don't really matter, because H.I.M. recycles them well. The slightly over-produced sound may distract for a while, but after all, the song material is of a kind that is hard to fit into a demanding format. Anyhow, the songs as a whole are organized well, and it's easy to listen the album the whole way through. ~ Antti J. Ravelin