and they’ve immediately moved over to……..no one else!!!! Now that kind of news surprises me and hence has been included in this line of observations. I am kind of shocked because its not often that a band like H.I.M. makes such a drastic parting and doesn’t immediately roll over to another label of note based on their own status in the music world. I had been following them since around 2002-2003 and my own first foray into their sound came with “Razorblade Romance”.

I wasn’t even doing my music journalist stuff as a serious passion at this time but it would be soon after and I swore that this would be the kind of groups I would pay a lot of attention to. Solid and accessible despite no one in my circle of friends even knowing what they were all about at the time of my original recommending. Since becoming a writer in later part of 2003 I have watched the fan base for Ville Vallo and the rest of the guys in H.I.M. grow to a sizable force and to find them without a record label of note in 2011 was a pretty strange thing for me to see being the case.

While I know a few labels pretty well after reviewing their wares and repertoire over the years I had to say that I didn’t feel as though some favorites like Nuclear Blast Records or Napalm Records were the best place for a band like H.I.M. – I also didn’t think Roadrunner Records or Metal Blade Records were suitable either based on the differences that they currently offer. Of course on one hand maybe RR would work since they have their Finnish countrymen Nightwish for a few years and have done right by them. Personally I think I would like to see H.I.M. land on Universal Music in some fashion. That might be the best home for their kind of Melodic Gothic Love Metal. Stay tuned to see what happens and let’s cross our fingers for everyone in H.I.M. – They are one of the most enjoyable providers I have seen over the years and I don’t want them to become a faded memory.

Official Website: http://www.heartagram.com