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H.I.M.
When Love & Death Embrace: Best Of 1997-2003
BMG
https://us.heartagram.com

Has it really been 24 years since Finnish act H.I.M. introduced us to their brand of "Love Metal"? Yes it has. Didn't the band break up 11 years ago? Yes they did. Haven't they already released a greatest hits package? Two actually. And Love Said No in 2004 and Two Decades of Love Metal in 2012. BUT, neither were available on vinyl, and both are out of print (as far as I know).

When Love & Death Embrace is a 2LP white vinyl set that collects 4 songs each from the Gothic Metallers' first four studio albums:

Greatest Lovesongs Vol.666 (1997)
Razorblade Romance (2000)
Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001)
Love Metal (2003)

The track listing is identical to their 2004 hits package with the exception of two songs. This collection replaces "Solitary Man" and "It's All Tears (Drown In This Love)" with "Soul On Fire" and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". The running order has also been shuffled around.

The white vinyl is a nice bright white. With all of the sounds and images that H.I.M. were known for, it was a little disappointing that the vinyl wasn't a little cooler. Could they have not done a blood splatter to mimic the cover? Or maybe a red, black, and white swirl? Hopefully those variants are coming down the road (Record Store Day perhaps).

The sound quality of the vinyl is superb. I had the first four H.I.M. albums on CD at one time. The songs sound as crisp and clear as I remember them to be, and a lot warmer and deeper than the digital streaming versions.

H.I.M. was like nothing I ever heard before back in the early 2000s. Dark, yet melodic, with vocalist Ville Valo wearing his tortured heart on his sleeve. "Right Here In My Arms" has long been a part of my favorites playlist. The way that Valo's melancholy vocals are accented by a super long drum section that eventually breaks into heavy guitar riffs, never gets boring.

Strangely enough, "The Funeral of Hearts" kind of reverses the instruments presentation. Now the vocals are accented by a long muted riff that is interrupted by the rest of the band. The unforgettable riff of "Your Sweet Six Six Six" has been burned into my brain for years, and I'm sure some of yours as well. The chorus is just as memorable. I still don't understand what her 666 is exactly. Doesn't matter.

"Buried Alive By Love" starts off in-your-face, then pulls back. Then it's back in your face again. H.I.M.'s version of "Wicked Game" maintains the same soothing melodic vocal that is on the Chris Isaak original, but juices things up with harder guitars.

"Join Me In Death" is a somber ballad about a lonely wounded soul. "Soul On Fire" is guitar driven at times and vocal driven at other times. "Gone With The Sin" is both haunting and alluring. There's not much instrumentation here. The emotions are all elicited from Valo's deep tones.

I do not remember H.I.M.'s cover of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" the first time around. Maybe I was focusing a little too much on their Chris Isaak cover. Valo's take on this BLUE OYSTER CULT classic is quite the spectacle. It's more sinister than its predecessor, and now a duet with Finnish actress Sanna-June Hyde.

When Love & Death Embrace: Best Of 1997-2003 is a great place to start to familiarize yourself with H.I.M. The albums that followed this time period were a mixed bag to say the least. As a vinyl collector, it brings a big smile to my face to finally have a best of the best collection of H.I.M.'s golden years.

4.7 Out Of 5.0