New Interview with Ville & Mige

Black+White Photomedia Agency





Eve Roberts recently took a soul-searching journey with Finland’s masters of melancholy metal – HIM. The band toured Australia and New Zealand in late March - their last stops on a worldwide tour that followed the release of their latest album, Venus Doom.
In a Sydney harbour hotel room, two coffee cups sit on a table, next to a paperback of Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry and a pack of Marlboros. Across the table, behind a cloud of cigarette smoke, I see Ville Valo lean forward to pour himself another black coffee.
“I don’t believe in the existence of soul,” says Valo, lifting his head up. Under the brown gatsby hat, his intense gaze reiterates his point. “I believe in soulful things but I don’t have a soul to search.”
Valo is the singer and songwriter of HIM. The other coffee cup belongs to Migé, HIM’s burly bass player.
I check Migé’s ghoulish chest X-ray T-shirt for evidence of soul between the bones, but there is nothing. Yet, he is more upbeat about it.
“I think who delivered the final blow to the word ‘soul’ was James Brown,” says Migé, an impish smile escaping through his long lanky hair. “He’s a fine man but he annihilated the word with his insane behaviour.”
These are intriguing words coming from members of a band that for 15 years has performed songs about dark tortures of the soul. Anguish, loneliness, love and death have been the essence of HIM’s music, and these themes were explored with a gloomy edge in their latest album Venus Doom.
But if there is no soul, then why does the song “Sleepwalking Past Hope” lament that we are forever lost in our soul’s storm? Why does “Cyanide Sun” try to separate souls entwined in labirynthe lies?
“Introspection is very healthy at times,” explains Valo. “What can be more fascinating than the everchanging relationship with yourself.”
“I was a moody bastard when working on Venus Doom, so it turned out to be a fairly gloomy album,” he admits, lifting his elaborately tattooed arm to take another drag of his cigarette. I notice two thick silver rings on his middle and ring fingers. “I went through a lot of shit and I don’t have anybody to cry to. I don’t have any shoulders so my guitar works as my shoulders.”
Venus Doom holds the mirror up to Valo’s state of mind, but it also offers a clue as to another element at play. The album’s booklet expresses gratitude to Promises, Malibu – a renowned alcohol addiction centre. In previous interviews, Valo acknowledged his addiction, which saw his health deteriorate prior to going into rehab in 2007.
He is drinking black coffee now, and I leave that part of Valo alone.
It’s just as well because Valo puts a premium on people’s imaginations rather than his private life.
“I have my personal meaning to Venus Doom,” he replies when I ask about the album title. “That remains personal since I don’t want to spread my personal ideas like a virus. It’s good to have people’s imaginations at work.”
Valo recalls coming across people with astrological interpretations of the name. I mention that I see it as a metaphor for femme fatale – a dangerous temptress.
“You’ve got to give a story a good 30 years to be able to create as many interpretations as possible before you actually give the story away,” says Valo. “And when you’ve lived with your interpretation for enough of a time then that is your truth and it doesn’t really matter what the artist’s truth is. That’s art, and if we can be a part of it – pop art – that’s always a bonus.”
HIM holds a distinctive place in the realm of pop-art, due to their blend of emotional lyrics and intense metal sounds. A musical potion of soft and hard, of good and evil. What Valo calls the yin-yang theme has also been reflected in HIM’s album titles, most recently with Venus Doom, but also going back to Dark Light in 2005, and 1999’s Razorblade Romance. And the reason for this mixture?

“Soulful transgression happens through, at times, very violent means,” Valo explains. “I don’t believe that looking for truth has to be something peaceful, that you’ve got to be meditating upon things. You’ve got to fucking shove your fingers in the electric socket and see what happens. And then do it all over again.”
Migé, responsible for HIM’s piercing bass tunes, agrees. He doesn’t see the point of meek soul-searching. “These soul searching tapes that you need to buy,” he says, “the kind of new age stuff that people for some reason think is for soul-searching. It’s not for that, it’s for pot smoking.”
Valo laughs, “Pot-smoking can be soul-searching as well.” Then he reiterates that he has no soul to search. And I am curious - if there is no soul, what is there?
“Do you mean that a person would need a one centre, like heaven? A goal in their life, or a centrepiece?” he asks.
Not necessarily, I say, slightly on the defensive. A soul can be anything to anyone.
“Then it doesn’t have any meaning. Then it’s just a word,” says Valo, adding that we could talk about this for hours. “I believe in family, friendship and music. Saying I believe in them means that somebody may prove me wrong. I don’t know that music can save me. I don’t know that my family can save me. I don’t know if I can save
myself.”
“With me,” he continues, lighting another cigarette, “I use the word ‘clarity’ for soul. Understanding why. Journey is more important than actually getting there.”
Valo is right – we could sit here forever, searching for obscure answers amidst the haze of cigarette smoke.
For now though, Valo and Migé are content where they are, looking forward to heading back to Helsinki after almost eight months of touring.
“We’re pretty tired,” says Migé, taking a sip of his coffee.
“When we get back home, we’ll relax for a bit and start writing new songs,” Valo picks up his Marlboros and book of poetry. “I want to be surprised by a melody I haven’t come across yet.”
With a cheeky grin, he adds, “And, I’ll be doing some soul-searching.”

“Saying I believe in them means that somebody may prove me wrong. I don’t know if music can save me. I don’t know if my family can save me. I don’t know if I can save myself.”

i agree, totally.and i love the words he chose.
but on the other hand, you don't really need to be saved, you kind of saved yourself. soul-searching. well good luck Ville, boy do i know how that is...i do it everyday.
plus he said he didn't think he had a soul to begin with...so yeah, it's going to be hard.
i really have to disagree here, i believe in the existence of the soul,undoubtedly,deeply. but hey, everyone with their own minds
anyway,i bet they'll miss being all over the world, just as much as they missed going home until now.
can't wait to get home myself ...one more week to go, woo-hoo
kiitos for posting this darling

hmm ,if you ask me , his soul is there for sure .. ! i don't know for others but his skeptic philosophy always surprises me ..i see it in a strange dichotomy with his lyrics and music ..i don't know , maybe i'm wrong , ...only VIlle could explain this

i know what you mean.
just think about the fact that he is an atheist and still uses expressions like 666 and others. he's full of this kind of contradictions...

it comes into my mind the story about Ville's beginings in music scene and his style of handling interviews

"Asko, talking about the first time he met Ville: A week later a guy with weird hippie fur coat came into the office at our request. He was smoking the whole time. My questions of His Infernal Majesty history and future made the young artist laugh. The answers to all questions were either “I don’t know” or “I don’t care”.
[...]
The frontman of the band was shy and little bit weird. Other members of the band were not so normal either .The bassist could walk in a city wearing just underpants. The drummer had sneakers which sole had almost loosened and the guitarist didn’t say anything ever. Other thing that connected these guys besides music was that they didn’t have ever money.
[...]
But German GUN-company was interested of the band and came to see them to Tavastia. There Mr. Valo said to this German man only “Hello” and after that said in Finnish “Well, what else I should say – praise me?” [...]


It was the right time to practise interviews. Ville had done some TV and radio interviews with poor results. He didn’t bother to answer aloud and he didn’t even look where the mike was. You couldn’t hear anything what he was saying.
We went to a bar and bought drinks and sat down. I suggested that I ask 10 the most stupid questions that you can imagine and he has to answer to them very suitable way, look into eyes and speak good Finnish. Then we had this big argument. Ville shouted that I can’t be so stupid and that I can’t ask that question. I shouted that now I will write a mean article about you because you are such a spiteful person. We kept shouting quite a long time and when I went to sleep I was thinking that there was no sense in this at all. In the next morning Ville had a radio interview and it went really good.
[...]
Valo knows now how to behave in an interview; and everybody admires his elegant, gentleman behaviour and his clever use of words.
Do you have to go to a lot of trouble being nice guy, Ville? You have had a reputation of a tricky customer. - "It was quite tricky once but not any more"."


i don't know , maybe this one explains a lot sometimes i think the first Ville is the real one

Ville is exactly what he was made into by the music industry and later...his fans. This celebrity thing implies getting away from the public for a little privacy. Wouldn't like him to become like some have though, bashing paparazzis and beating up fans because of idk what.
Thing is, celebrity emerges and suddenly...you're out of privacy and all things personal. Everyone wants to know every single detail about you and they start chasing and stalking you. That's what makes Ville introverted and it influences his change for a more mature kind of approach on his lifestyle and life in general.
Fans aren't making it easy, but they could try to connect to us in a better way sometimes... it just feels like you're going to that gig, having payed them for what performance they're going to make on stage and they give you just that. Nothing else. Ville and the guys are cute sometimes, but i just can't help but wonder if HIM is going to turn into a cold and distant band. There's a coldness in their manner for quite some time now. I just don't feel the chills like i did seeing them perform at Tavastia years ago compared to how they do it now. It's like all of a sudden...they're famous and have brand new fans-groupies that will stop at nothing to get their hands on a bunch of pics or filmings with them. It's sad, both sides have forgotten what either being a fan or an artist really means.

edit:i can't believe i just wrote that. HIM was/is my salvation after all. Damn, i hate Warner, they're turning them into the very meaning of commercial.

Just out of curiosity, did you notice this change when they first started getting noticed in the U.S.(Dark Light era) or was it before/after that. Reason I'm asking is because I noticed slight differences then, but just figured it was because they weren't well-known here, so they weren't as comfortable with the fans as they were say in Finland, or even Europe in general. Though American fans haven't been on their best behavior, either from clips I've watched on youtube. It just seems like some people have never heard of personal space. Or manners, but that's a whole 'nother story which I don't feel like getting into right now.

But seriously, you're a fan of the band. You go to a gig, and you've paid for them to entertain you for an hour and a half, 2 hours. That's it. You've not entitled yourself to anything else other than being entertained and possibly forgetting about real-life for a little while. It still boggles my mind why some people feel otherwise. And I'm not just talking about HIM fans, either. I've seen it happen in other fandoms as well.

Edit: I just re-read what I wrote, and it came out differently than I wanted. Wasn't meant to be that harsh, but I've got a pounding headache and I'm tired. Maybe I'll edit it into something more sensible in the morning; maybe not. And I'm not trying to bash America/American fans, I'm just telling things like I see them.

what really made me mad wasn't neccessarily how they acted in the US in any way, because i have to admit that during the PR tour some people were down right rude to boo them as they'd just gotten on stage.
i was reffering to the general situation of seeing them at a gig and they're just acting like some prima-donnas, not willing to come back for a little encore. compared to other big bands, HIM just look cocky. they picked such a beautiful location for filming the DVD, but how much enthusiasm did you see at that gig? really now. if they like it like that then maybe we should act like we're 6 feet under as well at their shows, to raise their interest.
it's like i'm sorry that Ville is tired of all these groupies, but he's getting used to it in such a manner that taking the gifts and banging a vibrator on a microphone and revealing his naked chest are getting to be natural things that can make a gig.
and NO, those don't make a gig. those make a show. and what's with the choosing where to encore or not? why are some more special? that's why i said that they've forgotten what it means to be ''someone''s that we can look up to.
and the fans...don't even get me started. Ville is a gorgeous man, but i wouldn't take that as why i'm listening to their music. HIM and Ville aren't one and the same, and most girls forget that. i'm just sick and tired of seeing them throw stupid things on stage, like vibrators and other things and maybe write their name on it hoping that one day...
these days when i attend a concert, there are no front-row asphyxiating groupies, there's no climbing on top of people's heads, no presents, just the performers, the audience and that beautiful thing called music. idk..maybe i'm asking too much. maybe they're already bored. i love Lacuna coil for example. but i'm not clinging to them because of how Andrea or CriZ, etc. look, but because i ADORE the music.
HIM are still my faves. got me out of hard times. that's why i don't want them to become an image, a commercial, something someone like Jimmy Urine[or sth] can make fun of. real music, real feeling, real beauty and elegance, talent and ageless meanings. not girls saying "oh, he dyed his hair...i hope he's not going grey".

Jaana, I completely understand where you're coming from. I have to say, though, that I thought PR was a huge mistake when I first heard about it. HIM just isn't the type of band who thrives in that type of setting. Really, IMO, they're best in dark, tiny, smoky clubs. The atmosphere there just fits with their music better than outside in the middle of the day.

I was actually surprised with how much fun the guys seemed to be having on stage during the dvd. Ville, Mige, and Linde were always smiling or making faces at one another, and joking around much more than I'd seen them in the past. There've been clips on youtube where Ville literally just stands at the mic and doesn't move at all. But in all honesty, I think they just really need a break. When you think about it, they've either been touring or writing material for an album for 11 years straight now, without much in terms of a break. That's got to be exhausting and no matter how much you like something, a schedule like that is bound to burn you out, physically and mentally. I'd personally like to see them take a year or so off. They'd probably come back refreshed, and have a new outlook on performing because they were allowed to get away from it for awhile, and it would be something they wanted to do again, rather than something they had to do.

Quote :

and the fans...don't even get me started. Ville is a gorgeous man, but i wouldn't take that as why i'm listening to their music.

That has to be one of my biggest pet peeves. Why must people equate good music to the attractiveness of the singer? I never understood that, but then again I've never got into a band just because I thought the singer was hot, either. That's just not something I look to when determining what I will/will not listen to. I listen to music because it evokes something in me or because I feel a connection with it. If the band is attractive, it's a bonus, but if they aren't, it doesn't deter me from listening. I remember back in high school, my best friend was obsessed with N'Sync and she was very adamant that I listen to them "because they're hot". Her exact words.
This is probably going to make me sound like a bad fan, but I kinda wish HIM hadn't become as popular as they did. Not that I don't want the best for them, because I do, but it's just do damn annoying now when you've got 13-year-olds who only listen to HIM because they think it's cool or they're better than everyone else because of it. Or the ones who say they got into HIM because Ville's hot, yet they've only heard one song. Makes me nostalgic for the earlier days when not a lot of people knew who they were, but those that listened, listened for the music, not the image portrayed by the record company.

yeah, it probably is better for them to get away from the audience for a while. for both sides. i know what you mean and i totally agree.
and whatever the guys might want...i really do wish HIM weren't this popular, they would have REAL fans. they DO belong in obscure places, not in in the sunlight. but hey, it's up to them...

oh ..i must admit i don't figure why are you so disappointed i just don't see the point , he's stayed close to the microphone and things like that also in the past ,is not his style to jump on stage , plus now he's sober , and this means even less enthusiastic crazy moves on stage ..( without booze for sure is less fun , especially when you were used it ) but i see no big difference , and i saw them doing fine, having good laughs , and entertaining audience in this tour , and the dildo scene was a joke , from both sides i guess , just don't get why we should think this is the end of everything and everybody needs a break.etc
I personally don't set myself any expectations , just happy they exist and happy they still do good music , and i don't want to judge the fans ,or the band , anyone