Platinum selling Finnish rockers HIM are returning to the UK for a full headline tour following their triumphant set headlining the Pepsi Max Stage at this year’s Download festival. The nine date tour comes to Southampton Guildhall on 28th October before finishing at London’s iconic KOKO on the 31st. It’s in support of their latest album Tears On Tape, HIM’s eighth studio album and their first release of an album of new recorded material since 2010’s Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice.
2013 has been a real return to form for HIM after a quiet couple of years, with the aforementioned Download performance, as well huge critical acclaim from the music press for Tears on Tape. The album gained 4 star reviews from both the Guardian and Alternative Press, as well as a 9/10 from Metal Hammer. Chart success followed, with the album selling 20,200 copies in the US in its first week and reaching 1 on the US Hard Rock Chart and 15 on the Billboard 200.
From their headline tour, you can expect smoky voiced front man Ville Valo crooning out his gothic tales of love, loss and heartbreak over hypnotic, Black Sabbath-esque riffs. They manage to make the most impersonal of venues feel like smoky bars hidden down Helsinki backstreets. Support on this tour comes from Massachusetts based post-rock group Caspian and tickets are available here.
