HIM: RAZORBLADE ROMANCE

SCORE: 100/100

HIM's second and most well known album manages to be both loving and melancholic all at the same time - with almost otherworldly qualities that you simply will not find from any other band, 'Razorblade Romance' is a passionate album that is full of feelings and heart within every track, it's a clearly fleshed out and worked on project that was polished until absolute perfection, and Ville Valo makes himself even more known as a stunning vocalist throughout the 42 minute runtime of the album.

Each track is just as stunning as the last - with gorgeous compositions and a masterful chemistry behind the members of the band, HIM made themselves even more known with 'Razorblade Romance'; an album that contains some of what may be considered their "signature" material and their sound being shown off to the max. It's not often that a band can create a new subgenre due to how striking their music is - but with HIM came love metal.

The album is both sultry and full of gothic elements that are enough to make the band instantaneously recognizable for their style and unavoidable charm. The overall sound of the album is completely off the charts and it is a divine example of some of the best rock sounds of the era that this album came from. The tracks are stunning and keep a consistent pace and style that makes the album deeply enjoyable and wholeheartedly gorgeous to listen to at every turn that it may have.

'Razorblade Romance' gets nearly half of its charm from how deeply stylized and downright stylish the album is as a whole. It's a stunning portrait of the band from the very minute the album kicks off, and it doesn't let up from it's shimmering sound for even a second; with even the slower songs adding the the beauty of an album that can snap between slow & sweet and dark & heavy in an instant.

The album truly covers all bases with each track being unique from the last while keeping a generalized sense of coherency throughout the project, and it's a stunning album where all of the songs are truly on the same level. It's near impossible to put one track against another, and it's a true experience of an album that feels like more than just an album - it feels as if you are being invited for a while longer to absorb the music, leaving you coming back for more at any given chance.

Never in my life have I heard an album with songs that make me feel anything quite like the ones presented on 'Razorblade Romance', and it's truly a timeless album that has held up magnificently well for being decades old. It's a truly gorgeous album with each twist and turn that it presents, with the tracks coming together into a much bigger picture that almost can not be topped.

It's a deeply emotional and loving album that will wrap you up in its gothic tenderness without letting you go - with moments of softness amongst the rough, 'Razorblade Romance' is easily one of the most stunning alternative-goth albums possible.