HIM

HIM is a Finnish rock band from Helsink. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström, and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen, HIM's current lineup consists of Valo, Linde, Migé, Janne "Emerson Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards and Mika Karppinen on drums. They have released eight studio albums to date; their latest, titled Tears on Tape, was released April 26, 2013. On September 5, 2006, HIM's fifth studio album Dark Light was certified gold by the RIAA, making HIM the first Finnish band to have a gold album in the United States. HIM had five of their studio albums certified platinum in Finland with Razorblade Romance being certified double platinum in Finland and platinum in Germany.

Genre
HIM's genre is debated in some circles; on their album Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights, it says their genre is "alternative," but their musical style is also often referred to as "love metal" by Valo and by the group's fans. Valo has stated that the band started as a "Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts",.Some of their biggest influences include The Doors, The Stooges, Black Sabbath, Type O Negative, The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, Slayer, U2, Teathre Of Tragedy,  The Cult, Iron Maiden and Depeche Mode.

Critics have referred to them as glam, gothic metal,undefinedalternative metal, dark metal, and melodic doom.

In addition to "love metal", other self-described terms applied to the band by its members as well as journalists include "Goth 'n roll" and "Scandinavian blues".

Name origin and confusion
The band's original name was His Infernal Majesty, which was taken from The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey.undefinedThe name was also influenced by a Deicide song, as well as the reggae song "His Imperial Majesty." HIM, formerly 'His Infernal Majesty', is not to be confused with Infernäl Mäjesty, a Canadian thrash metal band, HiM, an American post-rock band. The band changed the name to HIM from the "Wicked Game" single onwards, though the single for "Your Sweet Six Six Six" includes a 'His Infernal Majesty' sticker. Their second studio album, Razorblade Romance, was released under the name HER in the United States because the Chicago-based post-rock band named HiM held the trademark on the name. HIM eventually bought the rights to the name "HIM" in the United States and used it worldwide from there on.