Former HIM Singer VILLE VALO Says IRON MAIDEN In 1986 Was The First Concert He Ever Went To

Former HIM frontman Ville Valo was recently asked by Impericon to name the top three concerts he has ever seen. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "My first big concert was IRON MAIDEN who played in Helsinki Ice Hall. I think it was '86. They were touring an album called 'Somewhere In Time' and they had W.A.S.P. as their support act. And that was the first concert I ever went to. I still have the t-shirt; I spent all my weekly allowance for the t-shirt. It's a bit small — it would look funny on me these days — but I'm hoping to meet the guys at some point so I can ask them to sign it. That'd be great. But that was a big deal for me.

"In a similar vein would be KISS when they did their reunion tour," he continued. "So we took the ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm. I think it was '96. [They] were putting the masks back on and doing the old '70s sort of show. That was such a big deal. And we had such a blast going there. I think it was two hundred or three hundred KISS fans from Finland, and we sort of took over the ferry, and it was all about just KISS, KISS, KISS and KISS. And it was an amazing experience. And also I got to see them really close — up close to the stage; I was maybe ten meters away from the stage — and it was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.

"The third one… There was a lot of good ones. I'd say… I can't remember the year; it was in the late '90s. It was MONSTER MAGNET," Ville added. "It was a funny incident. I was partying with the band who had the tickets for the gig, but they all passed out, so I was able to get one of those tickets and actually go in there. And I was let in. And I think I was 17, and the place was over 18 only. So I remember that gig, because then… I was so drunk too, but it was amazing."

Valo's debut solo album, "Neon Noir", will arrive on January 13 via Heartagram Records, distributed by UMG/Spinefarm.

Ville has released three singles so far from "Neon Noir": "The Foreverlost", "Echolocate Your Love", and "Loveletting". The latter marked Ville's first new music in over two years, following the release of the three-track "Gothica Fennica Vol. 1" EP, also released under the VV banner, in March 2020.

Like "Echolocate Your Love" and "Loveletting", "Gothica Fennica Vol. 1" bore a strong musical resemblance to HIM and featured the tracks "Salute The Sanguine", "Run Away From The Sun" and "Saturnine Saturnalia".

HIM completed a farewell tour in 2017, closing the final chapter on the band's 26-year career.

Formed in 1991 by Valo, guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen, HIM offered the world a new take on the metal genre, which became known as "love metal" (also the title of their fourth album).

HIM in 2015 parted ways with its longtime drummer, Mika Kristian Karppinen (a.k.a. Gas Lipstick),and replaced him with Jukka "Kosmo" Kröger (formerly of HERRA YLPPÖ & IHMISET).

Three years ago, Valo teamed up with guitar legend Esa Pulliainen to record an album based on songs by the late, legendary Finnish singer Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki. The self-titled album by VILLE VALO & AGENTS was released in February 2019 and was followed by a short tour.

Photo credit: Juha Mustonen