HIM: New Label Home Revealed; 'Tears On Tape' Release Date Announced

Razor & Tie has announced the signing of the Finnish rock band HIM (His Infernal Majesty) to its North American label roster. The band has completed work on their forthcoming new studio album, "Tears On Tape", which will be released on April 30 on Razor & Tie in North America and on April 29 on DoubleCross (Cooking Vinyl's specialist rock imprint) in the U.K. and Ireland.

HIM lead vocalist Ville Valo comments: "We're infernally glad to be dressed sharply enough for our dearest comrades in the U.S.(for once),R&T A-Go-Go!!!”

Razor & Tie A&R Executive Mike Gitter adds: "Few artists are able to tap into rock at its most emotional and forlorn and make it sound so damn uplifting and powerful. That's Ville Valo and HIM's stock-in-trade. They take the rawest of emotions and channel them into unforgettable anthems- invoking the spirit of great rock and roll in the process."

The "love metal" band's eighth official album, "Tears On Tape" was recorded at Helsinki's Finnvox Studios with longtime producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (APOCALYPTICA, AMORPHIS, MOONSPELL) and was mixed in London, England by Tim Palmer, who previously helmed 2005's "Dark Light" and 2007's "Venus Doom".

"Basically, we're making what I'd call 'modern retro,'" HIM singer Ville Valo told Revolver magazine about the musical direction of the new album, which he says will sound like "ROY ORBISON meeting METALLICA." "We wanted it to be nasty, fucked-up, and messy, and have that punk-rock attitude. But then on the other hand, it would also have that Roy Orbison naive, sentimental, dream-like quality."

According to Valo, HIM was originally scheduled to begin work on "Tears On Tape" at the end of 2011, but a repetitive-strain injury suffered by drummer Mika Kristian Karppinen (a.k.a. Gas Lipstick) — which left the skinsman unable to lift even a cup of coffee, much less pound a drum kit — forced the bandmembers to re-evaluate their desire to carry on.

"I think because he had the ailment, we had the opportunity to reassess what we had," Valo explained. "It was a miniscule existential crisis. We had to figure out what we really want to do and if we really like each other enough to continue through the hardest times-or do we want to call it a day?"

Asked about the meaning of the new HIM album title, Valo said, "For me, what it means is how songs —I'm not talking about our songs, but songs in general — can be milestones. You hear a song and it brings you to where you heard that song for the first time, or when it meant something really big to you. 'Tears On Tape' means that I appreciate the people who have really poured their souls and hearts out on tape, and showed that to the rest of the world for the better or for the worse. I wouldn't be here without those tears of Elvis Presley on tape."

HIM's current lineup is Ville Valo (vocals),Mikko "Linde" Lindström (guitar),Mikko "Migé" Paananen (bass),Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (keyboards),and Mika "Gas" Karppinen (drums). The band is managed by Seppo Vesterinen at Hinterland, Inc. and represented for U.S. touring by Justin Hirschman/AGI.

A formidable live act, the band will be announcing a U.S. tour next week and is already confirmed to perform at this year's U.K. Download festival in mid-June.

HIM performed a brand new song entitled "I Will Be The End Of You" during their headlining concert at the Helldone festival on December 29, 2012 at Tavastia in Helsinki, Finland. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.