HIM's VILLE VALO Talks New Drummer, Upcoming Studio Album (Video)

MDR Jump conducted an interview with vocalist Ville Valo of Finnish "love" metallers HIM before the band's August 4 concert in Leipzig, Germany. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked when fans can expect to see HIM's follow-up to 2013's "Tears On Tape" album, Ville said: "Hopefully it's gonna happen sometime next year. It's an interesting time for us, since our previous drummer [Mika Kristian Karppinen, a.k.a. Gas Lipstick] left the band in February. So now we have a new guy [Jukka 'Kosmo' Kröger, formerly of HERRA YLPPÖ & IHMISET], and that's also one of the reasons why we're not playing more gigs here in Germany. We're just doing a few shows to, kind of, like, test the waters, see how the chemistry works within the band with a new guy. And everything is going splendid, which is great, because [replacing a longtime drummer is] not the easiest thing. We had the same drummer for fifteen years, and then, all of a sudden, now we have to find somebody who would actually fill that hole, so to speak. But he's doing a great job. So, hopefully, yeah, we go back home in about a week, and then start, little by little, working on the new stuff — which would mean that, if we're lucky, it would be out in a year. So, Christmas next year, I'd say."

Kröger made his live debut with HIM on July 25 during a surprise performance at the Qstock festival in Oulu, Finland. The concert was originally billed as a gig by RAMBO RIMBAUD, the solo project of Ville Valo.

Gas announced his exit from HIM in January, explaining: "I simply feel that it's time for me to move on as a musician." He added that "during the final stages of [HIM's] last tour, [I noticed] that my heart was not in it 100% anymore… If my heart feels that it's time to let it go, then I have to listen, because otherwise it wouldn't be right towards myself, the rest of the band or you wonderful fans. It would end up being a forced effort and I can't perform or create like that."

"Tears On Tape" sold 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 15 on The Billboard 200 chart.

HIM has been a band for 23 years, releasing eight studio albums to date, of which their fifth LP, "Dark Light", was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America),making them the first Finnish rock band to have a gold album in the United States. They have had five of their studio albums certified platinum in Finland, with "Razorblade Romance" being certified double platinum in Finland and platinum in Germany.