VV - Bristol Review

A long-standing wrong was righted this past Friday. Whilst the Finnish gothic rock band HIM were never one of my favourite bands of all time, they were nevertheless an important band during my teenage years. It was rare to turn on Kerrang! TV and not see one of their videos, and I listened to their classic albums quite a lot at the time. They are not a band that I have listened to as much in recent years, but HIM's influence on me is undeniable - and they were likely a gateway band for me when it came to the doomier end of metal and more 'traditional' gothic music. HIM made gothic and doom music accessible, and they are rightly regarded as a modern classic of the goth genre. The 'wrong' which I mentioned at the start of this piece was the fact that I never saw the band live before their 2017 split. I tried a couple of times to make a plan work, but they always fell apart for whatever reason - and then it was too late. I have been pretty lucky over the years and have seen most of the bands that I like live - or at least most of those that are still active. As such, HIM was a relatively rare omission - so I was gutted when they called it a day. The band's members all seemed to fade into the background after the split, too. I did wonder if they had genuinely retired, but then in 2020 the band's talismanic lead singer and driving force Ville Valo released three new songs under the name VV. In truth, these new songs were essentially HIM in all but name - and Valo's career was then 'properly' relaunched last year when he announced his debut solo album and its accompanying tour. The album, Neon Noir, dropped in January, and I liked it from the off. If it had been released under the HIM name I am not sure that many would have noticed the difference, and Valo seems intent on continuing the HIM sound under his own name. In truth, Valo essentially was HIM. Whilst not looking to take anything away from the band which brought his songs to life, Valo essentially wrote the whole HIM catalogue alone - and the band was always the vehicle for his distinctive voice and lyrics. VV should be seen as the continuation of HIM, then, so when I saw that his lengthy debut European tour contained a healthy number of UK shows I knew that this was the chance which I had been waiting for. As a show at the O2 Academy in Bristol fell on a Friday, I quickly snapped up tickets when they went on sale. The show ended up selling out, which is not a surprise given how popular HIM were, and I was happy to finally have the chance to see Valo live - particularly given how strong Neon Noir ended up being. Whilst not all of the O2 Academies are particularly great venues, I have always liked the one in Bristol - and I have visited it a number of times over the years. The sound is generally pretty good there for the most part, and it has a quite intimate feel despite it having a reasonable capacity. Given that there was only one support act, too, and the fact that they went on around an hour after the venue opened, I was actually able to catch the whole show this time. In recent years, the venue staff seem to let people in significantly slower than they used to - so much so that it is not uncommon to miss much of the first support band. This does annoy me, and I have complained about it before on this blog, but thankfully it was not a problem this time.

As mentioned, there was only support act - and that was the Icelandic trio Kælan Mikla. I am not really sure how to describe Kælan Mikla's music, but there was a lot of 1980s goth in their sound - as well as plenty of the darker side of synth-driven pop and some strong folk influences. Made up by three women (a singer, a bassist, and a multi-instrumentalist who also seemed to control the drum machines), Kælan Mikla certainly made an impression from the off. I think that it is fair to say that their music is not really my thing - but I enjoyed their set as, for me anyway, it was something pretty different from the norm. The music was generally synth-driven, with pulsing industrial drum machines underpinning everything - but the bass playing of Margrét Rósa was also important. She rarely played the bass in a traditional way, instead playing lead lines throughout, whilst frontwoman Laufey Soffía alternated between very gentle, angelic vocals and the occasional shriek. The more shrieking moments were surprisingly heavy in an industrial-esque way, particularly given how mechanised the drum machines often were, but much of the band's set was pretty atmospheric with lots of dense keyboards and gentle vocals. There were even some folky moments, too, with one of the early songs seeing multi-instrumentalist Sólveig Matthildur pulling out a flute for some excellent melodies. This song certainly stood out more than others as it was something different - and I would have actually liked to hear more from the band's folk side. The other thing to mention, too, is the fact that all of the band's lyrics were in Icelandic. I usually struggle with bands who do not sing in English, but given the overall vibe of Kælan Mikla the lack of English did not bother me. Icelandic is a language of which I have no comprehension and, in a way, that just pushed the atmosphere further - particularly during the somewhat heavier moments. The crowd in general seemed pretty receptive to Kælan Mikla's set, too. The cheers between each song were pretty healthy, and I think that most in attendance appreciated that they were seeing something a bit out of the ordinary. Whilst I would not say that I become a fan of Kælan Mikla, I certainly enjoyed their set - and it was great to see something different for me and be exposed to something new.

Half an hour or so following Kælan Mikla's set, the lights went down - and the newly-adapted version of HIM's iconic Heartagram logo, altered to fit Valo as a solo artist, lit up at the back of the stage. The four musicians that made up Valo's band; guitarists Mikki Virta and Sampo Sundström, bassist Juho Vehmanen, and drummer Risto Rikala; took to the stage - with the man himself walking out just in time to launch into Echolocate Your Love. I was not familiar with any of the musician's in Valo's band, but they all did admirably bringing both the music from his solo album and HIM to life. It was surprising that no keyboardist was in the band, which meant that all of the keyboards were pre-recorded, but some of the keyboard parts from the older songs were re-created on the guitar - which gave some of the HIM songs subtly different feel. The setlist was evenly split between old and new. Nine songs from Neon Noir and nine old HIM songs made up the 18 song set, and they were essentially alternated throughout. I assume this was help hold attention if there were some that were not familiar with Neon Noir - but the new songs were cheered by the crowd just as loudly as the classics. Neon Noir has been getting strong reviews, and it was great to hear so much of it live throughout the night - and it was also a real treat to hear plenty of HIM classics. The Funeral of Hearts was the first older track played, and the crowd went wild. It was around this time that I realised, too, how good the sound was. Valo's voice was crystal clear throughout, and he sounded great, too, whilst the band were the right mix of loud and quiet - depending on the need at the time. The heavier songs had real a punch, whilst the ballads felt suitably atmospheric. Generally the HIM songs played were from the poppier end of the band's catalogue - but this was likely due to Neon Noir generally being pretty poppy, too. I would have not complained if a couple more heavier tunes were played - but overall the setlist flowed nicely. Lots of singles featured early on, such as the new album's title track and the floaty Loveletting - whilst Right Here in My Arms proved to be a big sing-a-long. The heaviness was upped with a powerful version of Buried Alive by Love, but this was relatively short-lived as both In Trenodia and the sparse Heartful of Ghosts followed - with even the old favourite Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly being more pop than metal. The poppier vibes meant that there was lots of singing, though, and the crowd always obliged. Join Me in Death featured plenty of during the chorus, whilst the up-tempo The Foreverlost saw plenty of bopping from those around me. The Kiss of Dawm then showcased Valo's doom influences, and it was a real personal highlight thanks to the riffing throughout - before the main set came to a close with two floatier songs. The sprawling ballad When Love and Death Embrace closed things out, showcasing Valo as a singer perfectly - before he walked off the stage to let the band play out. After a few minutes, the lights went down again and the band came back out for four more. Two of the original VV singles were featured here, with the doomy Saturnine Saturnalia closing the show out, but perhaps the overall highlight of the encore was a heavy version of HIM's Soul on Fire. Valo, who had not really spoken to the crowd at all throughout the show, took a chance to talk briefly and introduce the band before Saturnine Saturnalia - which was another highlight, with the band once again playing out after Valo had left the stage. The setlist was:

Zener Solitaire

Echolocate Your Love

The Funeral of Hearts [HIM material]

Neon Noir

Right Here in My Arms [HIM material]

Loveletting

Buried Live by Love [HIM material]

In Trenodia

Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly [HIM material]

Heartful of Ghosts

Join Me in Death [HIM material]

The Foreverlost

The Kiss of Dawn [HIM material]

Run Away from the Sun

When Love and Death Embrace [HIM material]

-

Soul on Fire [HIM material]

Salute the Sanguine

Poison Girl [HIM material]

Saturnine Saturnalia

Whilst Valo's music might no longer be as big a part of my life as it once was, I was so glad to finally get the chance to see him live. I will still regret never seeing HIM, but this past Friday's show in Bristol was as close to seeing HIM as I am likely to get. I imagine that Valo may wish to move away from playing as many HIM songs as his solo career moves forward - with this tour somewhat bridging the gap. The balance of material played was great, and the HIM songs played satisfied that part of me. I loved hearing almost all of Neon Noir live, too, and I really hope that the response to the album and the tour persuades Valo to keep going - as I would love to see him again.