Founder of the love-metal genre and legendary goth-rock band HIM, Ville Valo made a remarkable return with his debut solo album Neon Noir. Leaning towards a more synth-powered beat than the heavy metal background HIM was known for, Valo still captures that ethereal dramatic coolness in his music.
“Echolocate Your Love” is the first track on Neon Noir, a beautiful hymn orchestrated in a ferocious bass drum, contagious opening riff, and deeply moving vocals. Powerful in all the right parts, this song finds a raging energy in the chorus and a calm serenity in the verses, an entrancing mixture made perfect by Valo’s skill as a singer, fluctuating his tone in an effortless manner.
“Run Away From the Sun” follows, a gothic serenade—one of many on this album—loaded with heartfelt lines of poetry, a love song comparable to the likes of Poe or Tennyson but played to a heavy metal orchestra.
The title track comes in third, chiming in with a mystical opening riff. “Come love me until it hurts,” is a lyric that can touch anyone’s soul who has known heartache and love.
The synth is strong in “The Foreverlost,” making excellent use of all instrumentals so each one is prominently heard. The drums give off an eighties dark-wave beat making this one of the dance tracks off Neon Noir.
The keys create the substantial part of the dance rhythm for the next song “Baby Lacrimarium.” These last couple songs together mixed with the synth-based instrumentals and flowing choruses separate Valo’s work from HIM masterfully, proving his talents and creative vision in different genres.
While some songs may mirror each other on Neon Noir, “Salute the Sanguine” stands out with the simplistic yet stylish nu-metal tones, not to mention the fervent rhythmic beat on the bridge, coming closer to his previous work.
“In Trenodia” is another song that escapes the usual sounds of the album while still incorporating the haunting yet effervescent themes that make Neon Noir what it is. “In Trenodia” focuses more solely on the vocals and harmonizations, setting a spotlight on Valo’s recognizably deep and soothing resonance.
“Heartful of Ghosts” slows things down in a sorrowful ballad with an emphasis on drums and the electrifying guitar riffs.
Mystery and intrigue generate the ambience of the wordless “Zener Solitaire,” a whimsical orchestration not unlike something you’d hear playing on an organ in a haunted mansion. This leads to the last track on the album, “Vertigo Eyes” with an intro prominent in a heavy bass drum and slow build of evocative croons and drifting melodies. A dramatic finish to a cleverly-crafted masterpiece of an album, would you expect anything less from HIM’s leading man?
While fans were able to get an advanced taste with early singles released on streaming platforms, much of the album comes as a treat for those who had been awaiting his solo material. Ville Valo has without a doubt become one of the most familiar voices in metal and modern hard rock of the past twenty years, fabricating his own path in kicking off the love-metal genre and crafting unique and vividly passionate hymns of romance and woeful tales. A generation’s guide into metal, Valo is a master of storytelling and with Neon Noir he’s proven there’s more to explore in his creative forces beyond what we’ve previously heard.
I’m Music Magazine Writer Alice Kearney
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