HIMgig


		HIM W/ Viking Skull @ Nottingham Rock City 31/01/04 reviewed by amy ********

	Viking Skull weren’t on that long. I’m pretty new to them so I didn't know any of their songs. They sounded like old school rock and roll. They did get the crowd going nicely and people seemed to know who they were. (Though I have to say to the singer Roddy, thanks for saying happy birthday to me.) Some of these guys are from Raging Speedhorn.

First thing you notice before the headlining band come on is how big their drum kit is. Three bass drums, each one having a letter on it spelling out HIM. Now that’s flash!
They played mostly songs off Love Metal such as 'The Sacrament' and 'Buried Alive By Love'. But the set was complete with songs from their older albuma. They played some off their best songs including 'Join Me In Death', ’Your Sweet 666’, ’Wicked Game’ and ’Pretending’ There was also a taster of their upcoming single, Neil Diamond cover 'Solitary Man'. Frontman Ville Valo was never without a cigarette in his hand. As one finished he'd light another one up. The keyboard sounded great with the rest of the music especially for 'The Sacrament'.
Ville Valo spoke to the crowd and made us feel like we'd known him for ages. Also he'd say random things while giving us a sweet smile and the horns.
This time the gig was sold out but the last time HIM had played at Rock city, there was only about 20 people there. This shows how much HIM have made an impact on the UK over the last year. Overall this gig was pretty good.