Despite his sobriety, HIM front man Ville Valo still believes in the power of being a bohemian artist. The band goes back to poppier tones with their new album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, but you can’t call it calculated commercialism.

The basic facts about HIM, which released their debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 in 1997, are probably known to most Finnish pop culture enthusiasts. The rise to success, which started with the hit song Join Me off the Razorblade Romance album, has led to world tours, the first gold record for a Finnish band in the US, and so on.

Many Finnish music industry professionals have with their statements built a picture of Ville Valo where he is a rock industry genius holding all the strings.

- My knowledge has to do with music and maybe the visual stuff, album covers and such. It’s good to be aware of what’s going on, but I’m not interested in the business stuff or budgets. Who cares how much our videos have cost or other stuff like that, Valo clarifies.

- I can think about more freaky stuff, and then there are the people who keep me in check. That you can’t make the record a square because then it won’t fit in the CD players. It’s nice to be able to let your imagination and ideas fly, and then someone is holding me by the collar, also outside the bed room.

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