Before I realized it, and without any warning e-mails or cell-phone notifications, I found one of my childhood favorite bands (and one whom I greatly respect), HIM had decided to call it a career.

I missed them by two days in my home town—only to realize their final performance in the United States was to occur in New York on November 17th. I must here admit in my pseudo-anonymity that these gentlemen added a great deal of poetry and depth and meaning to my trivial and frivolous life. I’m happy to expand on this statement in a future post, but now, I merely wish to grieve for my lost idols.

On a lighter note, why don’t I get any emails when it pertains to things I care about, and yet receive hundreds of sheets of paper reminding me of a sale on chicken breasts? I’m a bit heart-broken. I thought there might be more time to catch them. I even imagined I’d flitter on to Europe to see them live. That said, I may indulge myself and splurge in order to see this amazing group in the Big Apple.

I can confidently say that the heart-wrenching (if not somewhat bordering on the melodramatic) lyrics of HIM made me a kinder and more compassionate person. Their strong humanist overtones are beyond question, and another facet that makes their music all-the-more inspiring:

“Her savior was never on a cross pierced with nails; Thirty pieces of silver never retraced her mistake; She’ll always be free from the arms of your sins; That made you weak as your world started crumbling—“ —From the song Venus (In Our Blood) “And I know my church is not of silver and gold; Its glory lies beyond judgment of souls; The commandments are of consolation and warmth—“ —From the song Sacrament (a personal favorite)



Though I work in different mediums, HIM has always been and remains an influence to my artistic approach. From the very bottom of my heart: farewell, HIM.

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Special thanks to Andrew Hall who runs the Patheos blog Laughing in Disbelief!