THE BAND: Ville Valo (vocals), Mikko Lindstrom (guitars), Mikko "Mige" Paananen (bass), Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (keyboards), Antto Melasniemi (keyboards), Jussi-Mikko "Juska" Salminen (keyboards), Mika "Gas" Karppinen (drums), Juhana Tuomas "Pätkä" Rantala (drums). H.I.M. - His Infernal Majesty. Origin: Finland.

THE DISC: (2004) 16 songs clocking in at approximately 67 minutes. Included with the disc is a 9-page foldout containing one band photo, song credits, and a poster of Valo on the reverse side. All songs written by Valo, except for "Wicked Game" (Chris Isaak) and Solitary Man (Neil Diamond). As the title of the disc states, this compilation follows the band from 1997-2004 (only). Also - there is special edition version of this album available - with a 2nd disc (DVD) featuring 6 live songs from Helsinki's Semifinal Club. Label - Universal Republic / BMG Finland.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Greatest Love Songs - Vol. 666 (1 song), Razorblade Romance (6), Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights (4), Love Metal (3), Unreleased (2). Two songs ("Your Sweet Six Six Six" and "Wicked Game") originally appeared on "Greatest Love Songs - Vol. 666" but were rerecorded and presented on "Razorblade Romance". The versions from "Razorblade Romance" are featured here.

COMMENTS: Unfamiliar with H.I.M.? Try this one. There are a few other H.I.M. compilations out there, but I feel this one is the broadest and best. In addition, "And Love Said No - The Greatest Hits" gives you all studio cuts, verses others mixing live and/or alternate takes of the same songs. THE GOOD: A great selection of songs. I couldn't have picked the tracks any better. The standards are all here - "Join Me In Death", "Buried Alive By Love", "In Joy And Sorrow", "Your Sweet 666", "The Sacrament", "Poison Girl", "Heartache Every Moment", stc. Since "Dark Light" and "Venus Doom" weren't released at the time of this compilation, I won't get into how it's missing tracks from these two outstanding albums. The two new songs are solid. "And Love Said No" is a mid-tempo rocker that will soon become one of your all-time favorite H.I.M. tunes. The 2nd is a cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man". Since I was never a big fan of Neil's, H.I.M.'s faster, harder take on the song is creative and instantly likeable for me. Sound production is crisp (no muddiness at all when cranked up). THE NOT SO GOOD: The vast majority of music compilations are hit and miss. Not here - not much to complain about at all. I do feel that "Love Metal" is a strong album and perhaps underrepresented. Two "Love Metal" favorites of mine, though not hits, would fit right into the feel of this mix - "Beyond Redemption"" and the fast-paced "Soul On Fire". The liner notes are sparse - no song lyrics, and no listing of what songs came from which albums and/or year released. OVERALL: Even if you own all of H.I.M.'s studio albums, this "And Love Said No - Greatest Hits" is essential. A couple of reasons: 1st - fans must have the two stellar unreleased songs in their collection, and 2nd - so many great tracks all in one place. Solid (5 stars).

I absolutely fell in love with HIM last fall when my friend "introduced" the music to me. It took a few weeks, but by now they are my favorite band by far. I can't get enough of the songs on this compilation. The newest cover, "Solitary Man" adds everything that Neil Diamond didn't do when it was originally written; I even let me parents listen to the cover and they think that its great.

I have recommended this compilation to all of my friends, and several of them have either started listening to HIM little by little thereafter or have simply fallen in love with the band. I could not have been happier with this compilation and am looking forward to the rest of HIM's career as well as the July release of Venus Doom.

This three year-old European compilation was just released in the States, and it provides a handy overview of HIM's homegrown Scandinavian love metal, which can be of interest to rock fans on the prowl for new sounds but who don't feel like diving into the proper albums. However, this collection of singles washes out the already miniscule creativity and excitement of the proper HIM albums. Ville Valo's goth romance is surely unique, but the band's musical backdrop rarely rises above slick and professional 80s arena metal. Nobody in the band except Valo makes an impression on the listener, and the performances are so polished and overproduced that no real advancement or growth can be detected in this collection, even though the tracks were recorded over a period of seven years and four studio albums. Bland riffs and uninspired rhythms are often unsuccessfully spruced up with annoying piano or keyboard squiggles, as in "Join Me in Death," "Heartache Every Moment," and "When Love and Death Embrace," and weak guitar solos almost always mimic the vocal melodies from the verses. Even worse, the band's awful ballads such as "Gone with the Sin" and "Close to the Flame" would induce the gag reflexes of even the most jaded hair metal swooners. This is all a shame because the band really can rock out when they feel like it, as in "Buried Alive by Love," "Right Here in My Arms," and their best-ever track "Your Sweet Six Six Six," indicating that the proper HIM albums should be explored for true love metal treasures. Granted, HIM are of interest due to the distinct outlook and intriguing personality of Ville Valo, but this collection does little to enhance the band's unimpressive chops. [~doomsdayer520~]

HIM is a band that has been around in Europe for a long time - and yes, there is a reason for all the hype!Forget about the 3-star review - afterall, the reviewer even admits to just checking them out. But your common sense should tell you that no band can be judged fairly based on any one CD - most especially a greatest hits one!This is a hard-working band who has paid their dues, and they deserve the attention they're finally getting in the states - but the attention isn't new to them. They have had a huge fan-base in Europe for years now. To respond to the overkill of the lead singer's presence on this and most of the other CD's, Ville Valo has said:If my look sells the band, fine. If it doesn't, fine.(loosely quoted!)Another thing Ville has said, again, loosely quoted:We do not wish to be artistically confined by a trying to fit into a genre "label". But to try to appease an apparent need that we humans have for making everything fit into a nice box, the band came up with a label for themselves: "Love Metal". You won't hear too much of the "metal" on this collection, though.Just understand that like any greatest hits album, you are getting what the record label deemed the most "sell-able" hits, and not necessarily some of the pieces that would really give you an authentic feel for what this band is about.This collection does come close to being a collection of love songs; rest assured that Him does much more than that...you are getting the pretty, polished-up version of the band here.And I still think this collection is a MUST-HAVE! You'll get a great taste of Ville's incredible gift for turning a poetic phrase, and hitting those high-notes like a soprano from the Vienna Boys Choir. His voice can be downright lovely...But if you really like this, then do yourself the justice of trying Love Metalor Dark Light next. Or if you want to jump right into the gritty side of the band, go for Venus Doom. You almost won't believe you're listening to the same band you hear on this CD.But you'll be getting a much broader sense of what this band is all about and why they keep adding to their base of die-hard fans!They are truly versatile and no matter who they might remind you of, in the end, they have turned out to be their own entity. I am expecting to see this band continue to evolve and explore more sounds for a long, long time before their "career has run its course"!Now give 'em a listen and decide for yourself!Meanwhile, I'm giving this collection the 5 stars it deserves!!FALL FOR THE HYPE - YOU'LL LOVE IT!

AND LOVE SAID NO: THE GREATEST HITS 1997-2004 is obviously H.I.M.'s first-ever greatest hits compilation, featuring only the best of H.I.M.'s music, featuring that of two brand new songs entitled, "And Love Said No", which turned out to be the album's title track and first single release, and "Solitary Man", a cover of Neil Diamond's original, the album's second single release. The rest of the album is jam packed with H.I.M.'s greatest hits from 1997 (GREATEST LOVESONGS VOL. 666) to 2004 (LOVE METAL).

AND LOVE SAID NO
New song. First single from the album. One hell of a tune. The song is perfect to start off the album, as well as be the album's first single release.

JOIN ME IN DEATH (Razorblade Mix)
"Razorblade Mix" from the album RAZORBLADE ROMANCE. Awesome remix.

BURIED ALIVE BY LOVE
From the album LOVE METAL (2003). Great song.

HEARTACHE EVERY MOMENT
From the album DEEP SHADOWS AND BRILLIANT HIGHLIGHTS (2001). One of my favorites.

SOLITARY MAN
New song. Second single from the album. Great cover, but I never liked Neil Diamond.

RIGHT HERE IN MY ARMS
From the album RAZORBLADE ROMANCE (1999). Another great one.

THE FUNERAL OF HEARTS
From the album LOVE METAL (2003). Awesome tune.

IN JOY AND SORROW
From the album DEEP SHADOWS AND BRILLIANT HIGHLIGHTS (2001). Great song.

YOUR SWEET SIX SIX SIX (Re-Recorded Version)
Original version from the album GREATEST LOVE SONGS VOL. 666 (1997). Re-Recorded Version from the album RAZORBLADE ROMANCE (1999). Whether I'm hearing this version or the album version, I still bounce my head to this one. Awesome tune.

GONE WITH THE SIN
From the album RAZORBLADE ROMANCE (1999). Seems as though the RAZORBLADE ROMANCE album was H.I.M's most popular album. Great song.

WICKED GAME (Re-Recorded Version)
Original version from the album GREATEST LOVE SONGS VOL. 666 (1997). Re-recorded version from the album RAZORBLADE ROMANCE (1999). Awesome cover.

THE SACRAMENT
From the album LOVE METAL (2003). Great song.

CLOSE TO THE FLAME
From the album DEEP SHADOWS AND BRILLIANT HIGHLIGHTS (2001). Awesome tune.

POISON GIRL
From the album RAZORBLADE ROMANCE (1999). Awesome tune, describing how some girls can be deadly poison.

PRETENDING
From the album DEEP SHADOWS AND BRILLIANT HIGHLIGHTS (2001). Awesome tune.

WHEN LOVE AND DEATH EMBRACE
From the album GREATEST LOVE SONGS VOL. 666 (1997). Great song.