LIVE REVIEW: HIM @ Rock City, Nottingham

WORDS: Emily Coulter PHOTOS: Emily Coulter

It’s a busy night for Nottingham’s premier venue Rock City tonight, part of their 35th Anniversary shows they have legendary band HIM playing the main hall this evening. The Finnish love metal band are playing their only UK show tonight which is sold out with dedicated fans, some of which have been waiting since the early hours of the morning.

Supporting HIM tonight is EMPIRE, a rock band with a very unique sound and a vibrant vocalist. Despite the support being announced relativley last minute, the audience seemed to really enjoy them. Vocalist Joe Green has the charisma of a pure rockstar, dancing round the stage whilst singing his lungs out to various songs with guitarists James L’Esteve and Dave Thomas pulling out gigantic riffs to get the crowd excited. EMPIRE are certainly a band to watch out for, especially if you’re fan of hard rock with a pinch of funk.

Love metaller’s HIM finally enter the stage to a screaming audience to the music of Buried Alive By Love which had hardcore fans singing every single word which makes charismatic vocalist Ville Valo smile whilst singing. The one thing about HIM shows is that there is not 1 song where fans aren’t singing to every word, the band have one of the most dedicated fan bases in music.

Guitarist Mikko Lindstrom is still performing epic solo’s with all his heart, making the band’s cover of Wicked Game even more special with a one and a half minute solo. He maybe the quietest member of the band but once on the guitar he knows how to be loud. HIM‘s setlist comprises of fan loved hits such as Killing Loneliness, In Joy & Sorrow and Bleed Well which haven’t been heard live for a while but playing classic tracks like The Sacrament and Funeral Of Hearts got fans hearts racing. New drummer Jukka Kroger seems to have settled in well with the band and the fans seem to have embraced him too.

Overalll tonight has been a show to remember, EMPIRE pullled one hell of a show off despite the crowd not knowing what to expect and HIM sound even better than they have done in a few years with their best setlist to date.

Rating: 10/10

Check out our exclusive photo gallery of the night’s action in Nottingham: