LIVE REVIEW: Ville Valo @ Royal Albert Hall, London
After rising from the dead following HIM’s departure, it’s time for VILLE VALO to disappear into the night again. In London’s storied Royal Albert Hall, he brings to close a successful second act that has seen him play upwards of 140 shows on the back of Neon Noir, his solo record that elevated his love metal legacy. The only nod to this sense of occasion though is when, before heading off to who knows where to do who knows what, he says it’s “on to pastures new” and “we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Before all that, spooky synths from ZETRA turn the palatial venue into something altogether grimier. Their industrial crunch is paired with otherworldly visuals; imagine THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE abducted by aliens. The duo dress in ceremonial black robes, hide behind black metal corpse paint, but like GHOST, they use these extreme aesthetics as part of a vibe to amplify the mysterious character of their 80s-infused synth rock. Two robed dancers add to the psychedelic weirdness, contorting in staccato rhythms as if possessed or in worship. Serena Cherry of SVALBARD joins them for the recently released Starfall, who complements the band’s tuneful hooks with some guttural ferocity. ZETRA have been putting the reps in as they build to the release of their debut full-length in September, opening large rooms on this tour and smaller clubs on a recent run with CREEPER and with A.A. WILLIAMS in 2023. Committing to a shtick has worked for the likes of SLEEP TOKEN, and ZETRA appear to be making all the right moves.
Rating: 7/10
Back down on earth, EIVØR plays music to be felt, not understood – literally, she introduces a song with “it’s all in Faroese, you won’t understand it”. She opened for HEILUNG on last year’s UK tour as a solo act, but tonight she has a full band, giving depth to her cinematic Nordic folk. Her voice was built to fill arenas and is the star of the show, her crystal clear vowels ring out among the rafters before warping into deep growls and bird-like cheeps. It’s all very classy and would fit on a multitude of bills, as comfortable here on a night of gothic anthems as at a folk festival. She pounds on a shamanic drum like nature’s heartbeat, calling to mind her work on the God Of War video game and The Last Kingdom TV show. Where ZETRA pair with VALO’s rocking side, EIVØR is a fine fit alongside the beauty and elegance he has always favoured in music. It’s spine-tingling stuff.
Rating: 8/10
Speaking ahead of the final date of the Neon Noir tour, VALO said he wanted to light the Royal Albert Hall up, not hide it away like so many bands do with vast backdrops and intricate lighting rigs. Sure enough, other than the glowing Heartagram variant (with two Vs instead of HIM’s one), the major production prop is a disco ball that illuminates the whole room. It is simple but beautiful, which sums up VALO’s oeuvre as a solo musician and in HIM.
The night’s set alternates between a solo track and a HIM track, an effective way of maintaining momentum by never being more than one song away from a signature tune, but it also has the added benefit of highlighting his newer work’s strengths. There’s no real dip in quality between the one-two punch of Join Me In Death and The Foreverlost, the former a timeless classic, the latter an up-tempo goth-pop banger. When offered to take the lead, the crowd shout “kill the light” in solo hit Echolocate Your Love just as eagerly as when given the mic for a chorus of “buried alive by love”. One last time with Neon Noir cements it as a worthy addition to VILLE VALO’s catalogue, particularly when held up alongside HIM’s latter-day output which hinted at a creative force running out of steam. Here, at another finish line, he sounds full of life.
His presence has changed from the seductive poster boy of the early 2000s to a middle-aged crooner, dressed darkly in a flat cap and smart blazer. His songs are the show as he says and does very little, letting the music do the talking while occasionally bowing to his musicians in thanks after a solo. Despite the occasion, there are no real thrills. Yet the devotion he continues to inspire requires little else other than those songs, which he fires through without pausing for breath. Each one – old and new – is greeted with exhaustless fervour, fuelled by the gratitude that he returned after HIM and the sense of one last hurrah before his unknown future.
Walking the halls of the Royal Albert Hall before and after the show, the number of Heartagrams on t-shirts and skin go some way to explaining what VILLE VALO means to the thousands in attendance. His listeners want to identify themselves to him, to each other, to the world, and across almost three decades, that love has only deepened. When HIM dissolved, it felt time for the band to be put to rest. As VILLE VALO brings another chapter to a close, he might just well be on the creative form of his life.
Rating: 8/10
Check out the night’s action in London from Karolina Janikunaite here:
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