IoMP 121: HIM - Are They Rock or Metal?
Some debates are friendly.
Some debates are heated.
And some debates involve shouting “LISTEN, LINDA” while aggressively defending Finnish goth heartbreak music.
This episode of Influencers of Metal tackles one of the most controversial entries in the Rock or Metal series yet: HIM.
Tom comes in swinging, arguing that if Ghost gets a metal pass, then Ville Valo and his leather-clad sadness deserve one too. Collin fires back, insisting HIM lives firmly in the shadowy realm of gothic rock—heavy, emotional, but not quite metal enough to cross the sacred threshold.
Along the way, the discussion spirals gloriously into the meaning of “Love Metal”, gothic rock vs gothic metal vs “what even is gothic anyway”, and why Wikipedia absolutely cannot be trusted with your emotional well-being.
👉 Listen now and decide for yourself: Rock? Metal? Or beautifully miserable limbo?
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