Following a long radio silence, Finland’s H.I.M. have announced the Bang & Whimper Tour 2017, closing the final chapter on their 26-year career. Frontman Ville Valo offers, “After quarter of a century of Love and Metal intertwined we sincerely feel H.I.M. has run its unnatural course and adieus must be said in order to make way for sights, scents and sounds yet unexplored. We completed the pattern, solved the puzzle and turned the key. Thank you."

Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko “Linde” Lindström and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen, HIM truly stand out as one of the rock world’s most unique acts. Beautifully blending metal, goth and hard rock with deep, thoughtful and moving lyrics, H.I.M. offered the world a new take on the metal genre, which became known as Love Metal (also the title of their fourth album).

Over the course of eight studio albums, H.I.M. captured the hearts and minds of fans across the globe, drawn by their irresistible and inimitable style. Under the banner of their Heartagram logo - a potent symbol encapsulating the juxtaposition of the light and dark, the fierce and forlorn, and the evil and love found in their music - H.I.M. filled venues and crashed charts the world over, collecting numerous awards, gracing countless magazine covers and becoming the first Finnish act to achieve Gold status in the US.

Now, four years after the release of their last studio album Tears On Tape, H.I.M. are saying farewell, taking in 14 countries across 35 shows for their final goodbye.

Bassist Mige shares, "At the end of 2017 we will be released into the wild. Before this event of great transformation, we would love to offer you one last chance to experience our live performances in His Majesty's service. It shall not be a weepfest, but a celebration of love metal in all its lovecraftian glory! See you there!"

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 16th at 10 AM, local time.

Tour dates:

October
24 - The Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ
25 - The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA
26 - House of Blues - Anaheim, CA
29 - Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO

November
2 - House of Blues - Houston, TX
3 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
5 - House of Blues - Orlando, FL
6 - The Buckhead Theatre - Atlanta, GA
7 - The Fillmore - Charlotte, NC
9 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD
10 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
11 - The Fillmore - Detroit, MI
13 - Rebel - Toronto, ON
15 - The Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA
17 - Hammerstein Ballroom - New York, NY

Helsinki Art Museum (HAM), Tuska Festival and Tiketti Galleria present a unique project at HAM corner by the most famous Finnish rock photographer, Ville Juurikkala. Juurikkala documents the legendary band H.I.M. as they prepare for their farewell tour in his project titled H.I.M.: Right Here In My Eyes. In addition to this project, Tuska Festival celebrates their 20th anniversary with another exhibition by Juurikkala in the Tiketti Galleria - a wider selection of Juurikkala’s photos portray the artists of this special year’s festival, including e.g. Amorphis, Apocalyptica, H.I.M. and Sonata Arctica.

Ville Juurikkala briefly explains the exhibition’s core idea: “The exhibition at HAM corner is a compilation of unforeseen photos – and this time I really mean photos not seen before. Even I haven’t seen them yet, as the events I will be documenting take place in the near future. I’m starting the photoshoot with the band this week and the last frames will be shot during Tuska.”

”I started photographing H.I.M. over a decade ago. I have since then worked with many international artists, including the likes of Slash of Guns N' Roses and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, but even those with much bigger sales are in my opinion nowhere near as charismatic as H.I.M.. It is because of this unique charisma I feel the best of my old photos are those featuring Ville Valo and H.I.M.. This view is backed up by all the feedback I’ve received from the people who’ve seen my work at exhibitions and elsewhere. Even so, we decided with Ville that we won’t build up this exhibition on the old stuff. What really matters is the here and now,” Juurikkala sums up.

“Ville Juurikkala is the best photographic hospice nurse for us: he’s good, gentle and crude," says Ville Valo.

Juurikkala’s photos of various Finnish artists of this year’s Tuska are at display in Tiketti Galleria. Besides H.I.M., the bands include Lost Society, Brother Firetribe and Sonata Arctica.

“The exhibition at Tiketti Galleria also includes a lot of interesting work. There are some already famous shots (for example, the H.I.M. picture from Tuska 20th anniversary poster and another anniversary photo of Apocalyptica) but there will also be a lot of new work from the upcoming weeks. There are photos from Perttu Kivilaakso’s wedding a few months back where Apocalyptica show a brighter side of the normally sinister band. There’s also the brand new promo pictures of Amorphis’ very new lineup. All in all this is the most recent and unique compilation of work I’ve put together for an exhibition,” Juurikkala adds.

More details at this location.