[Bear Blog Carnival] Razorblade Romance
This is blogpost for this months Bear Blog Carnival: An album that got you through a hard time.
I wouldn't say my childhood was tough (there were people who had it worse than me), but I got picked on. I was skinny. I didn't care about what was cool to wear. I wasn't into sports, and not very athletic either. Which was everything that mattered were I grew up. I was shy and had few friends that I really connected with. Computers and music was my escape.
Music has always been a big part of my life. My father is a musician so naturally we used to play a lot of music at home. Listening to radio, playing CD's or him practicing in the basement. My sister taught me how to download music from Napster and burn my own CD's. I listened to whatever was popular on radio at the time. No particular band.
The first band that really got to me was HIM. I got a ripped copy of Razorblade Romance from one of the guys in my neighborhood. From only listening to pop and techno I completely shifted to rock and metal.
On my bedside table I had a tiny portable CD player. I remember listening to Razorblade Romance every night before falling asleep for months. It gave me a sense of comfort. The soft deep calming voice of Ville Valo. My mom always thought it was weird that I could fall asleep listening to rock and metal.
Most of HIM's songs falls under the genre "love metal". The album was released in 2000 and is what sparked their popularity. It consist of catchy hooks and easy to remember melodies with a dark gothic theme. Their lyrics is filled with romance and doom. As a soon to be teenager that felt a little down it resonated with me perfectly.
After switching genre I discovered so many great artists (that I still listen to today). Through rock music I found my community of like minded. Both online and at school. It kick-started my transition into youth, and I met many interesting people. Some of whom became good friends to this day.
I started to realize that I didn't have to be like everyone else. I was kinda proud of being different. It probably sounds kinda cheesy, but finding this album at this time has shaped who I am today. It helped me to find my place and my people.
The album still holds a special place in my heart today. Whenever I feel down or want to take a trip down memory lane I whip out my iPod Mini and listen to Razorblade Romance.