The first single, "All Lips Go Blue," begins with a riff worthy of Black Sabbath, but while keyboards and guitars fight for dominance, Valo talks about literally loving someone to death in a '60s pop tune. Speaking of Sabbath (the H.I.M. guitarist is married to Tony Iommi's daughter), they pay formal homage by appropriating a riff from "A National Acrobat" into "Love Without Tears." The song "Into the Night" begins with rougher guitar overdubs, but quickly transitions into melodic, romantic 80's hi-hat metal. "No Love" attempts to ditch the lyricism in favour of full-on riff metal reminiscent of Dio's best moments, but fails due to the ballad-like nature of the hook. "W.L.S.S.T.D." becomes an even closer thanks to its slow tempo, martial drums and atmospheric keyboards; even at its most ominous, Valo's growl is so sad it sounds like a schoolboy being abandoned, and H.I.M. are incapable of writing songs without proper hooks. Tears on Tape is exactly what fans of the band seem to demand: a tragic, almost ghoul-like fascination with love and death, combining gothic pop romanticism with heavy rock. How many more albums like this do we need? H.I.M. seem to be laying down a lot here; and with the band being over 20 years old and having released numerous albums and singles, who's going to argue?
- Thom Jurek. allmusic.com
