A lot of people have the propensity to give H.I.M. unnecessary doses of grief simply because of the band's friendship and professional allegiance to pro skater Bam Margera.

What's unfortunate about this is that H.I.M. actually produces dramatic metal of high sonic quality, and once again Love Metal further reinforces that notion.

Going one better than Razorblade Romance, Ville Valo and company waste no time bringing out the big guns with "Buried Alive By Love," which easily measures up to the group's most well-known moments.

The songwriting is as strong as it has been in quite some time and a newly found sense of urgency keeps the record going at a well-tempered pace.

For die-hard fans, this is the album H.I.M. has been struggling to make and realize for quite a while, and even the aforementioned detractors of the group would be well served by giving this record a spin.