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Venus Doom, the latest offering from Finland's HIM, suffers from a sense of dulling uniformity. Ville Valo veers ever closer to the headbanger's answer to Marvin Gaye as he croons his way through a series of sound-alikes. Whether "Love in Cold Blood," "Dead Lover's Lane," "Cyanide Sun," or the titular track, each barely maintains its own sonic identity and each leads us to question what's so infernal or majestic about Valo and his band. That's not to say that there aren't fine moments to be found--Valo's attempt at channeling Leonard Cohen in "Song or Suicide" is noble if far too short; the epic, "Sleepwalking Past Hope," is promising and dynamic, if not entirely stunning. Valo also shows, as he long has, that he's a thoroughly capable vocalist and songwriter, albeit one who doesn't seem all that keen on challenging himself or his audience. --Jedd Beaudoin