Musically, Dark Light featured a more "polished" and "accessible" sound than previous albums, and was written as a cross between Black Sabbath and U2, also influenced by the work of composer Angelo Badalamenti.

[5] The band were faced with multiple distractions during the recording process, including dogs around the estate, as well as a Playboy video shoot.

[15] According to Valo, the band's approach on Dark Light was to make the songs sound more "cinematic, epic, and close to the listeners", inspired by the works of composer Angelo Badalamenti.

[12] "Vampire Heart" opens with a riff reminiscent of the theme to the 1978 film Halloween, while "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly" was described by Valo as a "link between 'She Sells Sanctuary' by The Cult and 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson".

[11][13] The lyrics were inspired by a legend of immortal souls possessing the wings of a butterfly, and talks about: "Whether you are willing enough to destroy something beautiful to gain yourself some power.

[10][20] Valo described "The Face of God" as "Achtung-era U2, with Queens of the Stone Age meeting the Satanic Bee Gees", and "In the Nightside of Eden" as the "prog rock" song of the album, which also makes mention of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

[13] The band's cover of "Poison Heart" by the Ramones features claps by Sire Records' co-founder Seymour Stein and A&R executive Michael Goldstone.

[33] The band were scheduled to begin a tour of the UK and Ireland in January 2006, but were forced to postpone it until February, after guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström fractured his wrist after Helldone.

[21] Two music videos were produced for the song, the latter of which featured a guest appearance by tattoo artist Kat Von D.[38][39] From May to June 2006, HIM toured the US with Aiden acting as support.

[1] Chris Ingold of musicOMH touted Dark Light as HIM's "most accessible album to date", containing "the powerful sense of identity and cohesion that has allowed the band to shamelessly rip-off all manner of classic rock moments yet always sound like themselves.

"[47] Rumba's Tapio Ahola gave the album five out of five stars, praising it as fulfilling the potential of the band, as well as featuring material "with more depth" than some of the group's other work.

[46] Vesa Sirén of Soundi described Valo's melodies as sounding even more like traditional Finnish schlager than before, and commended the arrangements as "precise" and "nuanced".

[48] Tero Valkonen of Helsingin Sanomat was positive in his review, singling out "Wings of a Butterfly" and "In the Nightside of Eden" as particular highlights, but did still criticize the album for following the same formula as the band's previous efforts.

[51] In 2017, Valo revisited Dark Light and described it as a "pretty experimental record" for the band, stating: "Finnish melancholia was brought to the middle of the sunny city of angels, and we forcefully tried wed them.

"[52] Loudwire later ranked Dark Light fourth in the band's discography, giving praise to the production and songwriting, while stating that "ultimately the 'dark' part of the title falls short of expectations.