Ville Hermanni Valo (pronounced [ˈʋilːe ˈʋɑlo] ⓘ; born 22 November 1976) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and musician.

Born and raised in Helsinki to a Hungarian mother and Finnish father, Valo began his career playing bass and drums in various bands around the city.

In 1991, he co-founded and became the lead singer and main songwriter of HIM, which would go on to become one of the most successful Finnish bands of all time and the first to receive a gold record in the United States.

Ville Hermanni Valo was born in Helsinki, Finland, on 22 November 1976,[1] the son of a Hungarian mother and a Finnish father.

[1] Valo's earliest musical memories pertain to his father, who would often listen to Finnish folk artists such as Tuomari Nurmio and Tapio Rautavaara while driving his taxi.

During lower secondary school, Valo attended the Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory, whilst playing bass and drums in various other bands as well.

[15] After being rejoined by Mige, as well as adding keyboardist Antto Melasniemi and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, His Infernal Majesty, now simply called HIM, released its debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol.

[16] In 2000, now with drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen and keyboardist Juska Salminen, HIM released Razorblade Romance, which reached the number one in Finland, Austria and Germany.

[17][18][19] After replacing Salminen with Janne "Burton" Puurtinen, the band released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001) and Love Metal (2003), which continued to further HIM's success across Europe.

While not as successful as its predecessor, it gave HIM its highest chart position in the United States and garnered the band its first and only Grammy nomination.

[23][24] After 2010's Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, HIM entered an extended hiatus after Gas Lipstick was forced to take medical leave.

[29] Over the course of his career, Valo has contributed to numerous releases by other artists, including The 69 Eyes, Anathema, Andy McCoy, Bloodhound Gang, Cradle of Filth, Jeff Walker, Lullacry, MGT, The Mission and Tehosekoitin.

[31] In 1999, Valo appeared as guest vocalist on the television show Laulava sydän, where he performed three songs with Finnish schlager group Agents.

[34][35] Valo and Ylönen performed the song with Apocalyptica live for the first and only time in January 2005 at the Yhteinen ASIA benefit concert for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

He performed the tracks "Kun minä kotoani läksin" and "Täällä Pohjantähden alla", the latter of which was a duet with famed Finnish singer Kari Tapio.

[36] In 2007, Valo and German actress-singer Natalia Avelon recorded a cover version of Lee Hazlewood's "Summer Wine" for the film Eight Miles High.

[44][45] At 2014 edition of Helldone, Valo made his solo live debut, when he performed a set of songs under the pseudonym Rambo Rimbaud.

[49] In 2017, Valo provided the soundtrack for the virtual reality video game Downward Spiral: Prologue by 3rd Eye Studios.

[51] In August 2018, it was announced that Valo would be reuniting with Agents to record songs (including previously unreleased ones) by late Finnish singer-songwriter Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki.

[75] Valo was then involved in a relationship with an undisclosed partner, who served as his main source of inspiration for HIM's 2010 album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice.

[82][83] In November 2004, the New York Post ran an article where Valo was accused of performing drunk at HIM's Irving Plaza concert.

Valo reportedly threw half empty beer cans across the stage in addition to slurring his words and forgetting the lyrics to songs.

He suffered minor injuries and was robbed of his jacket, asthma medicine, cigarettes, credit cards, and cell phone.

"[87] During the making of HIM's 2007 album Venus Doom, Valo's alcohol abuse worsened to the point where he was vomiting and defecating blood.

[88] On HIM's 2010 album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, Valo worked completely sober for the first time in the band's history.

"[93] Valo also takes inspiration from literature, but only certain aspects of it, explaining: "As a guy who writes songs, I get excited about an idea, or a book, or a sentence.

[22] Valo and the rest of HIM referred to the band's music as "love metal", the idea of which was to combine more melodic and melancholic elements with heavier influences.

[95] Valo's musical influences include Black Sabbath, Type O Negative,[95] Neil Young,[96] The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim,[97] Johnny Cash, Depeche Mode,[98] Elvis Presley, Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki, and Tapio Rautavaara.

Ville shone like a star with his blend of Mick Jagger posturing and Brandon Lee's dark charms in The Crow.

[69] A combination of a heart and a pentagram, it is meant to represent the juxtaposition of "the soft and the hard, the male and the female, the yin and the yang".