How would you have wanted Screamworks Produced?

[SIRJARVIS01]

I think the album is off the chart, the only weak point is the production/ mixing. Loved the way the songs were played live though. I feel like they should've made it a much darker tone. Maybe tune down the songs to the way they played at the Orpheum and instead of poppy keyboards, added something a little more "Gothic" eg. a Grand Piano for Heartkiller. Maybe an organ on Love the hardest way...just my own opinion though....love to talk HIM with all you guys! Thank you for welcoming me into the group!

[616]

Shatter Me With Hope (Sword Of Democles) - this version was made by Hiili. That is my answer how they should have made the entire Screamworks. I only like Foreboding Sense from the actual album - it is good as it is.
Even demos are better than album versions. They over-polished the entire album. But its "colourful", i like the song order. But the entire 2010 live year was a disaster for me. After Rock AM Ring i had a chance to see them in Vienna at Donauinselfest which is free - you just dont have to pay for the tickets - and Vienna is only a step from me. I was not interested - i dont regret it. I only regret that i was not in Vienna to see them live in 2006 and 2008.....

[SilverLiningBE]

I couldn't agree more, album over-polished and disastrous live performances...

I would love to listen to the demo version of every song! Because I love the musical "vibe" (not the word I am looking for but I am gonna go with this one) and the lyrics of this album. Although it sounds great while driving my car

[Inferno]

After ripping all my Vinyls I found that Screamworks was easily the best sounding to my ears. The keyboards were top-notch and the soundstage was perfect and clear enough to pick out each instrument and not a muddy mess like some music can be. Dark Light definitely started that trend, but while it was similar it wasn't quite as refined in my opinion. Maybe it's just the audiophile in me, but I liked how it was produced. When you listen to both versions of Shatter me with Hope you can see how they differ... In Hili's version the guitars are more prominent and the keyboards are very subtle, but I prefer it the other way. And even though I find it to be the best sounding it's not my favorite album... it actually ranks in the middle with DS&BH, RR, and LM being my top 3 in that order. With that been said I think that maybe it's not so much the production of the music that you guys dislike, but the sound of the guitars and the music being more up-beat. I think that if everything were either slowed down a tiny bit or the guitars were deeper/darker then we wouldn't be having this discussion lol.

[DarkSecret666]

I just listened to Hiili's version of Shatter Me With Hope, and I like it more than the album. It's because of its drum and guitar sounds. It's more like Linde's main sound, more gain and fuzz than on the actual album. Screamworks is not a bad album, but it doesn't fit my top 5 either. It is very true that the sound is pretty clear, but with the layered keyboard tracks it kinda sounds more "pop-ish". I like the heavier HIM.

[Squeezit Wafflenose]

I actually enjoy Screamworks a lot. Yes, the keyboards sound cheesy here and there (particularly in the song Scared to Death), but they were supposedly meant to. The sound is fresh and full of vitality, even if overproduced (Valo likes it overproduced anyway). Overproduction annoys me much more on Venus Doom, which should have sounded more raw, dirtier than it does. The guys seem to be on fire on Screamworks, unlike on the dull Tears on Tape.

[DSC5LU]

Exactly how it is. Everyone bitches about it because it's not the same old same old goth-tinged bullshit, but it's a strong album. It's probably my favourite since it feels much more personal and less about contractual obligation than any of the others.

[SIRJARVIS01]

it's quite funny you feel that way since right after it was released they left WB Records. I think they had too much of a Contract obligation if you ask me....Hilli shouldve produced the whole album or at least co-produced

[AcousticFuneral]

They released SWRMXS to finish their Sire contract and the news of them leaving was released in March 2011. As far as I'm conercerned the album was perfect, different but the music and lyrics complimented each other perfectly. Screamworks that is not SWRMXS, that was a pile of shit.

[DSC5LU]

it's quite funny you feel that way since right after it was released they left WB Records. I think they had too much of a Contract obligation if you ask me....Hilli shouldve produced the whole album or at least co-produced

Honestly, I think everyone idolises Hiili Hiilesmaa a bit too much. The guy has a huge back catalog, but most of it is shit. The few iconic albums he has worked on are arguably more restrained, polished, and commercial than anything else in those bands' respective catalogs. Listening to the early demos of the Screamworks songs, they were already much less metal than previous works, so I don't understand how anyone can argue that he would have coaxed a heavier performance out of them.

[666WTLOnVinylFTW]

You ask a non-HIM fan who Hiili Hiilesmaa is - hell, you can probably even ask the majority of HIM fans - and they'll have absolutely no idea. And rightfully so.

[Squeezit Wafflenose]

The only Hiili-produced HIM releases that I truly enjoy are the 666WTL EP, GLSV666 and VD - Love Metal is overproduced (in fact, so is VD, but I still love it for its heaviness) and ToT is sinfully boring, an example of a band self-plagiarising themselves.