HIM Singer Reveals Rehab Hell

Ville Valo has revealed to Britain's Rock Sound magazine (web site) how he checked himself into rehab recently in order to avoid having heart failure. The HIM vocalist spent a couple of weeks detoxing "behind bars" after his drinking had escalated to a point where he said he had two options — die of heart failure or go into rehab. And he cites pressure of work as a key factor.

"It was more like detoxing, it was my first holiday in 15 years," laughed the singer. "I was feeling psychically fucking sick, tired, and depressed, and if I hadn't gone in there I would have been under more pressure to do more work. Something happens each and every day — a meeting about this, a meeting about that, several meetings a day; there is no way of stopping. You can't say, 'I won't do anything for two weeks.' I can't say that to myself because I feel bad for letting people down. So the best thing was for me to go into a place with gates, with no cell phone, proper food, and just no fuckin' booze or nothing. It was good for me."

And after the initial shock, Ville said he's reaping the benefits of his self-imposed Betty Ford duty.

"It was a test of patience for a couple of days, I was shivering and shaking like a leaf," he explained, "and then coming together with my real emotions as I haven't been sober in a real long time — the past 10 years. I have been sleeping like a fucking baby for the first time in 15 years!"

HIM's "Kiss of Dawn" video: