HIM Frontman Says Having Gold-Selling Album In U.S. 'Made Our Parents Really Proud'

HIM's new album, "Venus Doom", is the follow-up to 2005's "Dark Light", which was certified gold in America for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

In a recent interview with the Artisan News Service, HIM frontman Ville Valo spoke about what it was like to be the first band from Finland to have a gold-selling album in the U.S.

"It made our parents really proud," he said. "It was all over the press in Finland. Nowadays achieving gold status anywhere in the world is pretty tough with illegal downloads and stuff like that. So, I feel happy, and… I don't know… kind of numb."

Ville also talked about how much the band is embracing touring the world and winning fans over.

"It's like being on mushrooms all the time," he explained. "You never know what's behind the next corner and you never know what's happening. Sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's terrible but that's what makes it exciting. It's like living in a Salvador Dali painting. Very few people have the possibility of doing that, so I'm embracing the opportunity to do that with all my power."