Neon Noir’s last dance: VV closed his world tour at London’s Royal Albert Hall

Author Karina Coss - 14.5.2024

Ville Valo’s world tour came to a phenomenal close at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall. After touring a great part of the planet, the creator of the renowned band, HIM, closed the first chapter of his history as a soloist and gave his album “Neon Noir” a memorable farewell.

The imposing London venue received Ville Valo with his band last Friday (May 10th), they were the first Finnish band to set foot on that stage.

“Thank you for all your support, thank you for keeping my dream alive, this is way better than winning the lottery”, said VV to the shouts and applause of a legion of devoted fans who did not skimp on showing him their affection.

Around five thousand people enjoyed the show which opened with Zetra, the duo with goth appearance and mysterious sound, who accompanied him on the last part of his tour. The impressive Eivør was in charge of continuing the evening with a performance that left the skin crawling on many of those present. The Faroese singer/songwriter’s act is something that no one should miss.

It was after 9:00 p.m. when VV appeared on stage, dressed in his signature outfit consisting of a black suit, converse sneakers and his inevitable flatcap. The smiling founder of the “Love Metal” concept stood before the deafening applause of his audience. Some of them were young people who had just met him with his solo project; many others, loyal fans who have followed his artistic path with HIM and now with this successful episode called Neon Noir.

Neon Noir, his debut album, took him to Australia, America, much of Europe and naturally, to several cities in his native Finland. The date in London marked the 151st show of an extensive and ambitious tour which culminated with a flourish, a production of such great magnitude that used all available resources to turn this tour finale into something truly magnificent.

The impeccable acoustic capacity of the Royal Albert Hall allowed Ville to showcase his voice even more than usual, that very same voice responsible for interpreting the lyrics that characterize the unmatched style of this kind of contemporary cursed poet.

The lighting of the venue with the VVgram as a prominent element was visually exquisite. The musicians who accompanied Valo on tour demonstrated their mastery resulting from more than a year and a half of performing not only the songs from the current album, but also those HIM classics inseparable from the heavy stamp from their original performers.

The 20-song setlist alternated new and old pieces, thus keeping the audience’s mood at a good level. With only one encore, Ville left the audience pleased but expectant; “I feel very privileged. It’s quite fantastic to be middle aged, sing about love and death and to actually have a few people who are still into it” he said ironically and modestly before an almost packed room.

Before presenting “When Love and Death Embrace“, Ville Valo said goodbye with an uncertain promise: “We gotta play one more number and off we go to greener pastures and… we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

With this closing, Ville adds to his credentials the adjective of legendary. He consolidates himself with his elegant artistic offer, more in substance than in form, with a talent that is time-tested, and with that personality capable of summoning hundreds of souls in more than a hundred cities around the world.

Ville Valo, a.k.a. VV, was crowned in London as the great Finnish export artist that he is, an artist whose enigma will always keep us on our toes towards what his next step is.

Setlist:

Neon Noir
Right Here in My Arms
Run Away From the Sun
Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly
Salute the Sanguine
The Kiss of Dawn
Loveletting
Buried Alive by Love
Heartful of Ghosts
Join Me in Death
The Foreverlost
The Funeral of Hearts
Echolocate Your Love
Poison Girl
Saturnine Saturnalia
Gone With the Sin
In Trenodia
Killing Loneliness
Baby Lacrimarium
When Love and Death Embrace