producer. The recording process lasted two months, after which the band flew to Los Angeles for two weeks to mix the album at Studio Scream with Tim Palmer, who had previously worked with Pearl Jam and U2 among others. Additional mixing for the tracks "Buried Alive by Love" and "Sweet Pandemonium" was done at Sphere Studios in London, while the album was mastered at Sterling Sound in New York by George Marino. The artwork for Love Metal was designed by Valo and Janne Uotila, and marks the first predominant use of the band's logo the heartagram, which was originally designed by Valo on his twentieth birthday in 1996. According to Valo, the inclusion of the heartagram on the cover was done as "a statement of intent [...] musically, visually and ideologically", as well as to "get the symbol across". The term "love metal" was coined by the band in the late-nineties as way to respond to peoples' difficulty categorizing HIM's music, and was chosen as the title of the album in order to explain to people what the term means, with Valo stating: "When somebody asks 'what is love metal', we can give him or her the album". Music and lyrics The overall sound of Love Metal was described by Ville Valo as being more "organic" and "dynamic" than some of the band's previous work, whilst at the same time containing elements from all their albums in one. He also described Love Metal as a "hats off" to the band's influences, such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Iggy Pop, as well as a reaction to the difficulties they faced during the making-of Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights. He elaborated, stating: "After what we considered a disappointment with Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, because there were so many chefs in the kitchen, we wanted to be a band [...] that we control what we do, and everybody else can fuck-off." Valo referred to Love Metal as a "moment of realization" for the band, stating: "This is what we are, and this is what we're going to do". He also described the album as the point where the group found "the identity of the band". "Buried Alive by Love" was one of the first songs composed for the album, and opens with a riff inspired by "Search and Destroy" by The Stooges, which Valo had written while on tour for Razorblade