HIM

This collection of alternate renditions of HIM's most beloved hits works brilliantly, a sort of velvet-lined, dark cabaret softening of the Finnish "love metal" band's arena-sized bombast. Pulled back to an intimate volume and given more weight in the mix, Ville Valo's voice is warm and dusky and just maudlin enough to keep fans swooning. Those vocals fit the low-key arrangement to these melancholy ballads as tightly as a coffin lid.