Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights is the third studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM, released 27 August 2001. The album was produced by Kevin Shirley, T. T. Oksala and HIM. The record had a troubled production, which lasted approximately eleven months. The prolonged recording process was partially due outside influences within the music industry hoping to repeat the success of HIM's previous album. As a result, Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights features a sleeker and more pop-oriented sound. It is the first HIM album to feature keyboardist Janne "Burton" Puurtinen.
Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights received mixed reviews from music critics. While some gave praise to the songwriting and Ville Valo's vocal performance, most were highly critical of the production and overall commercial sound. Despite this, Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights charted in seven countries, peaking at number one in Finland and Austria. It would later go platinum and gold, respectively. Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights was also the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200. Three singles were released, all of which reached the top two spots on the Finnish Singles Chart. The supporting tour for Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights lsaw HIM playing in the US for the first time, but overall strained the band to the point of nearly breaking up.
Production
HIM began demoing songs for its third album in the northern fall of 2000 at Petrax Studios in Hollola, with producer T. T. Oksala. Satisfied with the initial recordings, the band hoped to use them on the album, with additional overdubs being done at a later date. However, BMG, HIM's record label, disagreed, with Valo believing they wanted a more well-known producer working on the album instead of Oksala. BMG's Asko Kallonen refuted these claims, stating that he and the label were worried by the band's plan to release "essentially demos" so soon after an exhausting touring cycle for Razorblade Romance. Under pressure from BMG's international branches to repeat the success of Razorblade Romance, HIM was paired with producer Kevin Shirley, who had previously worked with Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and The Black Crowes, among others. While Shirley was excited to be working with the band, they were not entirely on board with his style of producing, in addition to the amount of money BMG had spent hiring him. However, Valo later admitted that some of Shirley's ideas did improve the songs.
The recording process for HIM's third album lasted approximately eleven months. This had a profound effect on the songs, with Valo later noting: "When we started recording the third album, we were into stoner rock and Black Sabbath [...] At the end we were into Neil Young and it shows on the record." In addition, several outside forces within the music industry contributed to the album's troubled production. According to Valo: "The industry wasn't expecting [Razorblade Romance] to be such a hit that it was, so it meant that now there was like seventeen thousand different A&R people from the record companies and whatnots in the studio, and everybody had an opinion." During the album's recording process, keyboardist Janne "Burton" Puurtinen replaced Jussi-Mikko "Juska" Salminen, who played his final show with HIM on 31 December 2000.
After recording finished, the album was sent to Randy Staub and Chris Lord-Alge to mix. Additional mixing was done by John Fryer, who had produced the band's previous album. The record was then mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York. The title Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights is a photography term, which Valo chose because of its yin and yang symbolism, that had been prominent in the band's previous album titles as well. The original proposed album cover was rejected by BMG's UK branch. Thus, Valo was flown out to London for a photoshoot with Rankin. The resulting album cover for Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights took inspiration from Lou Reed, Patti Smith, and late 1970s New York City art circles.