Ville Hermanni Valo (born 22 November 1976) is a Finnish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist and main songwriter of the Finnish gothic rock band HIM. Influenced by the likes of Black Sabbath and Type O Negative, Valo began his career playing bass and drums in various bands around Helsinki, before forming HIM in 1991. The band would go on to become one of the most commercially successful Finnish bands of all time, and the first to receive a gold record in the United States. Valo is also credited as the creator of the heartagram, the trademarked symbol of HIM. The band announced their plans to retire following a farewell tour, and played their final show on New Year's Eve 2017.