"The Kiss of Dawn" is a song by the Finnish band HIM, released 10 September 2007. It is the fourth track and first single from the 2007 album Venus Doom

Venus Doom

Venus Doom is the sixth studio album by Finnish rock band HIM, released on 14 September 2007 , 17 September 2007 internationally and 18 September 2007 in the United States...

. Ville Valo

Ville Valo

Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. He has received the "Golden God" award in 2004 by the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer. Valo has a baritone vocal range. Valo was ranked number 80 in Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time...

 has stated that the song was for a close friend who committed suicide soon after the band wrapped the recording sessions for Dark Light. The song was played at the 7 July 2007 concert at Brussels, Belgium. Sheet music for the song was posted on their official website prior to the release of either single or album, giving fans from the US the chance to submit a video of themselves playing the song from their own perspective. The 3 winning videos will be featured on HIM's upcoming live DVD and the winners will receive a signed copy of the said DVD. The single was released on iTunes on 31 July 2007.

Music video

The music video was directed by Meiert Avis

Meiert Avis

Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Groban amongst many others....

, who also directed one of the bands previous videos, "Wings of a Butterfly

Wings of a Butterfly

"Wings of a Butterfly", also released as "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly", is a song by the Finnish metal band HIM. It is the second track on the 2005 album Dark Light and was released as the album's first single that year. The song reached #1 on the Finnish charts, #10 in Germany and the UK, and...

." HIM started recording the music video on 21 June in the Los Angeles area. The production team put out a casting call for a "beautiful girl" to perform the lead role in the video. Auditions were held on 19 June.
The music video was released 24 July 2007. Clues leading to a secret code, "Ten Point Six", was included in the video. "Ten Point Six" is a quote from the book The Third Policeman

The Third Policeman

The Third Policeman is a novel by Irish author Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It was written between 1939 and 1940, but after it initially failed to find a publisher, the author withdrew the manuscript from circulation and claimed he had lost it. The book remained...

 by Brian O'Nolan.

Track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "The Kiss of Dawn".

• UK 7" picture disc #1, UK 2 track CD single & International 2 track CD single:

1. "The Kiss of Dawn" – 5:55
2. "Passion's Killing Floor" (Herpé remix) – 3:45

• UK 7" picture disc #2:

1. "The Kiss of Dawn" – 5:55
2. "Love in Cold Blood" (acoustic) – 2:44

• International maxi CD single & International maxi digital single:

1. "The Kiss of Dawn" – 5:55
2. "Passion's Killing Floor" (Herpé remix) – 3:45
3. "Love in Cold Blood" (acoustic) – 2:44

• Finnish CD single

1. "The Kiss of Dawn" (Radio edit)
2. "Venus Doom" (Radio edit)

• U.S. Hot Topic exclusive single

1. "The Kiss of Dawn"
2. "The Kiss of Dawn" (Demo)

• EU DVD Promo

1. "The Kiss of Dawn" (Video)

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Finnish Singles Chart	2
German Singles Chart	44
Swedish Singles Chart	30
UK Singles Chart	59
UK Rock Chart	1