If you have never heard of the The 69 Eyes, today is your lucky day.
And where the hell have you been?
The 69 Eyes have been around since 1989 when they were formed in Helsinki, Finland. They are often referred to as The Helsinki Vampires. The 69 Eyes are fronted by Jyrki 69, whose voice is as distinct as it is unique. It’s ‘Peter Steele’ (Type O Negative) and ‘Elvis’ with the attitude and presence of Johnny Cash for a voice that is ‘suave’ and at the same time ‘in your face’. Now that you got that figured out let’s dive in to their latest release West End. This will be their 12th studio album and it releases on Friday September 13, 2019.
Welcome the darkness..
West End starts with “Two Horns Up.”, the perfect track to open the album. The track is a heavy, upbeat anthem with a special guest, Cradle of Filth’s front-man Dani Filth. Jyrki provides the dark undertone vocals of the track while Dani is the up front sinister voice your mom warned you about.
“27 and Done” was the first track released from the album. Themed to the deadly side of Hollywood, the song pays tribute to the tragic 27 Club of Hollywood. “Black Orchid” is a track that is straight 69 Eyes. Catchy lyrics combine with some amazing guitar make it a must hear on the West End.
“Change” has a slow and ballad like sound that showcases Jyrki’s deep vocal skills. “Burn Witch Burn” and “Cheyenna” continue to validate the great return of The 69 Eyes.
“The Last House on the Left” catapults West End to greatness. The opening guitar riff starts the track off like the get away car in a bank robbery. The song itself is a homage to the horror movie bearing the same name. Being such horror movie fans themselves, it seems like a no-brainer that The 69 Eyes create their own masterpiece to recognize the work of the great Wes Craven. If that wasn’t enough, they enlisted the “Duke of Spook” Wednesday 13 and the daughter of “The Godfather of Shock Rock” Calico Cooper to guest on the song.
To say this song ‘has it all’ is an understatement. This song is simply bad-ass. The screams of Calico resonate in the themes behind the song. The vocal combination of Jyrki and Wednesday set the scene for what could be your last day alive as you venture down the to “The Last House on the Left.”
Satin with a shot of evil….
West End continues with solid tracks like “Death and Desire,” “Outsiders” and “Be Here Now.” The end arrives with “Hell Has No Mercy.” This track has a bluesy, almost country, sound that mixes the satin singing ZZ Top with a shot of evil. No need for the worm at the bottom of the bottle cause once you finish listening to West End you will start it again.
If you are looking for an album you can just spin from beginning to end only to start again then The 69 Eyes West End is just for you. 30 years and still running strong and we finally know why The Helsinki Vampires never die. They need to keep making great music. West End arrives on Friday September 13th.
