Finland's 69 Eyes seem to have been hovering just outside the radar range of mainstream rock for years now. Unbelievably, this is the band's ninth studio album.
Maybe the lack of a genuinely unique identity has kept fame and recognition at bay (though it hasn't proved an obstacle for many less talented bands).
Over the years (the debut was released in 1992) the band's sound has gradually mutated from a highly derivative design on sleazy, trashy, US glam rock to a perfectly blended mix of Johnny Cash/Billy Idol vocalisms, theatrical rock anthems and memorable melodies. The gothic mannerisms they've picked up along the way may not be to everybody's taste, but clearly reflect the Finnish psyche. Unequivocally,
The 69 Eyes have scaled the face of rock and carved out their own niche.
Producers Johnny Lee Michaels and Hilli Hiilesman cleverly ensure that the riffs - aggressive, tuneful - drive the music, keeping them well up in the mix, complemented by a keyboard sound that often seems borrowed from a Hammer horror soundtrack.
In turn, this maintains the band's iconic "Helsinki vampires" brand image, and all the Hollywood /LA Guns/ Sunset Strip baggage that belongs.
Parody laden junk rock perhaps. But nobody does it better than this. The post modern
'Rocker' is the album in a microcosm, soaring back in time to the innovative hard rock / heavy metal of Steppenwolf, updated with a few Elvis gyrations and a knowing, new millennium sensibility.
And is that a teasing (and telling) little sample from G'n'R's 'Sweet Child Of Mine' that intros standout track
'Never Say Die'? This track, the best that The Sisters Of Mercy never wrote, has real stamina and an aurally adhesive hook.
In fairness though, the remaining tracks aren't far behind. The worst is merely entertaining. The best -
'Ghost', 'Los Angeles', '
Shadow Of Your Love' - take us on a magic carpet ride through cheesy Cult like machismo, vaudevillian show pieces (replete with whole-cast-on-stage gang vocals) leading eventually and perhaps inevitably to the tongue in cheek sleaze of
'Frankenhooker'.
If you missed the first eight, don't miss the ninth.
Written by
Brian Thursday, April 26, 2007
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