A new, dark gospel has come from the nether regions of Finland, namely hell-raising Helsinki. The five-man cemetery plotted jam known as The 69 Eyes, have brought forth a new vision of gothic vibes, dark tales of human sickness and twisted psyche’s and inspiration from the bright lights of Hollywood and the Sunset Strip. A bizarre combination to the ear and mind but that’s what Jyrki 69 and his brood do. Playing influences from their native land, to the far west coast of America. Like Type O Negative meets glam without the spandex.
The Death of Darkness is the newest musical incantation in a long list of recordings. Like vampires, they might never sleep with lots of time to write and record. Album 13 stands as one of their most diverse and bold statements. With 10 tracks there’s a little bit of everything for everyone to sink fangs and lips into.
From the ‘80s Bowie-ish vibe of opener “Death of Darkness,” you could almost imagine scenes from Labyrinth as it plays. As “Drive” starts with a similar vintage Judas Priest feel. “Gotta Rock” harkens back to the dance floor and gothic nights. Stand out track and video “This Murder Takes Two” (feat. Kat Von D) takes the haunting tale of the modern day Natural Born Killers to the old west.
The bright rays of “California” sunshine spray and flash over the song’s happy gothic tribute. It was an Escape from New York and L.A. for the Snake. “Dying in the Night” is the closest thing to an unofficial 69 duet with The Cure as “Sundown” is the unofficial jam with The Cult.
They make the cold and dreary sound so cool and romantic. Like a serial killer waiting in the shadows with a beautiful bouquet in hand.
Their influences have definitely spread across the globe, from Europe to New York and L.A. “We’ve been dragging that ‘80s glam with us through these decades since we started in the late ‘80s,” Jyrki says. Guns N’ Roses was the biggest band from Hollywood and very inspirational for them. “On the other hand our roots were in New York punk rock like Dead Boys, The Cramps, Ramones and some sounds from Detroit, The Stooges and the MC5.”
They added more flavors over the decades. “Obviously goth rock was something we allowed in our experience and my voice, it sounded a little lower. We added some keyboards and stuff.” It took a decade to come up with the 69 Eyes signature sound everyone knows. “It’s unique but you can point out the inspirations easily but nobody plays it like this, especially these days.”
There aren’t many rock bands like them left. “We love what we do, love rock n’ roll, that’s the whole F’n point.” They started as teens and early ‘20s, in Finland. “It was cool and important to belong to something, to have a band and get noticed.” The underground bars and clubs bred the basis for what is now modern day 69 Eyes. “That’s how we started.” They still think it’s pretty cool to have a band.
Though they loved the Sunset ‘80s scene, spandex wasn’t their thing. They were more street savvy and less flashy. “We love that stuff but back in the day we were more into dirtier rock n’roll.”
The coolest band he’s seen recently was Guns n’ Roses. “We played with them in Mexico last November at a big festival they were headlining.” Ministry and Billy Idol were on the bill too. Their performances inspired them. “It was amazing, Axl’s voice, he was killing it.”
New record, Death of Darkness is a dark love letter to Hollywood. “The strip still exists; some of the magic is still here. If you go to the Rainbow or the Whisky A Go Go, there’s lots of legendary rockers still hanging out. There’s no place in the world where rock n’ roll lives like here, it’s still happening.” Like the ‘80s, musicians still go there with dreams in their heads and guitars in hand. “It’s a very happening place. It was a dream at first, when we started.” They dreamed of playing the Whisky and did.
Given their origins, their influences aren’t obvious, “It doesn’t seem obvious when you’re in a Nordic country like Finland. You put some eyeliner on. You don’t think it’ gonna happen, maybe a dream.” Playing music’s about dreaming, often manifesting the seemingly impossible dreams. The L.A. sound’s symbolically in their blood, though their melancholic melodies are a product of their homeland and mindset. American movies, comics and culture are in definite reflection.
“This Murder Takes Two” was a fulfillment of a dream they had to record in Johnny Cash’s cabin in Nashville, some acoustic stuff in his style. “That was the plan, we quickly wrote music for that plan but it never happened.” Their rhythm guitarist wrote it with kind of a country twist.
A duet was discussed with female vocals in mind. “My old friend Kat Von D would be perfect. It would be unexpected. She was interested, it worked out well.” The video was shot on a cold day in the Mojave desert. “You assume heat but the video doesn’t show how cold it was there.” The gas station was a popular filming location.
He joked, the song and video for “California” was bad and tasteless. They played it in Sweden, Gothenburg and Stockholm. “I threw the mic to the audience and they could sing along. It works, but it’s horrible, I know.”
One of his favorite movies is A Star Is Born, (2018). The song also mentions the Night Stalker. Those inspired him. California’s something he needs, though there’s some shadows in paradise too.
They have a lot of horror movie inspired songs in their library. “That’s the stuff that really inspired me and I’m enthusiastic about. When I started the band I was a horror freak, a subscriber to Fangoria, a fan of that stuff. Horror has changed, with a different life but that’s always been a part of The 69 Eyes music.”
The vampiric, b-movie vibe and influence was there from the start carving into their sound producing glammy, snotty street rock morphing into dark goth. No one was doing that. Everything from “Lost Boys” to “Frankenhooker,” If you like it, you can find lots of weird references to it. He’s a specialist of those genres, and a former collector, “That’s my past and I know everything about that stuff.”
Though, they haven’t been to the darkest, most gothic place on earth yet, Dracula’s castle. “We played in Romania but didn’t have time. It’s in the countryside. We never had a chance to go over there. It’s been in talks. That’s one of the last places, cult places that I’ve never been. Even the Amityville horror house in New York, I’ve seen all that stuff but that’s the only place I’ve never been too.”
A while back they took a curious crossroads path covering a heated Rammstein tune. “Our friends at Cleopatra records keep great rock n’ roll alive. They had a Rammstein tribute coming out so I thought it would be fun, to try and record one of their songs. I don’t speak German. I did my best for the song. It was a chance to do it so why not? ” It was a cool, unique experiment. At the same time they had a song on The Cramps tribute album. “How many bands can you think of, covering Rammstein and The Cramps at the same time with a poker face on?”
Black metal “Two Horns Up.” We love to do things with our friends.” Cradle of Filth’s Dani Filth was an old friend that took them on tour in the U.S. “In 2006, 2007 we did a 6-week-long tour, all over North America, U.S. and Canada. That was the longest tour we’d ever done. Afterwards we talked about doing something. That was the right time for Filth to sing rock n’ roll. One of the reasons to do that was to get some really nice partying at The Rainbow. Those parts are filmed in Hollywood. It was an excuse to get together and let all hell break loose.”
Their tribute to fallen legends, “27 and Done” is about the strange number of musicians that self-destructed at 27. “Legends have strangely died while they’re 27. There’s a 27 club. Young people are so stressed these days, especially in Hollywood. If they don’t achieve fortune and fame by a certain age, they think they’re done. That’s like a critique, or observation about that subject. It’s really true and it amazes me. It’s inspiring as well.”
Who would Jyrki bring back? “Good question, everybody’s birthdays are celebrated on social media.” Jimi Hendrix was born in November. “He would be something like, over 80, probably same age as the Rolling Stones. Think of if Hendrix had been around, he would have created some totally, groundbreaking stuff. Let’s ask for Hendrix. In general I’m a huge Hendrix fan. It’s not obvious, I’m a singer. Never spoke about it but I actually collect all the stuff from the Hendrix family. Everything about him really speaks to me.”
He would have done early ‘80s records similar to Miles Davis. What if he was there during the Hollywood glam bands? Would he be there with a super cool type band playing more aggressive? What would an Iggy Pop/Jimi Hendrix cooperation sound like? There’s a lot of cool alternative futures out there. Think of a jam session at the Grammy’s with Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Michael Jackson, all these guys would be hitting hard.” Just don’t bring him back Pet Semetary style.
“Jerusalem” is an older video from their independent days releasing records and videos on I phones, DIY. Jyrki found inspiration, by all the cultures and religions in the eternal town. He also considers rock n’ roll a religion. “I think one of the holy places is Graceland. It’s a religious experience for many people. I don’t see the difference between these holy places and rock n’ roll holy places. I bet you could put a prayer in the walls of The Rainbow. There’s a lot of rock n’ roll ghosts there. You choose your own holy place. You could pray to Lemmy.”
The tour will feature the best of the new material along with the best of The 69 Eyes. “Maybe we throw in some Ramones as an encore if it feels like the audience is wild enough.” The show will be The 69 Eyes, updated to 2024.
Photo Credit: Marek Sabogal
