The 69 Eyes

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The 69 Eyes
The 69 Eyes at the M'era Luna Festival
Background information
Origin	Helsinki, Finland
Genre(s)	Glam metal (early) Gothic Rock Gothic metal
Years active	1989–present
Label(s)	Virgin Records EMI[1] Caroline Records (USA) [2]
Associated acts	HIM Cradle of Filth Hanoi Rocks, Andy McCoy
Members
Jussi 69 - drums Bazie - lead guitar Jyrki 69 - vocals Timo-Timo - guitar Archzie - bass

The 69 Eyes are a Finnish rock band. They are signed to EMI/Virgin Records Finland.

Music style

The 69 Eyes' music was described as mix of the gloominess of gothic rock with guitar-powered rock'n'roll.^[3] Their music is influenced by other artists such as L.A. Guns, The Doors, Elvis Presley, Guns 'N' Roses, Billy Idol, The Lords of the New Church, The Misfits and The Sisters of Mercy. ^[4] The term "goth 'n roll" was used to describe their style.

Band history

1989 - 1999

Formed in Helsinki, Finland in the summer of 1989, the band originally played glam metal inspired music. By 1997, though, the band began to take more influence from gothic rock, horror punk, and gothic metal and signed to the European Roadrunner Records. Along with their change in musical direction, the band became more popular internationally.

The band released their first single, "Sugarman", in 1990. It resulted in the bands first album Bump 'n' Grind which was only released in Finland in 1992. Their second album, "Motor City Resurrection", was released in 1994, only in Japan. It was followed in 1995 by another Finnish only release Savage Garden and again in 1997 with Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams

In 1999, Wasting the Dawn was released internationally on Roadrunner Records. The album's hit single, Wasting the Dawn paid tribute to The Doors' Jim Morrison. The video featured HIM member Ville Valo posing at a snowy cemetery as the ghost of Jim Morrison.

2000 - present

Spring of 2000 brought the single Gothic Girl which spent months on the Singles Top 10 and on Finnish nation radio playlists. It brought the band their first gold record. After recording their sixth studio album, Blessed Be, the band did their first short tour for Wasting the Dawn in Germany which included a show at the M'era Luna Festival. Support for the tour was Norwegian rock band Zeromancer.

Released in September 2000, Blessed Be rose straight to number 4 on the Finnish Album Charts and stayed in the top 10 for over a month. The second single was Brandon Lee, the third was The Chair and Stolen Season was the fourth.

In 2002 the band released Paris Kills, which would be known as their breakthrough album.^{[citation needed]} It stayed for weeks as number 1 in Finland and went gold in a month, June 2002. In Germany it rose to number 35 in the first week. After touring Europe and Finland for months, a sold-out show at Helsinki's famous Tavastia Club was filmed and documented in November for use in the "Helsinki Vampires" DVD.

At the end of 2003, The 69 Eyes were signed to EMI Finland.

2004 saw the release of Devils, their 8th album, to which they toured the UK in support of Wednesday 13. Once again the album was number one in their native Finland and reached gold in a month. It was their first release on a big major label Virgin/EMI. Released in their native Finland in October 2004 later on in Europe through Virgin/EMI and in October 2005 in USA through 456 Entertainment it is also their 4th album to reach gold status and again another number one position on the Finnish TOP 40 album charts.

In 2005 The 69 Eyes played nearly one hundred shows around the world in fifteen countries, from Mexico to Japan.^[5] Devils was also released in the USA. The band filmed their video for their biggest ever hit single "Lost Boys" in Hollywood and the Philadelphia area, directed by the band's friend and MTV superstar Bam Margera.

In 2006 The 69 Eyes toured for the first time in the USA in March with Program The Dead & Damone, appearing on Last Call with Carson Daly.[1] Their new album Angels, the sequel to their 2004 album Devils, was released in March 2007. Shortly after their Early 2007 tour with Cradle of Filth & Three Inches Of Blood. Their latest album Angels was released on the 25th of June 2007 in the UK. The first single from the album is "Perfect skin" which went straight to number 1 on the Finnish singles chart. The second single is "Never Say Die". Angels debuted at number 1 in Finland and has since gone gold. ^[6]

The band did a summer 2007 US tour with Wednesday 13, Night Kills The Day, & Fair To Midland, and supported Within Temptation on tour in the UK in November. They played 125 shows world wide in 2007. ^[7]

In 2008 they released their first live album titled The 69 Eyes: Hollywood Kills. ^[8]

The band is currently writing music for their next album due in 2009. The band has started recording their next, ninth studio album with the Grammy awarded producer Matt Hyde. He is most known from his works with Slayer, Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu. The recording process will take place both in Helsinki and Los Angeles. The Back in Blood album will come out in September 2009 with a possible video & single cut earlier in the summer. ^[6]

Discography

List of main studio albums ^[9]

Studio Albums

1. Bump 'n' Grind (1992)
2. Motor City Resurrection (1994)
3. Savage Garden (1995)
4. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (1997)
5. Wasting the Dawn (1999)
6. Blessed Be (2000)
7. Paris Kills (2002)
8. Devils (2004)
9. Angels (2007)
10. Back in Blood (2009)

Live Albums & Compilations

1. Framed in Blood - The Very Blessed of the 69 Eyes (2003)
2. The 69 Eyes: Hollywood Kills (2008)
3. Goth'N'Roll Box Set (2008)

References

External links

• Official website