The 69 Eyes – Back In Blood

Classic rock may be a thing of the past in name, but in reality the genre is still alive and well.  ACDC recently released their first new album in eight years, and old favourites like Led Zeppelin still find regular airplay.  But while the giants resurface from time to time for reunions, legions of other, lesser-known groups have kept the genre kicking with a consistent slew of new releases.  One of those bands is the Finnish rock group The 69 Eyes.  They’ve been releasing new material steadily since their inception in 1989, making 2009’s Back in Blood another notch in their belts.

Back in Blood carries on The 69 Eyes tradition of killer rock’n roll anthems.  They subscribe to that rough, no-holds-bared school of rock – the type pioneered by the likes of legends such as Led Zeppelin,ACDC, and Motley Crue.  The choruses are big, and the solos are the type that could easily inspire aging armchair rockers to revisit their old air guitars.  The 69 Eyes embrace their influences whole-heartedly – after all, their album’s title an obvious play on ACDC’s classic Back in Black.  Tracks like “Hunger,” “The Good, The Bad, and the Undead,” and “Some Kind of Magic” channel the old timers’ energy, providing plenty of head banging hard-rock moments with plenty of heavy riffs, and pulsing distortion.

All this talk of “classic” rock might imply that The 69 Eyes might sound out of place on today’s soundscape.  However, the band draws upon modern goth influences to help avoid succumbing to this fate.  Lead vocalist Jyrki 69 channels a deep, smooth croon comparable to a darker version of those found in notable goth rockers The Cult.  It’s a haunting voice that binds the album together from start to finish, keeping a creepy continuity between both slow and mid-tempo tracks.

Speaking of haunting, in keeping with their goth themes, Back in Blood features some pretty dark subject matter.  “Love” songs like “Kiss Me Undead” speak of deep desire and the dangers of deathly lovers, and others like “Lips of Blood” detail fatal attractions.  However, they also have fun with their darkness, as seen in their comedically titled “Dead Girls Are Easy,” lyrically about that which you might expect.  It’s this lyrical playfulness that helps keep Back in Blood a potential listen for the more casual classic rock audience, but also a realistic choice for goth rockers.

The 69 Eyes are an undeniable force on today’s classic rock scene that have also carved a sustainable niche for themselves in with the goth crowd.  Back in Blood sees the band adding yet another fulfilling release to The 69 Eyes’ already satisfying discography that both established fans and casual listeners should enjoy.