CD Review: 69 Eyes, The - X

Written by Petra Whiteley Thursday, 13 September 2012 15:17

Artist: The 69 Eyes
Title: X
Genre: Goth Rock/ Goth Metal/ Goth ’n’ Roll
Release Date: 28th September 2012
Label: Nuclear Blast

Album Review

When I was a young music fan, most of the Goths wanted to look like Robert Smith, time has changed and the new Goths adopted the look of THE 69 EYES. With a long career behind them and one that hardly needs an introduction, especially here in the Reflections Of Darkness, their new album ‘X’ release is imminent. It’s taken me a lot of listens before I could do a review. Mostly because I’ve just been purely enjoying it and it’s been difficult to sit down to write about it, which leads me to say that listening to this is not only highly enjoyable but also a captivating and ultimately absorbing.

The album is hailed as the deepest by the band and it certainly feels that there is a more mature side here, be it lyrically but musically also. The sound is predominantly gritty and closer to when Rock was in its youth as well as the reference to their much loved ‘80’s era Rock (the reference to that era stroke me here as especially when I thought of rockier sides of SISTERS OF MERCY – take for example ‘I Love The Darkness In You’), and as you’d expect with them, the result is something that suits this age also. The album kicks off with the more gritty and anthemic Rock blaster ‘Love Runs Away’, a high octane number that will get your blood going. ‘Tonight’, is a bridge to an earlier era, probably the closest I could compare it to is the ‘Brandon Lee’ kind of songs.

It’s cleaner and in a way more predictable than the rest of the ‘X’s material, yet still thoroughly deserving of listening and loving it. Having said that, ‘Red’ marries off this “cleaner” part to the rugged edge and the union is a successful one. It’s needless to say how catchy vast majority of the songs are, and how some choruses like in ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ posses the ability to dig themselves deep under your skin and keep spinning on there even when the album has long stopped playing. The one that had me hitting the repeat the most though was ‘Borderline’. It’s has a Johnny Cash vibe about it, a soft song underlined by the country-rock feel, with such appealing tone of sadness and darkness delicately intertwined. And regarding the remark about this album being their deepest, it certainly hits that point on bull’s-eye with this song. And as one would suspect too, the songs have quality of a dusky sexiness about them.

It will certainly be loved by their fans; I would even say that the appeal would go even beyond their fan-base and gain them more new fans still. ‘X’ is a truly great album, certainly memorable and it’s really fantastic to hear THE 69 EYES getting better and better and not resting on their laurels as that unfortunately happens to many bands, who are around for as long as they had been. Bravo to them!


Tracklist

01. Love Runs Away
02. Tonight
03. Black
04. If You Love Me The Morning After
05. Red
06. I Love The Darkness In You
07. Borderline
08. I’m Ready
09. I Know What You Did Last Summer
10. When A Love Comes To An End


Line-up

Jyrki 69 - Vocals
Bazie - Guitar
Timo-Timo - Guitar
Archzie - Bass
Jussi 69 - Drums


Websites

http://www.69eyes.com/ / https://www.facebook.com/the69eyes


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 10
Total: 9.5 / 10