The 69 Eyes – Back in Blood – Review

the69eyes200The 69 Eyes

Back in Blood (The End Records)
By Mike Delano

Helsinki “Goth ‘n’ roll” mainstays The 69 Eyes mine the same dark territory as fellow Finns H.I.M., and considering the massive amount of material released by both bands (Back in Blood is 69’s ninth studio album), that well isn’t about to run dry anytime soon. Not to say that the results are as fresh as they once were, though: Tracks like “We Own the Night” and “Some Kind of Magick” sound like the band on autopilot, recycling the same tongue-in-cheek lyrics (“blood is the new black”) and laying them over thoroughly standard rock riffs. Unwilling to take a few risks in the vein of Venus Doom, they only maneuver out of their comfort zone for a silly attempt at arena rock (“The Good, The Bad & The Undead,” with fake crowd noise included) and an earnest but out-of-place attempt at My Chemical Romance’s bombastic balladry (“Eternal”). The 69 Eyes made their mark with unabashedly groovy, impossibly catchy tunes like “Lost Boys,” and that magic isn’t gone, it’s just buried by filler. Seek out “Dead N’ Gone,” which rides a fantastically melancholy hook and sounds genuinely sad, rather than gleefully morbid, or “Dead Girls Are Easy,” which delivers on the sleaze promised by the title. The faithful will ease into Back in Blood like their favorite pair of multi-buckle knee-high boots, but more discerning nightcrawlers should forgo the full-length and cherry pick the good stuff.
(www.theendrecords.com)