Band:	The 69 Eyes
Album:	Death Of Darkness
Style:	Gothic metal, Gothic rock
Release date:	April 2023

01. Death Of Darkness
02. Drive
03. Gotta Rock [Boycott cover]
04. This Murder Takes Two [feat. Kat Von D]
05. California
06. Call Me Snake
07. Dying In The Night
08. Something Real
09. Sundown
10. Outlaws

Another Finnish rock band, another trip down nostalgia lane for me. This time, it is the goth’n’roll band The 69 Eyes on the menu. It is both exhilarating and disappointing. Let me tell you why. The 69 Eyes was actually the 2nd ever band I started listening to back when teenage me was first getting into music for real (the 1st band was, of course, Nightwish). The 69 Eyes was moreover the 2nd ever concert I ever attended (at the age of 12 or something). Back then, they had just released 2004’s Devils, which remains a good album to this day (although I prefer the three preceding albums in their discography, with Wasting The Dawn being an absolute masterpiece).

After Devils the band relocated to California and started playing a kind of slightly goth-tinged glam rock (as opposed to the goth-tinged, heavy sleaze on their earliest albums) that did not sit all that well with me. This continued for over a decade, with me losing more and more hope that they would ever return to the “sunglasses-after-dark” The Sisters Of Mercy-meets-The Cult romanticism of Blessed Be and Paris Kills; two albums that any gothic rock fan should check out.

However, I am pleased to announce that as of the opening, and title track, Death In Darkness shows some promise in returning to the old ways. It opens with a groovy, melodic, mid-pace goth rock swagger, before Jyrki’s always pleasant baritone singing enters and even pulls off a slightly misplaced shriek before a teaser of the chorus follows. It’s a memorable, beautiful, and catchy piece accentuated by a tasteful use of keys. “Drive” is a more glam rock number which sounds like something from Angels, that successor to Devils I mentioned not caring much for. It’s catchy enough, but it’s not what I listen to The 69 Eyes for, and the lyrics are beyond cheesy.

The band decided to include a gothic rock cover of Finnish rock band Boycott’s hit song “Gotta Rock”, and although it is a cover, it is a groovy, sexy goth rock song with an utterly infectious chorus: “Gotta rock / Gotta roll / Don’t give me jive, give me rock’n’roll”. Worth mentioning is the Southern Gothic ballad “This Murder Takes Two” with guest vocals courtesy of Kat Von D of tattoo artist series LA Ink fame, whom they have previously collaborated with.

So far, so good. Hearing The 69 Eyes veering back into the style I used to love them for puts a smile to my face and perhaps even a tear or two running down it. Sadly, Death Of Darkness turns out to be the very epitome of a front-loaded album, with the latter half consisting of mostly uninspired glam rock numbers, until they finally return to what they do best on the closing song “Outlaws”.

Hence, this latest opus by this band that I’ve listened to for more than half my life is 50% a joy to listen to, and 50% barely worth mentioning. I suppose it depends on what you are after, and what you expect, but from my point of view and according to my taste in their previous discography, Death In Darkness opens up with a blast, raising my hopes immensely, only to disappoint me halfway through and all the way to the end.

Perhaps with a differently sorted tracklist that spread out the gothier cuts a bit more with the glammier cuts could have been to the album’s benefit, but I will just have to accept that The 69 Eyes is no longer the band I used to know them as. I try not to let that bias affect my rating. Judging from my enjoyment of this album alone, it could have been great, but the 2nd half makes it overall end up being just above average.

Death Of Darkness will be released on April 21. Check it out then and tell me how wrong I am, I'm looking forward to it.