The 69 Eyes
The 69 Eyes | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Years active | 1990 - present |
Members | Jyrki 69 (vocals) Timo-Timo (guitar) Bazie (guitar) Jussi 69 (drums) Archzie (bass) |
The 69 Eyes are a Finnish rock/metal band, formed in Helsinki during the early 1990s.
Originally the band played garage rock inspired music and were self-described as "garage glam," and by the music press as "Helsinki sleaze." By the latter part of the 1990s, the band began to take more influence from gothic rock, horror punk, and gothic metal. Along with their change in musical direction, the band became more popular internationally.
Band history
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. 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.
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 third major 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 electro-Goth 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 definitive album. 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 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 7th 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 near one hundred shows around the world in 15 countries, from Mexico to Japan. Devils was also released in the USA through 456 Entertainment and 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, appearing on Last Call with Carson Daly.[1] Their new album Angels, the sequel to their 2004 album Devils, was released in March 2007. The first single off of the album is "Perfect Skin". The second single is "Never Say Die"
Trivia
- Vocalist Jyrki is an international goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the children's rights charity. He is currently helping to campaign against child trafficking and sexual exploitation in parts of West Africa.
- Apocalyptica made an appearance on the song "Ghost" of the album "Angels"
- The 69 Eyes song "Never Say Die" was recently used during the Series Finale for Bam's Unholy Union. However the song played directly after Bam and Missy are pronounced married is mistaken for this song. The real song is called "Should" by Lacrimas Profundere.
- You can also see them in one episode of "MTV Cribs" while they saw Bam Margera's house.
Discography
Members
See also
Influences:
- Hanoi Rocks
- The Cult
- Alice Cooper
- Danzig
- Circus Of Power
- The Doors
- Misfits
- Iggy Pop
- Elvis
- The Ramones
- Type O Negative
- Billy Idol
- The Cramps
- The Throbs
- The Lords of the New Church
- The Sisters of Mercy
Similar bands: