Early 1990's Helsinki, Finland. Five guys in Ramones-like black
biker leather jackets have started a band called THE 69 EYES.
"WASTING THE DAWN" was The 69 Eyes's first international release on
ROADRUNNER RECORDS. In 1999 with its unique concept of Gothic
melancholy mixed with hi-energy rock'n'roll roots of the band, the
album not only brought some long-waited fresh blood into the Gothic
scene but also launched a new term to the media: GOTH'N'ROLL. The
album's epic melanGothic TOP 10 hit single "WASTING THE DAWN" paid
a tribute to The DOORS' Jim Morrison and even had HIM's Ville Valo
posing at a snowy cemetery as Mr. Mojo Risin' on its video. The
band is said to be the missing link between The Cult and Type O
Negative.
In the spring 2000 the band released a single "GOTHIC GIRL" which
changed everything. Months on the Singles TOP 10 and on the Finnish
national radio's playlists "GOTHIC GIRL" brought the first gold
record to the band. Like this gold-gone taster single the highly
anticipated new album "BLESSED BE" was produced by JOHNNY LEE
MICHAELS who as "the sixth member" of the band did all the
arrangements and handles all keyboards and programming on the album
as well. As Johnny Lee Michaels has also been known as a film music
composer, the present BLESSED soundscape of The 69 Eyes is
somewhere between epic and melanGothic yet with vibes of movies
"Sleepy Hollow"-meets-"Matrix" - without forgetting the shadows of
"The Crow"...
"BLESSED BE" was released on the same date in September 2000 as The
69 Eyes got their gold records from the first single of it. The
album rose straight to number 4 in the Finnish Album Charts and
stayed over month in TOP 10 (3 months in TOP 40). The second single
from the album was "BRANDON LEE" which also became a huge
power-play radio hit and the single stayed 14 weeks in TOP 20. In
the "GOTHIC GIRL" video the Crow-meets-Matrix like vision featured
black Goth-hop dancers in the rubber nun dresses but "BRANDON LEE"
with a mid-nightly dark teenage Romeo and Juliet dream was the
video which became one the most requested videos for months in the
music channel German VIVA2.
