I first encountered The 69 Eyes thanks to Orkus magazine. I had seen the excellent publication cover them on a number of occasions but I did not actually listen to them until the spring of 2001 while we were visiting London for the BAFTA awards. We stopped at Resurrection Records in the Camden Market Place area and this really cool gothic rock song was on with really deep moody vocals. I asked what it was and it turned out to be the new album, "Blessed Be" by The 69 Eyes.

Well, I bought it on the spot and have been a fan ever since. I would have to say that it is definitely the vocals that get me the most. Really deep, truly gothic vocals that rivals anyone else in the scene or out I would have to claim.

The song structures are very pop-influenced but never cross the line into commercialism and always maintain a perfect blend of melodic soothing sounds and harsh rock to keep you moving and interested.

"Paris Kills" their latest offering, had been out for a little while and we were both huge fans of it as well as the previous album and were super excited to see them perform.

The 69 Eyes were one of the headlining acts of the festival and had an appropriately long set-time, covering just about every song on both albums with only a few songs left out, it was a fantastic concert with all of the sound being spot on and the vocals crystal clear and perfect.

There were two guitarists, a bassist and drummer, and of course Jyrki 69 singing. The lights were fairly basic to not take away from the great musicianship and performance.

Theatrics, costumes, and the like were left aside and were not needed, as the band was tight and the songs driving. I really loved the show and found myself captivated and singing along to every song.

Jyrki went with a more grunge look, having cut his long black hair to a shorter crop that hung in his face. Keeping sunglasses on for most of this show, it was difficult to get any unobstructed shots....this wasn't a glamour session, they were straight out performing and it was all the better for it.

I highly recommend these guys and with their new DVD release "Helsinki Vampires" due out soon, I am looking forward to watching them live again.