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Dark, atmospheric, and catchy Horror-themed Gothic Rock.-
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| The 69 Eyes: Devils |
Gothic Rock, Hard Rock
456 Entertainment
October 25th, 2009
Initial Pressing:
- Devils
- Feel Berlin
- Nothing On You
- Sister Charity
- Lost Boys
- Jimmy
- August Moon
- Beneath The Blue
- Christina Death
- Hevioso
U.S. Edition:
- Only You Can Save Me
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| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length:
Review posted on September 18th, 2009
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| | Original Score: 4/5 |
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| 2011 Grading Scale: 8/10 |
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| U.S. Edition Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Bump 'n' Grind (1992) Savage Garden (1995) Motor City Resurrection (1995) Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (1997)
Wasting the Dawn (1999) Blessed Be (2000) Paris Kills (2002) Devils (2004) Angels (2007) Back in Blood (2009)
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| EP(s): |
Sugarman (1990) barbarella (1991) Juice Lucy (1991) High Times - Low Life (1993) Never Too Loud!!! (1994)
Suck My Mike! (1994) Fellow Reptiles: Your Truly (1996)
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| Split(s): |
The 69 Eyes & Backyard Babies: Supershow Split (1997)
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| CD Single(s): |
Music for Tattooed Ladies & Motorcycle Mamas Vol. 1 (1993) Velvet Touch (1995) Wasting the Dawn (1999)
Gothic Girl (2000) The Chair (2001) Stolen Season (2001) Sance d'Amour (2001) Betty Blue (2002) Crashing High (2003)
Lost Boyws (2004) Devils (2004) Feel Berlin (2005) Sister of Charity (2005) Perfect Skin (2007) Never Say Die (2007)
Rocker (2007) Ghost (2007) Dead Girls are Easy (2009)
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| Compilation(s): |
Dictators Forever, Forever Dictators (1996) I Wanna be a Stooges (1996) Hell on Earth (1996)
Stranded in the Doll's House (1997) Orkus Presents the Best of 1999 (1999) Sonic Seducer - Like a Taste of Sin! (1999)
Orkus Present the Best of 2000 (2000) Goth 'n' Roll (2008)
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| Live CD(s): |
Hollywood Kills - Live at the Whisky A Go go (2007)
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| Live DVD(s): |
Helsinki Vampires (2003)
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| Review |
The 69 Eyes is another gothic rock act that found it's way to glory during the recent explosion in this style with their release Devils. Where as many bands try to bring a dark, melancholy gothic album, this band looks to horror films as an inspiration for their lyrics, and an old school rock sound fused with today's gothic standards to create a rather dark album that greatly stands out in the plague of mediocre bands flooding the airwaves.
Devils isn't all that unique, or all that original of an album. It's clear that there are tinges of The Misfits found in the band's music, as well as the style. But, as stated, this album definitely stands out amongst a lot of the filler, knock off gothic styled music out there by being well done. The music on Devils is very haunting, and not over the top, with vocals that many women would consider "dreamy" without reaching Barry White proportions. Lyrically the album makes references to horror films, such as "The Lost Boys" being based on the film with the same name, as well as plenty of punk rock and the much expected vampire references. The more uptempo songs are more prone to the horrore film dialogue, whereas the slower tracks, such as "Jimmy", "August Moon" and "Christina Death" are aimed more as ballads with a very eery ambiance to help further the "dark love" aspect of some of the material.
One of the most underrated cuts on the album, however, would have to be "August Moon", which is very hard to explain as it does seem to follow the style laid out by the band, but at the same time stands out by being more of a chanting song one may find in tribal music as far as the drums and background sound effects of what sounds like chains clashing against something. But, while this, and many of the songs on this release are great, the guitars feel a little weak and the music on the release sometimes feels as though it's missing something during the heavier tracks and moments. The solos could also have had a little more bite to them, feeling somewhat lackluster in the more uptempo tracks.
| North American Edition: |
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For those of us here in the States, we get this CD a year after it was recorded. It's also the seventh full length release by the band. To make up for the delay, there is a bonus track included on this release called "Only You Can Save Me". Sadly, this isn't all that impressive of a song, falling prey to a lot of stereotypical aspects, a fitting guitar solo that is just on the weak side, and sounds more like it was scrapped from the original Devils recording. If you're in the U.S., then this is the only version available to you, but if not, you can probably just buy this song through an MP3 store if you're really that set on hearing it. |
Devils is an impressive State-side debut record from The 69 Eyes, and any fans of the gothic rock style will find much comfort in the record. Tracks like "Lost Boys", "August Moon" and "Christina Death" will have you loving every second of this release and anxiously awaiting a follow up album. Though this sound if very different compared to the style the band started with years ago on their debut album, this is far more impressive and well constructed, even if the bonus track on this release isn't up to the potential of the rest of the release.
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