1989…a truly breath-taking album by born-again pop prima-donna Taylor Swift…lol…is it fuck, let’s start again. In 1989 we witnessed a lot of historical events; McDonald’s began construction of its first Russian restaurant in Moscow (I’ll have a McOkroshka meal with a triple vodka please)…Nintendo gave us the Game Boy, infuriating many an OCD sufferer with Tetris and, David Hasselhoff literally sang the Berlin wall into a pile of rubble…however, the Goths among you will note that it was also the year that gave birth to THE 69 EYES…yes the Finnish Goth ’n’ roll veterans started out as a glam rock band nearly thirty years ago, but over time, influenced by the likes of THE SISTERS OF MERCY and THE MISSION, they established themselves as true stars of gothic rock…front-man JYRKI 69, (real name Jyrki Linnankivi) iconic with his deep baritone crooning and clad head to toe in black leather, quickly became known as the Gothic Elvis and in 2017, we see him embrace that by lending his fangs to a new project. Releasing his debut solo album; “Helsinki Vampire”…has Jyrki raised the stakes? Or is this just coffin fodder? Let’s find out…
We open up with “Ad Infinitum” which translates as “To Infinity” and it’s incredibly fitting…at near 8 mins long this is one hell of a challenging opener and really does feel like it drags infinitely…it’s annoyingly slow and for more than half of the song, all we’re given is a brooding, dreary instrumental…we get simple guitar and drum output, it’s quite bass-heavy in tone, but for the most part it’s less menacing, more monotonous…when the track does actually come to life mind, it’s actually decent! There’s a rich electronic vibe, the guitar is grittier; becoming a really slick, dark,rock track, it’s all going well and almost makes up for time wasted, but there’s another plot twist…the last minute becomes a sullen, piano led spoken word outro reminiscent of something Lestat would spout in Queen Of The Damned…it’s a right mixture this…
“Versailles” follows on with the same bleak, despairing piano tones as means of continuation but sadly it provides little in way of encouragement…in ways it harks back to earlier work such as “Stolen Season” but it doesn’t have any of the appeal…thematically it’s interesting, rooted in French monarchy but as a song it’s almost…lazy…a disappointing offering. There are more energetic tracks that inject some life into this album however and luckily they are top draw, first and foremost we have “Bloodlust”…taken from the upcoming movie “Sunset Society”, with cameo’s from the late MOTORHEAD vocalist Lemmy, and Ron Jeremy no less, it’s about vampires ruling the Sunset Strip, a modern day Lost Boys you could say…it’s a great throwback to the 80’s with its pulsing electronica and keyboard elements, it’s got some great new-wave pop hooks, coupled with Jyrki’s vocals it’s very “Paris Kills”…an easy album highlight. The same can be said for “In Your Dreams”, a wonderfully slick, Gothic rock ‘n’ roll track, the church bells, the deep bass, the addictive chorus, this is the Jyrki we know and love, you can’t fault this. “Last Halloween” has appeal of its own, with its up-beat tempo, some quirky little nods to horror classics like Friday The 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street, but it suffers from repetition and a very unimaginative chorus…
Sadly however, a lot of the album falls short of expectation and really I drive a stake through my own heart saying that…”Spanish Steps” is again, pushing 8 mins in run time and it’s simply more joyless piano with synth overlay and the gloomiest of vocal displays, stylistically it’s about as Spanish as a kilt-wearing kangaroo eating sushi in a snowstorm, nothing about this track says Spain, its more boredom than Benidorm but, I digress…while “Happy Birthday” is honestly about as happy as Count Dracula getting a garlic flavoured birthday cake, and “Perfection” is audibly anything but…sinister pulsing techno aside, almost creepy, it’s a spoken word piece, very philosophical but, ultimately it’s quite dull. For a first outing as a solo artist, while you expect him to retain some of the trademark 69 Eyes catchy, Gothic rock style, he does so in such an uninspiring fashion…in ways, the tracks on offer here do span the entire 69 Eyes timeline, and you can pick out certain era’s from the bands history throughout this one album, the trouble is, there’s very little momentum driving the album as a whole. While Goth as a genre isn’t exactly chirpy, a lot of this album borders on depressing. He may be THE Helsinki Vampire but, sadly here he’s no Bela Lugosi…die-hard fans will sink their teeth into this but if you’re new to Goth as a genre this probably won’t do you or it any favours. [5]
We open up with “Ad Infinitum” which translates as “To Infinity” and it’s incredibly fitting…at near 8 mins long this is one hell of a challenging opener and really does feel like it drags infinitely…it’s annoyingly slow and for more than half of the song, all we’re given is a brooding, dreary instrumental…we get simple guitar and drum output, it’s quite bass-heavy in tone, but for the most part it’s less menacing, more monotonous…when the track does actually come to life mind, it’s actually decent! There’s a rich electronic vibe, the guitar is grittier; becoming a really slick, dark,rock track, it’s all going well and almost makes up for time wasted, but there’s another plot twist…the last minute becomes a sullen, piano led spoken word outro reminiscent of something Lestat would spout in Queen Of The Damned…it’s a right mixture this…
“Versailles” follows on with the same bleak, despairing piano tones as means of continuation but sadly it provides little in way of encouragement…in ways it harks back to earlier work such as “Stolen Season” but it doesn’t have any of the appeal…thematically it’s interesting, rooted in French monarchy but as a song it’s almost…lazy…a disappointing offering. There are more energetic tracks that inject some life into this album however and luckily they are top draw, first and foremost we have “Bloodlust”…taken from the upcoming movie “Sunset Society”, with cameo’s from the late MOTORHEAD vocalist Lemmy, and Ron Jeremy no less, it’s about vampires ruling the Sunset Strip, a modern day Lost Boys you could say…it’s a great throwback to the 80’s with its pulsing electronica and keyboard elements, it’s got some great new-wave pop hooks, coupled with Jyrki’s vocals it’s very “Paris Kills”…an easy album highlight. The same can be said for “In Your Dreams”, a wonderfully slick, Gothic rock ‘n’ roll track, the church bells, the deep bass, the addictive chorus, this is the Jyrki we know and love, you can’t fault this. “Last Halloween” has appeal of its own, with its up-beat tempo, some quirky little nods to horror classics like Friday The 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street, but it suffers from repetition and a very unimaginative chorus…
Sadly however, a lot of the album falls short of expectation and really I drive a stake through my own heart saying that…”Spanish Steps” is again, pushing 8 mins in run time and it’s simply more joyless piano with synth overlay and the gloomiest of vocal displays, stylistically it’s about as Spanish as a kilt-wearing kangaroo eating sushi in a snowstorm, nothing about this track says Spain, its more boredom than Benidorm but, I digress…while “Happy Birthday” is honestly about as happy as Count Dracula getting a garlic flavoured birthday cake, and “Perfection” is audibly anything but…sinister pulsing techno aside, almost creepy, it’s a spoken word piece, very philosophical but, ultimately it’s quite dull. For a first outing as a solo artist, while you expect him to retain some of the trademark 69 Eyes catchy, Gothic rock style, he does so in such an uninspiring fashion…in ways, the tracks on offer here do span the entire 69 Eyes timeline, and you can pick out certain era’s from the bands history throughout this one album, the trouble is, there’s very little momentum driving the album as a whole. While Goth as a genre isn’t exactly chirpy, a lot of this album borders on depressing. He may be THE Helsinki Vampire but, sadly here he’s no Bela Lugosi…die-hard fans will sink their teeth into this but if you’re new to Goth as a genre this probably won’t do you or it any favours. [5]
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