The 69 Eyes or the "Helsinki Vampires" as their fans know them best bring you a career spanning Greatest Hits with "Framed In Blood: The Very Blessed Of The 69 Eyes". It is a nice collection of tracks from across their existence and offers a good look inside to the band for those that might be unaware or serve as a tasty sampler for those ardent fans. The Finnish group has a large following in Europe, but have only begun to make some ground in the US Market since 2005 and what this album does well is bring you back to the very early Glam-era stuff and leads you up until their harder edged Gothic sound that is the focus of the band today. The solid 18 track best-of has a number of great moments and you will find that singer Jyrki 69 definitely has a style that comes more rooted in older Rock and Roll than that of Metal (his vocals at times are very reminiscent of both Jim Morrison and Peter Steele). The deep, resonant tone shakes you up at times and yet is full of cryptic fire at others. Some stand out numbers are on this CD are "Brandon Lee", "Gothic Girl" and "Wasting The Dawn" all of which are among my favorites from their catalog. New potential fans need only look into these tracks for it can easily make you a follower of their often hypnotic sound. There are some similarities to The Cult on tracks like "Crashing High" and "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" but I felt that was more due to the guitar groove used than an actual copy of that bands style. The group also delivers an interesting take on the Blondie classic "Call Me" which is not an exact re-do which makes it a little more fun to listen to in this incarnation. This album was originally released in 2003 on GaGa Goodies, but since it was an import it was very difficult to find here in the states. The band has been picking up steam lately with a recent release entitled "Devils", available on Bam Margera's 456 Entertainment label as well as on one of his compilations. Cleopatra Records has worked out a deal where all of the bands back catalog will be made available in the USA and far easier to own. The popularity of the Gothic scene in these parts will surely welcome this band who while being in existence for some fifteen years, since are not receiving the acclaim they deserve. The night has gotten darker thanks to the people at Cleopatra Records. The lyrics and some photos are included in the booklet with the CD. This is a must have for any fan of Gothic-edged Hard Rock & Roll.
Track List
1. Brandon Lee
2. Dance D'Amour
3. Gothic Girl
4. Wasting The Dawn
5. Crashing High
6. The Chair
7. Velvet Touch
8. Call Me
9. Stolen Season
10. Betty Blue
11. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
12. Framed In Blood
13. Tang
14. Too Much To Lose
15. Still Waters Run Deep
16. Ghettoway Car
17. Lay Down Your Arms, Girl
18. Babysitter
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