THE 69 EYES: Third Making-Of 'Universal Monsters' Webisode

Finnish gothic metallers THE 69 EYES will release their eleventh album, “Universal Monsters”, on April 22 via Nuclear Blast. The CD was recorded with producer Johnny Lee Michaels at his Helsinki-based Bat Cave Studios.

The third “making-of” webisode for “Universal Monsters” can be seen below.

Commented THE 69 EYES vocalist Jyrki: “I’ve already had a short review of the album from a journalist who said it sounds exactly like it was recorded after our latest album together with producer Johnny Lee Michaels, which was ‘Paris Kills’ (2002). But those years between cannot be heard. We sound as fresh as ever, and the music takes itself and us into undiscovered paths and soundscapes. How the album grew into what it has become has surprised us and you can really hear the creativity blooming there. And still it sounds like nobody else but THE 69 EYES. And like always, the best backing vocalists can be found from the closest bars in Helsinki! This time the local latest hard rock heroes SANTA CRUZ were recruited for the backing vocal sessions.”

“Universal Monsters” track listing:

01. Dolce Vita
02. Jet Fighter Plane
03. Blackbird Pie
04. Lady Darkness
05. Stiv & Johnny
06. Never
07. Miss Pastis
08. Jerusalem
09. Shallow Graves
10. Rock ‘N’ Roll Junkie
11. Blue

The video for the first single from “Universal Monsters”, a song called “Jet Fighter Plane”, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Ville Juurikkala, who has previously worked with NIGHTWISH, AMORPHIS and MICHAEL MONROE. Juurikkala also created the “Universal Monsters” cover artwork, which portrays THE 69 EYES members in movie monster lighting, showing them as classic and timeless creatures.

Said Jyrki: “As I first heard the instrumental demo of the song, it immediately sounded for me like a song from the early ’80s new wave/post punk days. You know, like when the music was heavily inspired by David Bowie‘s dark visions, the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war and ‘1984’ kind of the future. So I wrote such lyrics from the past — and all of a sudden, the history started to repeat itself and the Cold War winds started to blow again! It was very strange — all of a sudden THE 69 EYES have a song which is very ‘today’ and even political, longing back the days of peace. We also wanted the video to be artistic and visually capturing the vibe and theme of the song. There is hope but also darkness, violence and innocence. And it’s only goth ‘n’ roll.”