I must confess to being a big fan of the Helsinki Vampires. They are of course one of the few bands who really nailed a hard rocking approach to that old school Goth vibe. Here in 2023 they sound just as good and just as fresh and sleazy as ever.
Opener ‘Death of Darkness’ kicks things off nicely and is a broody affair with a cool sneer and nice dark vibe, it’s a song that grows in stature with each listen and teh sort of song that gives latter day Sisters of Mercy a run for their money. Second up ‘Drive’ rocks it up nicely, and there’s a nice fresh dark Pop refrain – just listening to the first couple of tracks one thing that jumps out is the wonderful production that really brings out everything in the mix and creates a huge sound of epic proportions/ It might even be the best I’ve heard them sound on record!
‘Gotta Rock’ is a lot more 80’s with it’s spoken vocal and dark refrain, which smokes as the keys and drum drive and the guitar hits the accents! It’s understated genius! And it keeps on giving! ‘This Murder Takes Two’ is the sort of Dark ‘down by the black river’ ballad that Nick Cave used to do so well. Here Jyrki is joined by Kat Von D an together they smash it out of the park!
It’s back to the upbeat rockers with ‘California’ which has a cool Cult-like flavour before ‘Call Me Snake’ hits a great dark groove and ‘Dying in the Night’ adds more atmospherics. Best of all though might even be ‘Something Real’ which gets to the point quickly and really hits the spot.
‘Sundown’ by contrast has a wonderfully light aspect to the opening like both Sisters and The Cult used early on to great effect. I love it, it might not be the most immediate track here or have the most fire but for me it underlines why these guys have been around for so long and why they never, ever disappoint.
‘Outlaws’ closes the show in grand style, and I have to say this has to be my favourite Eyes album in years. I don’t know how or why but there is just such an energy to this release, the production is wonderful and the band seem so full of life. I remember buying their first two singles back in 1990 on import and have followed them ever since and this is certainly one of the very best. You really do need to hear this!
9 / 10