THE 69 EYES return with their ninth studio album, 'Back in Blood,' 12 goth n roll anthems guaranteed to rock the crypt. The first single will be the tongue-in-cheek Dead Girls Are Easy a nasty power anthem for sleazy pin-ups complete with a sing-a-long chorus aimed at those online chicks with the looks that kill! The video will be directed by MTV superstar and close friend Bam Margera, who was also responsible for the Eyes rock homage to 80s cult movie The Lost Boys.

BD: Can you tell me a bit about the sound of the new album, Back in Blood, as you've progressed so dramatically from each album prior.

Jyrki 69: Like vampires do, also we needed a shot of fresh blood, so it was great to have Matt Hyde on board with a vision how to make the all-time greatest 69 Eyes album. Matt's approach to produce us was more like from a point of a fan - we ARE The 69 Eyes, we CANNOT be changed but surely to make ROCK harder! Matt was great, he turned into a vampire as well and that wasn't hard since he was already possessed after working with Slayer and cosmically psyched-out after tripping with Monster Magnet...

BD: Originally you had a very goth (I hate using that term) sound, something you could compare to Type O Negative, why did you decide to move more into the rock area of music?

Jyrki 69: Goth probably comes from my deep vocals but I'm just trying to sound like Elvis, hahah... We've always been trying to mix Goth and Glam sound somehow together - you know like we're as much influenced by Danzig as L.A.Guns in a way. When we're playing live, we're rocking much harder than on the albums and that's something that Matt wanted to bring into this album. Our drummer is also much more closer to Tommy Lee than Doctor Avalanche, so this was also something that we wanted to have clearly on this album - our drummer rocks!

BD: What bands have inspired your growth over the years?

Jyrki 69: In the beginning it was like the band's whose covers we used to play like Iggy & The Stooges, N.Y.Dolls, Dead Boys, KISS, The Cramps etc. Naturally we don't play covers these days but I guess those bands who succeeded in staying cool over the years and kept the mystery around them alive still matter for us - bands like The Cramps, Ramones, The Stones, AC/DC, KISS and so on. Also seeing Lemmy on stage with Motörhead always makes everybody swear that there's no way to give up!

BD: How has Bam becoming a fan changed your career and popularity?

Jyrki 69: Since we've been featured in his TV shows I think that has brought us to be known more in the States. I've signed few skateboards over the last years, for sure!

BD: Bam directed the new video Dead Girls Are Easy, did he have any input on the new album?

Jyrki 69: No but during the video session he was listening through the album tens of times and then put the song "Dead N' Gone" on repeat in his car for a couple of hours. That convinced even me about that song being the next single cut! He also kept on asking when we're doing a video of that song ("Dead N' Gone") - and now it'll happen as well with Bam being a director again next week!

BD: Can you tell me a little bit about the titles on this record and what the theme is?

Jyrki 69: The album's all about vampires - you can tell that straight away from the titles: "Back In Blood", "We Own The Night", "Hunger","The Good, The Bad & The Undead", "Lips Of Blood", "Kiss Me Undead" etc! But you know, I have to say that it's always been "all about vampires" with The 69 Eyes - even from our first 7" single since 1990!

BD: A band like the 69 Eyes have to keep a certain "look", what do you guys do to keep up with the times? Would you consider yourself trendsetters?

Jyrki 69: Well, actually we ARE an 80's band, since we started in 1989. So, either we're always late or ahead of our times...We just pass trends, we're the band that time forgot!

BD: While the album hasn’t even hit stores yet (well, now it has), have you started to think to the future yet? Does individual digital distribution interest you (like what Trent Reznor is doing)?

Jyrki 69: As a matter of fact "Back In Blood" come out a week ago in the States and it's doing very good: it was #14 on the indie charts last week! We're a rock'n'roll band: we come to play in a town where you live. We have a new album out - if you dig the show, you should go to buy the album and we'll see you at the show next time as well. That's what we're interested in. We tour and record albums. We want to see you and you want to see us. The fans are our bosses, we do this for them as much as to fulfill our rock'n'roll dreams.

BD: If someone reading this interview has never heard the 69 Eyes, what album should they start with and why?

Jyrki 69: Go & get the new one "Back In Blood" - that's in the stores near you and that's the album we're currently touring for. After hearing that album you need to experience us alive since your heart says so - you need that dose of living, pulsating, undead & dirty rock'n'roll you've dreaming of in those lonely & sweaty nights...

BACK IN BLOOD is in stores now. Get more info at the band's official website.