Biography
Once formed in 2001 the band Blake has kept up a swift and steady pace of release. Their debut album Fireroot saw the light of day in 2003 while its follow-up Starbringer came out the following year already. Now after a one-and-a-half-year eager wait, Blake is back to indulge their followers with their third long-player Planetizer.
Blake’s CD per year policy, however, is hardly the issue here, but rather the outstanding musical growth that the group has gone through in this comparatively short time. While Fireroot was an undisputable killer in its genre, it was Starbringer that brought the band to everyone’s lips with its wide spectrum of musical influences and potential. Now with Planetizer Blake raise the stakes to the max and truly manage to hit jackpot; their amazing progress can be heard on every level! The song material - exceptionally strong as such - has been meticulously arranged for further impact, the production is once again flawless and Aaro Seppovaara’s trademark vocals sound richer and more versatile than ever before.
The basic recipe, however, is left strictly untampered with. Blake’s first and foremost inspiration is still Black Sabbath’s 70’s style riff tradition, ingeniously complemented with heavy duty roots blues and Pink Floyd -originated progressive psychedelia. And rather than playing down on their influences, Blake pay obvious homage to their predecessors: ol’ Oz himself appears to make a cameo appearance without even being there, AC/DC provides some essential powerage for the record and as soon as a certain Mr. Iommi is paid tribute to, it is time to soar around in a lead-made airship... Anyone who grew up with the abovementioned should find themselves comfortable enough with Blake’s brand of hard rock, even more so when the band keeps it interesting with their highly original sound and catchy tunes.
Lyrically, Planetizer brings the listener some notches closer to earth surface with emphasis on the nature of earthly evil rather than some other-worldly cosmic visions. The underlying theme on the album is man’s constant walk on the fine line betweeen good and evil; the dilemma of right and/or wrong choices with their imminent consequences... When evil can be found no further than inside oneself, there are always two ways to choose from and Hell is never 12 steps further.
Planetizer features the same line-up as Starbringer: Aaro Seppovaara (vocals, guitar), Sami Hassinen (guitar), Sami Ojala (drums) and Kimmo Aroluoma (bass). The time spent together is clearly audible on the album’s tight and seamless ”live” feel and sound. The main architect in the album’s production process is once again Mr. Seppovaara himself with the invaluable assistance of producer/mixer Petri Majuri and the ever-present great eminence of Hannu Leidén. The majority of the recordings took place at the famous sea-fortress of Seawolf Studios, while parts of the album were conceived at Seppovaara’s very own Moon Man Studio.
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