Press-Downloads:
www.spinefarm.fi/press/ranch/blake/index.html

VÖ: 26. Juli 2004

Biography:

Blake, from Helsinki, Finland, has been labeled with two brands describing their music: Bear Blues and Extraterrestrial Rock. The former is self-explanatory when you listen to Blake. Heavy riffs, growling sound, and Aaro’s free flowing and howling vocals really brings up an image of a pissed off grizzly with a six-string. To dig in a bit deeper, Blake’s music is a combination of blues, rock and old-school heavy metal, not to forget an underlying progressive twist. Blake has not reinvented the wheel, but when you combine ingredients from such artists as Sonny Boy Williamson, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and Type O Negative, you certainly have a fresh angle to the art.

And what comes to the extraterrestrial bit… Well, if you explore Aaro’s lyrics and get a chance to hear him speak about his intergalactic philosophies, you may get an idea what the hell band’s “man is a planet” slogan is all about. Aaro’s appearance is also quite exceptional, in a lack of a better word, and to some his looks are hard evidence of the fact that Aaro’s origins really are somewhere outside Tellus.

Although Starbringer is technically Blake’s second album, it is also a fresh start for the group. Blake’s debut album, Fireroot, was released in Finland in March 2003, and just before the release thee quarters of the lineup was changed. Front man Aaro being the only original member, the new lineup continued working on the band’s mission, based on philosophy adopted from the band’s mystical cowboy-sensei, Mr. Blake.

New group proved to provide a very inspirational atmosphere as band went back to square one, and commenced working on new material. Starting from a scratch, it took less than ten months to finish Starbringer, including time spent to write and rehearse new songs.

Starbringer was recorded and mixed at band’s own Moon Man studio, located in Bilnäs, a small rural town some 80 kilometers from Helsinki. Aaro, who lives just a stones throw from the studio, was at the helm of producing and mixing. Vocal tracks were recorded at Seawolf studio, where renown producer Hannu Leiden (ex-Havana Black lead man) engineered and produced the vocals. Even before the band had recorded a single note, they knew the album would be in the classical ten-track, vinyl-friendly format. Jethro Tull cover Beggar’s Farm has been in Blake’s live set from the day one, so it was an obvious choice for the album. Nine Blake originals on the album were chosen among fifteen brand new songs. Heavy cropping of material was therefore applied, to keep the album tight and dynamic. At the same time Starbringer is diverse and vibrant, with songs flowing effortlessly from one atmosphere to another. Album’s spectrum travels from straightforward rock of Call Her Name, to heavy blues stomp of Walk In, obvious pop-flirtation of Circles Of Light, Doors-influenced tripping of Black Spirit, ending up in no-holds-barred mayhem of Junkie’s Coming. As confusing the former may sound at first, there’s a definitive bottom line Blake’s music. As Aaro puts it: “Blake is a rock band playing heavy music. We’re definitely not a metal band, we’re a heavy rock band”.

Line-up:
Aaro – vocals, guitar
Kimmo - bass
Sami O - drums
Sami H - guitar

Discography:
Fireroot (CD 2003)
Starbringer (Ranch CD 2004)

Tracklist:
1. To the Stars
2. Starbringer
3. Call Her Name
4. Evil Remains Evil
5. Walk In
6. Circles of Light
7. Other Side
8. Beggars’ Farm
9. Crawl
10. Son of Fire
11. Black Spirit
12. Junkie Is Coming
13. Dark Side of the Planet