BLAKE – Planetizer

Planetizer is the third full-length release for Finland’s Blake since 2003, not counting a couple of demos and singles. Planetizer has been out in Europe since September 2005; a wider release for the album is planned for some time in the near future.

Planetizer is 10 tracks long, and has a running time of close to 43 minutes. Some versions of the album have a video for the lead-off song “Two Ways.”

For those unfamiliar with Blake, they play a groove-laden style of Metal, sounding a bit like a heavier version of The Cult, with lots of heavy riffs, snarly vocals, and a hard-hitting rhythm section providing a deep bottom end. A few songs have a bit of a “spacey” feel to them as well, but most of the tracks are pretty heavy, although “Reborn” is a little more laid-back than the rest.

Planetizer is a consistent album, with all the songs being solid, catchy, and well-played. There are no boring or filler tracks on this album: just 10 rocking Heavy Metal tunes getting their grooves on in a big way. Most of them are mid-paced chuggers, with the notable exception of the third track, “Come Dawn,” which is a balls-out rocker with real driving energy and cool riffing.

You want more big riffs? Then you’ve come to the right place: Blake’s guitar duo of Aaro Seppovaara (who also handles vocals) and Sami Hassinen are tossing them out by the bucketful on Planetizer, making every song worth hearing for the riffs alone. Both of these guys are solid players, and Seppovaara does a good job on vocals too. He has a strong voice, and puts it to good use.

The other “fast” song on Planetizer would be “Hold,” which has nice momentum. “Devil May Care” is pretty strong too, with a nice riff and a catchy, infectious chorus. Album-closer “Bad Luck Ladder” is a slower-paced atmospheric number with nice guitar work, and is a bit more mellow than the songs that precede it. At over six minutes in length, it goes on a bit too long, but it’s not a bad song.

Hopefully the planned wide release (North and South America) for Planetizer will give Blake a boost in recognition; they certainly deserve it on the basis of this album.