Luke Turns to the Dark Side... of Metal!
The new concept album from guitarist/producer/composer Joshua Craig Podolsky's groove-metal outfit The Alien Blakk will feature voice-over narration from none other than Luke Skywalker himself. Mark Hamill is certainly no stranger to professional voice acting – having built a solid rep as a performer on countless high-profile animation projects over nearly two decades (including his celebrated role as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and videogame Arkham Asylum), but this will be his first official music gig. We've got more info on the project, and Hamill's role, below the fold, so come over to the dark side...
In a reverse twist on the Luke/Vader relationship, Hamill will take on the fatherly role in Bekoming, actually portraying Podolsky's deceased father in the epic nine-minute opening track. Podolsky explains that Hamill's character “asks me questions as if from beyond the grave and I give my answers back,” which proved an emotionally baring and cathartic experience for the artist. “Once Mark and I were done working together, life seemed to have breathed new air in my lungs,” Joshua revealed. “It felt as if I were wiped clean, exalted of my wrongdoings, and was blessed with a new beginning to start living my life.”
Hamill is one of several big-name artists contributing to Bekoming; the roster also includes former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and CKY's Deron Miller. Three years in the making and finally slated for release on April 6th, the album also features a cover of Black Sabbath's Snowblind – which you can now preview on the band's official MySpace – and a metal take of Tom Petty's Running Down a Dream. Copies purchased from The Alien Blakk official site will be autographed by Joshua himself.
(In a side note, Hamill isn't the artist's only Star Wars connection: Podolsky also assisted Carrie Fisher last year on her Broadway show Wishfully Drinking.)
