Tomi Koivusaari, known as the guitarist for Amorphis, released his solo project Bjørkø's debut album Heartrot in December.

The lineup for Koivusaari's solo album boasts talent, with drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (Opeth, ex-Paradise Lost), bassist Lauri Porra (Stratovarius), and keyboard wizard Janne Lounatvuori (Hidria Spacefolk) forming part of the core ensemble.

Additionally, each sung track on the album features interesting vocalists, ranging from extreme metal legend Jeff Walker (Carcass) to Marko Hietala known from Nightwish, through Mariska.

One of the most memorable guests on the Heartrot album is Ismo Alanko. The legend of Finnish rock has written lyrics and sung on Bjørkø's track ”Värinvaihtaja".

"The working title for the song was already 'Siekkarit' (short for Sielun Veljet) so it was obvious who to invite as a guest vocalist. Initially, as a fan, I hesitated to contact Alanko, but producer Nino Laurenne forced me to. At first, Ismo doubted the success of the project because he had never before written lyrics for a finished song composed by someone else. However, once we got going, both the lyrics and vocal parts came together organically and quickly," Koivusaari recounts.

The video for "Värinvaihtaja", directed by Antti Kuivalainen and Jansku Tanskanen, can be viewed below. Order the album here.

Tracklisting:

"The Heartroot Rots"
"Vaka Loka"
"Whitebone Wind"
"Värinvaihtaja"
"Awakening"
"World As Fire And Hallucination"
"The Trickster"
"Hooks In The Sky"
"Magenta"
"Reverberations"

"Värinvaihtaja" video:

"Whitebone Wind" video:

"The Heartroot Rot" video:

(Photo - Sam Jämsen)