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Blackhearth is a band that's been around for around 10 years but just released their debut album (self-titled) in March of 2019. Metal-Archives lists them as progressive heavy metal but that's not what I hear. The presence of keyboards does not a prog band make and Blackhearth play epic metal that relies on some solid guitar work and pummeling riffs which they round out with keys to enhance the atmosphere, making it darker and more ominous. The singer has a powerful, gravelly voice, not unlike John Bush, but he leans into his performance so hard that at times, he pushes himself out of key, which is distracting. When he reins it in a bit, he does a decent job. The songs on Blackhearth are good and you can hear what the band was trying for, but the songwriting falls short of those goals and there aren't a lot of hooks that stick around even after a few spins. I thought a band that has been honing their craft for this long might have come up with something more awesome, but maybe this is them testing the waters and something better is coming next. If gritty, epic metal with a bit more atmosphere than your typical traditional metal band is your thing, give it a listen.