Blackhearth: The Wrath of God

Well I was always told not to judge a book by it’s cover and Spanish band Blackheath’s second album titled The Wrath Of God holds this mantra to be true. When i first saw the album cover art, which is conceptually kinda cool however a bit lacking in execution, I was expecting perhaps something underdeveloped or amateurish. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Wrath Of God is an album jam packed with professionalism executed as hard rocking and metallic glory. Alex Hernández (Lead & Rhythm Guitar) and Asier Larrea (Drums), who are the driving forces of the band, have surrounded themselves with extremely strong players and a great singer in Alain Concepcion.

The musical approach on The Wrath Of God is a pleasantly diverse mix of classic 80’s heavy metal, US Power Metal with a Euro edge at times and Progressive metal. Songs Like the openers “Betrayal� and “Into The Unknown� remind me of the Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath but with a heavier modern attack to it. Immediately the talent is on full display with soaring vocals, fantastic catchy melodies and harmonies, hard riffing guitars and bass, atmospheric Keyboards and driving drum grooves. The lead guitar and Keyboard playing is great too and serves to stamp the professionalism on the whole thing. The Judas Priest influence is also there, as well as a strong Iced Earth vibe on the more progressive moments. “My Bornless Child� has a great doomy epic atmosphere to it. Songs like “Rotten to The Core� and “True Belief� among others give me a strong Jag Panzer vibe. And I would be remiss not to mention the fantastic title track which sees Alain singing a duet with the legendary Tim “Ripper� Owens of Judas Priest and Iced Earth fame, amongst many other projects. Tim of course sounds as amazing as always and the song kicks all kinds of ass. The album rounds out with the beautiful and epicly doomy “Banished Forever�.

With all these references to bands that have influenced everybody in modern metal you’d be forgiven for expecting another generic and uninspired offering in this genre, however it couldn’t be further from the truth. While the album clearly draws on the deep wellspring of classic hard rock and heavy metal as shown by the influences I mentioned above as well as many others, The Wrath Of God very much stands on its own solid ground of excellence. The song writing is top notch and loaded with passion and fire, the playing is extremely well executed, the singing is fantastic and a real highlight on the album and the special guests help to elevate the album even further. I think this album would be considered a classic today if it had been released in the 80’s. Any fans of classic Heavy Metal, especially with just a pinch of Prog and Power thrown in, will surely love this one. And whatever you do, don’t judge this book by its cover.

Blackhearth:
Asier Larrea -Drums
Alex Hernandez -Guitar
Endika Ortega -Guitar
Alain Concepcion -Vocals
Jorge Sanchez -Bass
Julio Veiga -Keyboards

Tracklisting:
01 - Betrayal
02 - Into The Unknown
03 - My Bornless Child
04 - Rotten To The Core
05 - Nothing But Dust
06 - This World
07 - The Wrath Of God (Feat.Tim Owens)
08 - True Belief
09 - Reaching The Shore
10 - Banished Forever

Added: January 9th 2022
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 965
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]