''Black Heart'' is the sixth studio album by American

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band

Within the Ruins Within the Ruins is an American metalcore band formed in Westfield, Massachusetts in 2003. The group currently consists of guitarist Joe Cocchi, drummer Kevin McGuill, bassist Paolo Galang, and vocalist Steve Tinnon. They are currently signed to ...

. It was released on November 27, 2020. It is Within the Ruins' first studio album to feature vocalist Steve Tinnon, who joined in 2018, replacing longtime member Tim Goergen, who left due to ongoing health issues. Like their previous album '' Halfway Human'', ''Black Heart'' was praised by critics for the incorporation of new elements such as clean vocals in addition to

screaming A scream is a loud speech production, vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including human ...

death growls A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

Background and promotion

On December 13, 2018,

announced via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that they'd be re-entering the studio to record a brand new album that was originally scheduled for a 2019 release. After nearly two years of delay, the album release date was announced on September 25, 2020, in conjunction with the release of the album's first promotional single and music video, "Deliverance". On October 26, 2020, Within the Ruins released a music video to accompany the album's second promotional single and music video, the title track "Black Heart". Speaking on the song, Tinnon stated:

"We're extremely excited to release the video for the title track to our new album, ''Black Heart''! We really enjoyed making this one and getting to tell a bit more of the story behind the music. It's a very angry, personal song, and a lot of the tracks stem from what it's about. It's an important track in regards to the overall theme of the record, and we couldn't be happier with how the video turned out!"

Critical reception

The album received praise from critics. ''Brutal Planet'' reviewer Dustin Peterson stated about the band's sound:

"Within the Ruins takes
Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas ...
's 'Djent' start / stop, off kilter style and adds elements of classic metal and video game aesthetics. There are literally points in this record where the guitarist is making sounds I heard in ''Ninja Gaiden'' while playing 8-Bit Nintendo 30 years ago. The intensity, speed and accuracy of the band as a whole is on par with the best."

Additional praise for the album came from ''Everything Is Noise'' reviewer JP Pallais:

"Within the Ruins is one band that have been consistently releasing quality music in a genre over-saturated with bands all trying to achieve the same thing. In the case of WTR, the music blends technical metalcore, deathcore, progressive metal, and melodic death metal into one fluid entity with a massive emphasis on technicality. Despite being relentless in terms of how brutal the music is, Within the Ruins know how to make their tunes just as melodic and atmospheric as well."

Track listing

Personnel

Within the Ruins * Steve Tinnon –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Joe Cocchi –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, production, engineering, mixing * Paolo Galang – bass,

clean vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Kevin McGuill –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Additional personnel * Jim Fogarty – production, engineering * Scott Lee – associate production * Fernando Lemus – vocal engineering * Josh Wickman – mastering, mixing * Cameron Gray – artwork

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Within the Ruins albums E1 Music albums