Secret Sphere's newest album sees the Italian power metal stalwarts moving further into a mellower direction. Blackened Heartbeat is well executed, and the band's experience is unmistakable. If you're looking for power metal with a lot of power in it, however, you will have to look at their previous albums. The songs here are very accessible and don't "rock" all that much, rather putting the emphasis on melody and not so much on killer riffs and powerful drum work. On past albums, I could always think of a few songs that stood out, but here things are uneventful. The ballad "Anna" is kind of cringe, though it is not actually bad and lots of people are bound to like it; it might have worked better on an album with more exciting songs surrounding it. I cannot say there is a bad song on the album, and it is finely tuned, "pretty" power metal, but so much of it is mellow that the excitement factor just isn't there. If you're looking for something relaxing or to put on for uninitiated guests, this will certainly do the trick.