The Blackout are a Welsh post-hardcore band from Merthyr Tydfil, formed in 2003. In 2007, the band released their debut album, We Are the Dynamite. Their second record, The Best in Town, was released in 2009. The band's third album, Hope, was released in 2011 and charted at number 27 in the UK album chart. Their fourth studio album, Start the Party, was released in 2013. The Blackout's final release was a five-track EP entitled Wolves, with their farewell tour held in early 2015, finishing in their hometown of Merthyr Tydfil in March 2015.

Merthyr Tydfil is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about 23 miles (37 km) north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, who according to legend was slain at Merthyr by pagans about 480 CE. Merthyr generally means "martyr" in modern Welsh, but here closer to the Latin martyrium: a place of worship built over a martyr's relics. Similar place names in south Wales are Merthyr Cynog, Merthyr Dyfan and Merthyr Mawr.