Black Label Society is a band I have never really listened to much. Every once in awhile I would wonder why I don't; Zakk Wylde is an amazing guitar player with an original sound that just gets the adrenaline going. I would then pop in the original Black Label album, and I just don't really like it. That's the reason, I just moved onto other bands following what I considered to be a lackluster debut. I guess I should also mention I have never listened to Pride & Glory, and I really liked Book of Shadows, not to mention his work with Ozzy.
Recently, I was encouraged to return to the fold when I viewed, reviewed, and loved the recent Black Label DVD, Doom Troopin'. That live show was an eye opener to the true metal juggernaut that Wylde started. The music was just an absolute joy to listen to. Now I had to check them out in studio form. As luck would have it, the band has just released a new album, Shot to Hell.
This album is not exactly what I expected, honestly I did not expect to hear so many ballads and slower tracks, they actually take up a good portion of the disk. Not that this is a bad thing, I just expected it to be more balls to the wall straight through with maybe one slow jam.
The highlight of Shot to Hell is, obviously, Zakk's guitar playing. He has such an amazing sound. I have never heard anyone that plays quite like him. Combine that with his distinctive, yet Ozzy inspired voice, and the rest of his band you have one of the true flag bearers of metal music. Black Label Society is a true metal band, tried and true. With my recent coming into the fold, I am getting a good idea of what to expect from them, and I like it.
Article comments
1 - T.L.J
Good review! Although, i would give the album more stars since i also love the slower stuff!
A tip from me would be to buy "The Blessed Hellride", "1919 Eternal" or "Mafia" album. They are ALOT more raw-cut productionvise, maybe exept Mafia, but they do contains GEMS! Like most BLS-albums, they might need some time to grow on you, but i now consider them all like "best-of"-albums cause of the quality throughout each album(!). Zakk = KING!!