|  Comments:
Black Label Society’s latest release Mafia is solid
as a rock. Being internationally acclaimed as a guitar virtuoso
is rather daunting, but Zakk Wylde has decided to show everyone
what all the fuss is about. He hammers out his hard, charging southern
fried metal rhythms as well as a dozen or so unique solos. The album
starts off with the strange, deep groove “Fire it Up,”
where Zakk’s playing is reminiscent of his older “No
More Tears” -Ozzy days but with much more feeling. And he
throws in a multi-paced solo to alert us of what we are in store
for.
He
works the fret board from top to bottom then back up again. Alice
and Chains’ influence pops up over and over. On the second
track, “What’s In You,” his vocals sound a lot
like Layne Staley to me but with significantly harder guitar rides
and solo. “Suicide Messiah,” the band’s radio
single, is awesome from start to finish. His vocal distortion and
the heavy riffing work wonderfully together, and Zakk flies against
mainstream convention with two solos.
Beautiful
piano playing starts of “Forever Down,” but there is
only 25 seconds before the classic wailing guitar screams in your
ear. Here, his vocals are the best of the whole album as he screams,
“down, down, down forever down!” Then a speedy, difficult
solo launches from below to make us realize that there is still
one man than is concerned with “expert” axemanship!
“In This River,” which is BLS’s attempt at a ballad,
is solid with Zakk stealing the show with a soulful spirited 25-second
guitar solo. “You must be Blind” is very Ozzy-era Zakk
playing with a slightly harder and heavier rhythm, and is a thinly
veiled shred fest. Wylde laces it, of course, with great hard heavy
solos. “Death March” sounds exactly as its name with
pounding, slamming and screaming then delivering a strong, dark
rhythm and killer solo. “Spread your wings” has a great
solo too, in the middle of total chaos. “Dirt on the Grave”
is a nice ride of pleasant piano with acoustic guitar beauty then
whines electric from Wylde highlighting the track.
The
album ends with the bonus track, “I Never Dreamed,”
which is a Skynryd cover that BLS does justice to, and then some,
with expert guitar work. If you haven’t gotten the picture
yet, Zakk is out of his mind with desire for his bull’s-eye
guitars and wants to show the world he is No. 1 by shredding the
absolute hell out of them. The improvement he has shown in his playing
the last 10 years, in both style and substance, is remarkable. Pick
this CD up soon, pop it in, and just let it ride.
Band
Members: Craig Nunenmacher-Drums, James Lomenzo-Bass, Zakk Wylde-Guitars,
Nick Catonese-Guitars
Band
link: www.blacklabelsociety.net
Label link: Artemis
Records |
