I have
yet to hear a poor offering from Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society. Seriously, and Zakk has been doing this for
quite some time. This is his tenth
studio album with Black Label, and if you count his solo work and live albums
he is up to fourteen now, all since the late 90s. This is all while working with Ozzy Osbourne
(for most of that time, he’s bounced back and forth) as well as tours like
“Experience Hendrix” which my father recently went to and was completely
floored by.
Catacombs of the Black Vatican is a
typical Black Label album in its structure.
It’s incredibly heavy and powerful from the very first note and keeps
you engaged throughout. Now, as with
most Black Label offerings, we get to hear a softer side of Zakk every now and
then, not so much that it becomes a mellower album, but enough to break up the
weight of the other songs. As someone
that really enjoyed Hangover Music Vol.
VI, his mellowest of albums, I find this softer offerings to be incredible
examples of Zakk’s songwriting ability.
He could very easily be a one trick pony, playing crushing riffs and
killer solos until his hands fall off, but the fact that he throws in little
nuggets like “Shades of Gray” (one of my favorite songs on the new album by
far) and “Angel of Mercy” shows how much respect he has for Black Label
fans. We’re not all mindless drones,
only wanting to bang our heads in unison.
We like variety in our music, and Zakk has given that to us. The fact that he has grown as both a lyricist
and a vocalist in the last fifteen or so years helps as well.
Ok, so
we’ve covered the softer parts of the album, which are incredible in their own
right. Let’s now take on what we all
love about Black Label Society, the sheer power and weight that Zakk puts
behind all of his music. The rest of the
band is as impressive in their musicianship as well, and while the departure of
longtime Black Label mainstay Nick Catanese is not apparent in the studio
album, I’m sure that once they get on tour he will be missed. Zakk and the Black Label boys just don’t let
up. When they are playing one of their
heavier offerings (nine of the thirteen tracks) they keep the foot on the gas
the entire time. There is an element of
punk music in there, the relentless pounding of the music into your skull,
broken up only by the very non-punk like killer guitar solo. This is what Zakk has built and refined over
the years, taking southern rock, blues and metal influences, mixing them all
together and coming up with the current Black Label Society sound. Is it a little more polished than his early
offerings? Sure. Is it any less powerful? Not at all.
The
problem with an album this good, and this consistent, is that there are no real
definitive standout tracks (aside from the aforementioned “Shades of
Gray”). “Fields of Unforgiveness” is a
perfect opener for the album, while “Beyond the Down” at just around the
halfway point keeps the album moving briskly along. “Empty Promises” is great as the last heavy
song before the album closes with “Shades of Gray” (the Best Buy exclusive adds
two tracks: “Dark Side of the Sun” and “The Nomad” at the end of the album, and
honestly, why wouldn’t you get the album with Bonus tracks?). There is not a weak link in this chain. Shot to
Hell, Black Label’s 2006 album was a bit of a downer in terms of quality
(it just wasn’t as consistent) but since then it’s been all uphill (and it
stands to reason that the move from putting out a new album every year to every
few years helped Zakk weed out some of the kinds of songs that made it onto Shot to Hell in the first place).
In
short, my completely biased opinion is that this is one of the best albums in
the Black Label catalogue, but my unbiased opinion is that this is one of the
best albums in the Black Label catalogue.
So make of that what you will.
Regardless, if you want a metal album by one of the genre’s best at the
height of his power, buy this album.
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