Black Label Society – “Order of the Black”

Black Label Society comes out of the box swinging hard and heavy on their new release The Order of the Black. The first three songs, “Crazy Horse,” “Overlord” and “Parade Of The Dead,” all hit you like a ton of bricks! They are the heavy, balls out metal tunes that we have come to expect from the band and especially from Zakk Wylde.

While the songs are really good it is Wylde’s incredible playing that is the focal point of these first three tracks as he shreds through tune after tune leaving the mouth agape in awe. The man is talented… very talented. It is truly amazing what he can make his guitar do.

The slowed down piano ballad “Darkest Days” also proves that Wylde is not a one trick pony. He is equally at home in this incredible, emotion filled song that really changes the vibe of the disc. While I feel every song on this record is quite good, there were a couple that I have to make mention of. The riff driven “War Of Heaven” is one of those tunes; from the very first note the groove seeps into your soul and becomes so contagious you cannot help but move to it. “Riders Of The Damned” is another jam that really stood out to me. It too has a slow burning groove to it that sort of gets inside you and forces you to take notice.

Even the piano laced introspective ballad “Time Waits For No One” is a great song. Yes, it is a bit on the commercial side, and it is easy to see this tune lighting up the all request lines at your local rock station, but at its core it is a good, emotion-filled tune that really showcases Wylde’s vocal abilities as well.

This is clearly not a vanity project for Wylde. We all know he can shred and has proven it time and time again. Instead of trying to impress us with excessive runs and scales, he has written solid songs infused with his signature trademark leads; ones which are tasteful however, and not distracting from the songs themselves. Bottom line. This record is good. It should be a necessary addition to any hard rocker’s collection.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Crazy Horse
02. Overlord
03. Parade Of The Dead
04. Darkest Days
05. Black Sunday
06. Southern Dissolution
07. Time Waits For No One
08. Godspeed Hellbound
09. War Of Heaven
10. Shallow Grave
11. Chupacabra
12. Riders Of The Damned
13. January

Run Time: 46:42
Release Date: 08.10.2010