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Artist: Black Label Society
Title: Order of the Black
Genre: Sludge / Southern Rock
Release Date: 20th August 2010
Label: Roadrunner



Album Review

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY is spearheaded by the famous Zakk Wylde, most notable for being Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist and his numerous prolific awards for being an excellent guitarist… and somehow being nominated the hottest guy in metal during Revolver’s April 2007 issue that featured a reader poll. Whether that’s true or not is disputable, but what is indisputable is Zakk’s talent as a guitarist and ability to lead a band. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY began in 1998 and has been going strong ever since; the acquired musicians over the past have played their hearts out with all the music emotion one could dream of. With 2010, they’ve become more and more eclectic in their work by making it more diverse and melodic. On ‘Order of the Black’, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY make a generous use of piano for the softer ballads, but also go completely balls out on the harder rock tunes that feature plenty of guitar and melodies that will make fans of MOTORHEAD or JUDAS PRIEST’s olden days feel right back in the late eighties or early nineties.

The best thing about ‘Order of the Black’ is its balance. There’s some lightning fast such as ‘Crazy Horse’ and ‘Parade of the Dead’. Zakk’s time with Ozzy has really influenced his work as the vocal patterns are similar and the grungy, yet clean BLACK SABBATH guitars are right there. But, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY try to mix things up with their own sound every once in a while. ‘Overlord’ features a very bluesy beginning that is addictive that breaks into a chugging rhythm that is sure to be a radio hit in the future. It is like the perfect mix of SOUNDGARDEN and OZZY: grunge and heavy metal at its finest. ‘Southern Dissolution’ is another slow chugger that keeps an easy pace that easily appreciable. Then there are the brief instrumentals that sadly should have been extended. ‘War on Heaven’ has a very dark, ominous tone that suits the coming of the apocalypse and would have been a great three minute instrumental rather than less than a minute. It also could have been a great lead in to the next song, but both tempos and styles are so different that it makes the song feel abruptly cut off. The other short track, ‘Chapucatra’, is an acoustic, little southern rock number that is fast and shows off some great finger work. It supports itself and could have been so much more dynamic if they had extended it a few minutes longer.

The other side of ‘Order of the Black’ is the slightly romantic / depressing piano ballads that Zakk performs. ‘Darkest Days’ brings back the memories of the slow rock ballads of the seventies where Zakk tries to be as melodic as possible. At first, tracks like these may put off listeners because it doesn’t suit the hard rock style of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. However, the resemblance to Ozzy’s latest albums and his piano influenced tracks should put them at some sort of ease. This isn’t a depressing track; instead, it is melodramatic and uplifting at the same time. ‘Time Waits for No One’ is more of the epic ballad in the way Zakk uses his vocals to sing his heart out and create an orchestral feeling in the background. It’s the guitar solo that really gives the track flavour though with the long, mournful solo, along with the bonus track ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’. The most depressing track on the album isn’t even done with piano, but it is very slow. ‘January’ features acoustic guitar that sounds just right and has enough of a tone to melt the hearts of even the hardest of rock lovers. It’s interesting how BLACK LABEL SOCIETY has that ability now… to please both the fans of the aggressive and softer side of heavy rock and metal.

For those that have been complaining about the last few BLACK LABEL SOCIETY albums, this is probably the right one for the modern times. Sure it is extremely accessible and more mainstream, especially due to the slower songs with piano, but at least they don’t all sound the same. In fact, the slower songs add just the right break in between the harder songs so the whole album transitions slowly over time. The band has most likely found their niche, but they will probably do something more dynamic the next time around to keep things interesting.


Tracklist

01. Crazy Horse- 4:03
02. Overlord- 6:05
03. Parade of the Dead- 3:36
04. Darkest Days- 4:17
05. Black Sunday- 3:23
06. Southern Dissolution- 4:56
07. Time Waits For No One- 3:36
08. Godspeed Hell Bound- 4:43
09. War of Heaven- 4:09
10. Shallow Grave- 3:37
11. Chupacabra- 00:49
12. Riders of the Damned- 3:23
13. January- 2:21
14. Can’t Find My Way Home- 3:33 (bonus)


Line-up

Zakk Wylde- vocals, guitar, bass, piano
Nick Catanese- guitar
John DeServio- bass
Will Hunt- drums


Website

http://www.blacklabelsociety.net/


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10


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