{"id":32078,"date":"2013-10-02T06:33:52","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T11:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=32078"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:38:25","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:38:25","slug":"black-label-society-unblackened-dvd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/black-label-society-unblackened-dvd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Label Society | Unblackened<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"BlackZakk Wylde struck it double lucky when Ozzy hired him back in 1987. Not only was it one of the most prolific, best-paid gigs in rock, but the man whom Wylde to this day calls \u201cBoss\u201d was utterly unboastful, never letting himself or his musicians go on an ego trip. That, and Wylde\u2019s own sensibilities kept his feet on the ground. And where there is solid ground, there are roots. So traditional American music also remained a big part of Wylde\u2019s identity as a musician.<\/p>\n

The DVD in hand reveals the depth of Wylde\u2019s tie to America with elegant poise. The live show filmed at Club Nokia in L.A. earlier this year features material from the Black Label Society catalog that Wylde himself describes as \u201cslow songs\u201d to distinguish them from ballads. Here the flashy virtuosity of heavy metal stands down to the downcast, broody feel of blues- and country-inspired songwriting themes. But when Wylde chooses to turn on his shred switch — as on standout \u201cThrowin\u2019 It All Away\u201d — the high-voltage frenzy reminds you that this rugged, bearded, deep-voiced caveman to this day remains one of the world\u2019s best guitar players. <\/p>\n

From blistering fretboard blow-ups (which erupt at dizzyingly fast speed even when he plays an acoustic guitar) to his soulful piano playing, Wylde keeps the proceedings draped in a lucid, transparent vibe that the band keeps perfectly balanced. Guitarist Nick Catanese provides restrained support on the second guitar and solos flawlessly when called for. And although Wylde expressly avoids referring to the material as \u201cballads,\u201d a lot of those songs are, and the mood of the set remains decidedly romantic despite the self-possessed delivery.<\/p>\n

Wylde\u2019s singing does borrow a lot of vocal mannerisms from Ozzy, but where Ozzy\u2019s voice climbs, Zakk remains firmly earth-bound \u2013 a conscious decision to bring out the contrast with the sky-bound melodies. And while Wylde may not be the most diverse or expressive singer, his solemn sincerity suites the material. The main draw of this release though is the intimate atmosphere that doesn\u2019t get much exposure at regular BLS shows. The song-oriented, melody-driven style shines a light on a lyrical side not only of Wylde, but of rock as a genre. With less and less ballads written by rock musicians these days, we can certainly do with such an injection of romanticism delivered so powerfully by one of rock\u2019s best artists. <\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. Losin\u2019 Your Mind
\n2. The Blessed Hellride
\n3. Sold My Soul
\n4. Road Back Home
\n5. Spoke in the Wheel
\n6. House of Doom
\n7. Queen of Sorrow
\n8. Machine Gun Man
\n9. Sweet Jesus
\n10. In This River
\n11. Throwin\u2019 It All Away
\n12. Takillya (Estyabon)
\n13. Won\u2019t Find It Here
\n14. Rust
\n15. Speedball
\n16. I Thank You Child
\n17. Stillborn<\/p>\n

Personnel:
\nZakk Wylde \u2013 guitar, vocals, piano
\nNick Catanese \u2013 guitar
\nJohn Deservio \u2013 bass, vocals
\nChad Szeliga \u2013 drums
\nDerek Sherinian \u2013 keyboards, piano
\nGreg Locascio \u2013 vocals<\/p>\n

Bonus Features:
\nZakk Visits HM Prison Stocken (UK)
\nInterview
\nLosin\u2019 Your Mind Video
\nPhoto Gallery<\/p>\n

Label: Eagle Vision <\/p>\n

Online: www.zakkwylde.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai – Senior Columnist — Zakk Wylde struck it double lucky when Ozzy hired him back in 1987. Not only was it one of the most prolific, best-paid gigs in rock, but the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2578,8122,1103,2491,7831],"class_list":{"0":"post-32078","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-dvd-review","9":"tag-eagle-vision","10":"tag-hard-rock","11":"tag-heavy-metal","12":"tag-unblackened"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}