REVIEWS:
Most noted for his lead guitar work on the Ozzy Osbourne albums No Rest For The Wicked, No More Tears and Ozzmosis, Zakk Wylde is actually an accomplished songwriter in his own right, as his solo career and projects on which he fronted and was the principal songwriter for, Pride & Glory and Black Label Society, prove. Since he practically is the controlling force for both of these projects, I figure I might as well lump these albums into one page, so here they are.
--Nick Karn
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COMMENTS
hi, my name is Túlio, I am brasilian and will write in portuguese:
e aí moçada !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to escrevendo pra falar que sou um outa fã do Zakk e acho ele um exelente guitarrista com uma ótima técnica.
falô povo do site .....
ps.: adoraria ganhar uma Zakk Wylde's Gibson Les Paul Custom
heehheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Released a year before frontman Zakk Wylde quit Ozzy Osbourne's backing band,
the best way to describe Pride & Glory's self titled debut is heavy as
hell Southern rock, as banjos and harmonicas are often prominent adding nice
texture to the sound, but so is his metal influence in the crunching riffs
and soloing, so a Lynyrd Skynyrd / Allman Brothers influence in the strong
vocals and the overall sound isn't a bad comparison. This atmosphere
works to Wylde's advantage and displays the full extent of his underappreciated
talent that wasn't fully evident especially on Ozzy's No More Tears,
because his playing absolutely smokes, and the melodies and lyrics of the
songs are strong, sometimes even exceptional at times, to back everything
up well.
"Losin' Your Mind" opens the album on just the right note with a banjo intro and a crunching riff following it, with a very good hook, while the furious "Horse Called War" has a memorable fast-paced structure and a soaring chorus, and "Shine On" is infectious enough ear candy to be a hit single, with very pleasant instrumental backing for the first 4 minutes or so of the song, but then it turns into a grinding jam that instrumentally rips. The first acoustic ballad on the album, "Lovin' Woman" is an effective gentle piece, and "Harvester Of Pain" boasts a very moving melody. "The Chosen One", meanwhile, is a masterful epic-length song that emphasizes pure 'grind' and 'groove', emphasizing this project's strengths, and the first half closer, piano-led ballad "Sweet Jesus" showcases a more moving side in the emotional melody and performance.
The second half begins with "Troubled Wine" continues in the direct "in your face" vein established by some of the heavier tunes, while "Machine Gun Man" is an anti-war number that, despite its' bleak lyrics, has an overall hopeful and uplifting tone, with a great melodic bridge to boot. Following is the folky, soulful "Cry Me A River", a nice counterpart to one of the album's most stunning extended songs - the impressively harsh groove and slow, convincing section (labeled 'afterthought' in the liner notes) of "Toe'n The Line".
"Found A Friend" and "Fadin' Away" are nearly as powerful as emotional, lyrically and melodically strong ballads (the former an almost country-ish blues, the latter a haunting piano-led one), while the album ends with the hysterical banjo-led "Hate Your Guts" (an entertaining "ode" to that certain despised someone in a relationship), perfectly capping off 74 minutes of mostly great songwriting and brilliant guitar work with not much filler. If there are any major weaknesses to be found, it can be said that the sound is not too strikingly original (although the songs exemplify everything great about it), and maybe the overuse of the words 'mama', 'child' and 'Lord' gets a bit irritating at times, but other than that, no complaints here.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Zakk's first solo effort is somewhat of a departure from Pride & Glory, which was Southern rock on a much heavier scale - Book Of Shadows moves into more mellow, folky and introspective territory with the occasional heavy moments ("1,000,000 Miles Away" goes to really great heights and is by far the heaviest and rawest moment throughout the album, while "Sold My Soul" also travels this direction). Mostly, though, this release is focused on the somewhat affecting stripped down territory, with the shorter tunes "Dead As Yesterday" and "Too Numb To Cry" having a gorgeous lyrical and musical atmosphere, and "I Thank You Child" a sincere and wonderful dedication to close things out.
Elsewhere, "Way Beyond Empty" is a mellower, Southern rock type piece that simply soars melodically with a breathtaking chorus and is the major highlight, "Road Back Home" is an excellent piano ballad with powerful solos in between the verse sections, while "What You're Look'n For" also has an ear-pleasing hook and outstanding playing and "The Things You Do" even throws in some lyrical wit. Rounding things out are "Throwin' It All Away" (another above par ballad), and the opening "Between Heaven And Hell", the only relatively uninspired and musically generic moment. Not quite as shattering or musically forceful as Pride & Glory, but it's another quite worthwhile effort from this often overlooked talent.
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released by Black Label Society
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Following up on his solo effort Book Of Shadows released three years earlier, Zakk returned with a new project Black Label Society, and the band's debut, in sharp contrast to the often mellow work of Book Of Shadows, is an extremely heavy, riff-oriented, raw and powerfully attitude laden affair. However, by cranking up the volume significantly, Sonic Brew has its' problems - it sounds as if the production crew and band members had a few too many 'sonic brews' themselves and they didn't give a shit about how the sound turned out, and since Wylde apparently felt the need to be as heavy as possible, many of the songs are dominated by incredibly annoying, headache-inducing distortion and crappy production (showcased immediately on the half-baked "Bored To Tears"), which leaves them little room to breathe.
Also, it seems like playing with Ozzy for a good amount of time in the past has left its' mark, because the riffs here sound like cloned Black Sabbath more often than not - for example, "World Of Trouble" steals directly from the ending of "Fairies Wear Boots", and the "Electric Funeral" knockoff "Peddlers Of Death" tries unsuccessfully to disguise its' influence with ballad like sections in the verses. The breakdown section of "Born To Lose" and the raw tracks "Low Down" and "The Beginning... At Last" also border on outright theft in this respect. On top of that, the lyrics are somewhat juvenile, and the melodies aren't as memorable as before.
There are still a few awesome tracks in the mix though (although most of the album could have been just as great if not for the horrible production and blatant derivativeness) - the chorus howl of 'Deaaaaaath...' in the intense number "The Rose Petalled Garden" is downright eerie and powerful, the lone ballad "Spoke In The Wheel" is one of the few breaks from the non-stop aggression, and it's a great song, while "Lost My Better Half" is a nice cruncher, and the brilliant instrumental "T.A.Z." lives up to its' title, as Wylde rips it up as fast as he can on acoustic guitar in show-stopping fashion. Despite those great songs, though, the weaknesses are a little too much to overcome, making this Sonic Brew a little unfulfilling.
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COMMENTS
You know nothing about music.Your review is a joke.Sonic Brew Is A Masterpiece. Who Are You To Judge An Artists Work.Overall Rating 10.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN?
sonic brew IS a maserpiece, period, the songs are by far zakks best(compared to the following BLS albums)
im with these fellas. what kind of wanker writes off sonic brew. go grab a copy of the latest backdoor boys album if this is to heavy for you you pussy. I hear its a little easier on the ear and perhaps a tad more fulfilling to a dead eared person such as yourself.
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