With Black Label Society, guitarist and one-time Ozzy sideman Zakk Wylde found a lasting home for his ferocious metal picking. Formed in the late '90s, the outfit features a rotating lineup and Wylde taking on the bulk of the instruments. At its heart a Southern metal band, BLS melds the whiskey-soaked spirit of '70s rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd with the unleashed chaos of '80s thrashers such as Slayer…
Zakk Wylde and the boys of the Black Label Society have gone back to basics, dug deep and delivered an album rooted in the golden age of classic metal, and full of soul and variety. As the name indicates, “Doom Crew” is a genuine love letter to the fans of BLS…
Doom Crew Inc. sees Zakk trading solos and twin-guitar parts with Dario Lorina, backed by the rumble of longtime bassist John “J.D.” DeServio and powerhouse drummer Jeff Fabb. Like every Black Label Society album since 2010, the band tracked Doom Crew Inc. at Zakk’s home studio, aka the Black Vatican. The beautiful simplicity of Black Label Society bangers owe everything to the lessons Wylde first heard on We Sold Our Soul for Rock N’ Roll. “Less is more with everything,” he says. “Except the guitar solos.”
Black Label Society announced their 11th studio album, Doom Crew Inc., out November 26. The 12-track album is both a tribute to the band’s “first to bleed, last to leave” road crew and a salute to the legion whose support, stretching back to 1998, rivals that of the KISS Army. The stomping, heavy, bluesy, recklessly unhinged hard-rock-metal quartet are part invading horde, and part traveling carnival – summoning caffeine-fuelled cacophony on records and the stage.
Everything about Black Label Society begins with the riff. A dedicated disciple of Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Deep Purple, Zakk Wylde looks to the massive guitar hooks in classics like "Whole Lotta Love," "Into the Void," and "Smoke On the Water" as guiding lights. "The main ingredient in any Black Label soup is the riff," says the larger-than-life frontman. Black Label Society builds their music on this simple truth, truth as self-evident on Back in Black as on the dozen songs comprising Doom Crew Inc., the eleventh album from the dependable stalwarts. Doom Crew Inc. Is both a tribute to the band's "first to bleed, last to leave" road crew and a salute to the legion whose support, stretching back to 1998, rivals that of the KISS Army. The Black Label Society biker-style battle vest "kutte" is as ubiquitous at hard rock and metal shows as a black t-shirt.