History & Biography Zakk Wylde's wild and alcohol-loving band BLS is very partial to beer, whisky (the band was threatened with legal action early on by Johnny Walker) and loud metal riffing. The man who gained fame by playing guitar for Ozzy Osbourne operated the act during Ozzy's downtimes. The band, nevertheless, charted with The Blessed Hellride. To support The Blessed Hellride Black Label Society toured the USA in the spring. Former Ozzy Osbourne and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo joined the band. Very soon thereafter bassist Mike Inez (Ozzy, Alice in Chains, etc.) replaced Robert Trujillo. Also part of the band was drummer Craig Nunenmacher of Crowbar.
Hangover Music, Vol. VI. entered the US charts and proved to be the band's best-selling album so far. In 2005, the Mafia album reached the Billboard top 20. Spitfire released a Zakk Wylde retrospective, featuring two new songs, called Kings Of Damnation in 2005 as a parting shot for the act. Roadrunner Records signed the band in early 2006. The band’s next album would be called Shot To Hell. The gang released a live DVD, entitled The European Invasion - Doom Troopin' Live, on June 27th, 2006.
After a period of silence, a new compilation called Skullage was due on April 21st, 2009. It was to be released in three different formats, namely CD, DVD and CD/DVD. Zakk Wylde performed the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, on May 29th of 2009 in Denver, Colorado in the middle of game six of the playoffs game between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Black Label Society was touring the USA with mallcore bands Mudvayne and Static-X that summer. A movie, called Bones, featured an appearance by guitarist Zakk Wylde. It was due in 2010 and revolved around the story of despondent youths. Wylde was being replaced in Ozzy Osbourne once again; although the guitarist had expressed ignorance about the issue and gone on to severely criticize the lack of communication from his “boss”. Wylde was recovering following a medical emergency to remove blood clots from his lungs and leg in August of 2009. He was taken to the hospital after a concert in Montana on the 19th of August. The rest of the Pedal To The Metal Tour was cancelled. Black Label Society signed to E1 for North America and Roadrunner Records for Europe in 2010. A new album was due in the summer. Drummer Craig Nunenmacher left Black Label Society though. Black Label Society recruited drummer Will Hunt (Evanescence, Static-X, Stuck Mojo and Tommy Lee) to play on the band's upcoming album and tour. Black Label Society picked Order Of The Black as the title for its next album, which was due in North America on August 10th 2010 through new label E1 Music. The album would come with four different covers - one for each territory. Black Label Society would headline the Black Label Berzerkus tour in North America in autumn 2010. The two-month trek would also feature Clutch, Children Of Bodom and 2cents. Cherry Lane Music issued a book called Order Of The Black in 2011 of Black Label Society featuring transcriptions of all 13 songs from the band's Searing 2010 CD. Several Black Label Society concerts were cancelled in Europe as Zakk Wylde was suffering from inflamed vocal cords and was seeking medical attention. Nonetheless, Black Label Society supported Ozzy Osbourne in Oberhausen, Germany on June 13th, 2011. Judas Priest kicked off its Epitaph world tour on Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The concert was the band's first concert with its latest addition, guitarist Richie Faulkner (Dirty Deeds and Lauren Harris) who had replaced K.K. Downing. The band was touring North America in the autumn (mostly in November) with openers Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society. Black Label Society recruited Chad Szeliga (Breaking Benjamin and Ourafter) as the band's new drummer in 2011. He replaced live stand-in Mike Froedge (Speed X and Doubledrive).
In late 2011, Back On Black reissued the first six albums of Black Label Society on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl in deluxe gatefold sleeves. The first 1,000 copies of each title were available on coloured vinyl. Glorious Christmas Songs That Will Make Your Black Label Heart Feel Good was an EP of acoustic and instrumental Christmas classics from Black Label Society. The band was touring the USA with Guns N’ Roses. James McVay, the criminal who slashed the throat of a 75-year-old South Dakota nurse, claimed that he became involved with a "cult" called the ‘Black Label Society’ which he claimed was founded by Zakk Wylde. The man had concocted a plan to kill US president Obama. Guitarist Zakk Wylde and his wife, Barbaranne, had a fourth child in 2012. He was named Sabbath Page Wielandt Wylde. Another son was called Hendrix. Black Label Society replaced guitarist Nick Catanese with Lizzy Borden’s Dario Lorina. The new Black Label Society album, Catacombs Of The Black Vatican, would be released in Europe on April 7th through Mascot and one day later in North America through eOne Music. Zakk Wylde's Blue Bullseye Gibson LP guitar and leather vest were stolen on Friday, March 14th, 2014 from his tour bus at the Chicago, Illinois stop of the Experience Hendrix tour at the Chicago Theater. The guitar was soon recovered in a local pawnshop. The new album, Catacombs Of The Black Vatican, sold 26,000 copies in the USA in its first week of release to debut at position Number 5 on The Billboard 200 chart. Black Label Society would be on US show Late Night With Seth Meyers on Tuesday, May 6th performing the song My Dying Time. Guitarist Zakk Wylde left Gibson and Marshall behind and launched his own company, Wylde Audio. Guitar player Zakk Wylde would release an album called Book Of Shadows II on April 8th of 2016 through eOne Music. This was the guitar player’s first solo record since 1996's Book Of Shadows. Black Label Society’s 2018 full-length album, Grimmest Hits, was released on January 19th through Entertainment One.
The band was touring North America with Corrosion Of Conformity. Black Label Society “postponed” several Canadian and USA concerts due to singer and guitarist Zakk Wylde suffering from "a severe illness." Zakk Sabbath, a Black Sabbath cover band featuring Zakk Wylde, would perform on the second stage of the New Year's Eve Ozzfest in Los Angeles, USA in 2018. Black Label Society announced a 20 Years Of Sonic Brewtality Tour for North America in April 2019. The band also had a new version of its 1999 debut LP Sonic Brew due on May 17th. It was called Sonic Brew - 20th Anniversary Blend 5.99 - 5.19. An announced tour of Black Label Society, Obituary and Lord Dying was cancelled in 2019. The bands were supposed to tour North America in December. Black Label Society's North American tour with openers Obituary and Lord Dying, which was originally scheduled for December but "due to sudden unforeseen circumstances," cancelled, would now take place in February and March 2020. The band postponed the remaining portion of its North American Crusade tour with Obituary and Lord Dying due to the pandemic and announced it would record a new album in May. Black Label Society, Obituary and Prong announced a U.S.A. tour for autumn 2021. It was announced subsequently that Armored Saint, Black Label Society and Prong would tour the USA in December 2021.
Black Label Society would release an album, entitled Doom Crew Inc., through Entertainment One on 26.11.2021. There was a video for the single Set You Free. Black Label Society, Nita Strauss and Jared James Nichols were to tour the USA in the spring of 2022. Anthrax and Black Label Society would co-headline 24 North American cities on tour in July and August 2022. Hatebreed was opening. Black Label Society was forced to postpone two concerts on its 2022 U.S.A. tour as singer and guitarist Zakk Wylde had lost his voice. Singer Philip Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, both formerly of Pantera, signed with Artist Group International in 2022 and were looking to tour as Pantera. The band needed a guitarist and drummer following the death of the founding brothers Dimebag and Vinnie Paul. Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante jumped in. Pantera would subsequently be booked year-round. Anthrax, Black Label Society and Exodus were to tour Canada and USA in January and February 2023. Black Label Society would release a single and video, called The Gallows, through MNRK Heavy in September 2024. Zakk Wylde's inaugural music festival, Berzerkus, was occurring in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, USA on 14.09.2024 and featured Black Label Society, country musician Cody Jinks and a number of cover bands.
Reviews BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - ALCOHOL FUELED BREWTALITY LIVE + 5 - SPITFIRE
Dubbed as Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society to connote the band's connection to Ozzy via his former guitarist Zakk, the new double CD is a live metal fest. While it is immediately clear that the Society is a thrashed up and groovy version of seventies hard rock, what sets this mob apart the most is the honesty and genuine feeling built into everything they do. There is no room for fluff with these guys. The singer wails like Danzig's brother, the drums just kick all the time and, of course, Zakk constantly lets loose with his wailing assistant. It's good to see that a honest-to-God hard rock band is out there and with the band on tour with Ozzfest (even if the line up is unadulterated poser barf) and Zakk on camera in the up coming Rock Star movie things can only get bigger and better for these rising stars. - Ali "The Metallian"
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - KINGS OF DAMNATION - SPITFIRE
Kings Of Damnation is not a new Black Label Society album; rather a compilation of material by Zakk Wylde and crew. Those who are familiar with the band - and there are many for the group has charted - know that BLS is like a bridge between hard rock and hillbilly music. Zakk Wylde himself has transformed himself from a cool guitarist for Ozzy into a whacked out Chickenhawk. In essence, he is the new Ted Nugent. Put another way, there is no lack of guitars on a BLS album ever. Be it the metal songs, the hard rockers or the slow and commercial tunes Wylde takes Ozzy and Black Sabbath as his foundation and composes white collar dirges for truck stops everywhere. The guitarist and the band purport to be hardcore and fierce, but take a look inside the jacket and see that even words like 'bullshit' and 'kickass' have been crossed out and censored. I guess a band that is sponsored by seven lines of corporate backers cannot really be that hard. Nevertheless, the nineteen tracks on this disc feature two new songs, Doomsday Inc. and SDMF, as well as songs from Hangover Music Vol. VI, The Blessed Hellride, 1919 Eternal and other albums. Fans of everything from Ozzy to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Pantera and Ministry will get this. What is with the intro to Metallica's Welcome Home on the song Sold my Soul? That I don't get. - Ali "The Metallian"
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - THE EUROPEAN INVASION DOOM TROOPIN’ (2DVD) - EAGLE VISION 
A full Paris show, and a four-song excerpt of a London show make up the live portion of this double DVD. The total of 19 songs, plus an Iron Man 'interlude', are filled with guitar jams, beer, leather and too many visual special effects to count, of which the split screens are easily the most annoying. The sometimes artificially macho sounding vocals of Zakk Wylde can be annoying too. The band covers many of the obvious favourites like Destruction Overdrive, Stillborn and Suicide Messiah. The second DVD includes a backstage pass feature, which consists mostly of the band causing chaos on their European tour bus. Lots of beer here too, a few minutes of home videos showing Zakk with his young daughter and the obviously obligatory random interview questions as well. The DVD concludes with three video clips for Suicide Messiah, appended with a short 'making of', In This River, a tribute to the late "Dimebag" Darrell of Pantera and Fire It Up, a ’70’s acid-trip sort of a song. - Anna Tergel
Interviews
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