BLACK LABEL SOCIETY – Catacombs Of The Black Vatican [Black Ltd. Ed.] (2014)

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After stardom as part of the Ozzy Osbourne Band, Zakk Wylde and his own child BLACK LABEL SOCIETY has enjoyed a 16-year career that spans nine studio albums and two live, and is still going strong on their new CD “Catacombs Of The Black Vatican”, to be released next week.
What’s their secret? While most bands try to up the ante with each release, Wylde believes in the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach, and besides, this is the kind of music he loves.

While diving into sobriety as well as dabbling in more melodic, even acoustic based fare, Zakk Wylde has certainly taken a turn in his life in recent years. This new record from Zakk and the guys (guitarist Dario Lorina, bassist John DeServio, and drummer Chad Szeliga) lighten up a bit on the crushing Black Sabbath inspired biker metal of old, but still deliver a pretty crunchy set of hard rock fare.
The first three tracks on “Catacombs Of The Black Vatican” (great title) are your typical BLS styled heavy rock numbers, though relying less on the squealing pinch harmonic riffs of old and just good old classic styled hard rock power chords, with “Believe” not only delivering the punch but also some groovy melodies.

“Angel of Mercy” is a mellower track with lush acoustic tones and Wylde’s poignant vocals, broke up in the middle by a sizzling guitar solo. The raging BLS we all remember rears its head on the rampaging “Heart of Darkness”, a journey into Sabbath styled metal complete with snarling vocals and mean riffs.
More great riffs turn up on the all too brief “Beyond the Dawn”, while “Scars” again returns to acoustic, almost southern rock settings, with some haunting vocals melodies from Zakk. Perhaps the heaviest track here is the bombastic “Damn the Flood”, a bruising stomp of heaviness that brings to mind those first few BLS albums, complete with raunchy riffs and shredding guitar solos.

The memorable and really melodic “I’ve Gone Away” is driven by thick riffs (in the Jorn way) to go along with alluring vocals, and “Empty Promises” slows things down a tad, as this mid paced rocker echoes Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd with some superb drumming from Szeliga complementing Wylde & Lorina’s grinding hard rock riffs.
Rounding out the album is the heartfelt poppy / bluesy ballad “Shades of Gray”, with Zakk crooning away over shimmering guitar arpeggios.
This ‘Black Limited Edition’ features a different album cover and two bonus tracks: the riff-driven, detuned Ozzy-esque “Dark Side of the Sun”, and the acoustic filled midtempo “Nomad”, quite melancholic due the inclusion of a string arrangement.

To be honest, Black Label Society never has done too much for me musically, but this “Catacombs Of The Black Vatican” contains a bit more variety than we’ve seen from Wylde in the past, more organic, melodic, and I liked it.
It’s a very solid release very well recorded and played (more polished than before), an enjoyable album that is definitely worth your attention.

01 – Fields of Unforgiveness
02 – My Dying Time
03 – Believe
04 – Angel of Mercy
05 – Heart of Darkness
06 – Beyond the Down
07 – Scars
08 – Damn the Flood
09 – I’ve Gone Away
10 – Empty Promises
11 – Shades of Gray
12 – Dark Side of the Sun (Bonus Track)
13 – Nomad (Bonus Track)

Zakk Wylde – vocals, guitar
Dario Lorina – guitar
John DeServio – bass
Chad Szeliga – drums, percussion

Pre-Order:
www.amazon.co.uk/Catacombs-Black-Vatican-Ltd-Ed/dp/B00ICMLNAO
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