In May of 1998, former Ozzy Ozbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde along with drummer Phil Ondich and guitarist Nick Cantanese formed the great band Black Label Society. Bassist John DeServio joined the band for the first album tour after having worked with Wylde with his solo band Pride and Glory. Over the years, BLS has had a slew of impressive bassists such as Steve Gibb, Mike Inez, Robert Trujillo (Metallica), and James LaMenzo (Megadeath). Ondich was replaced in July of 2000 by drummer Craig Nunemacher whom is currently with the band.
Seven studio albums in, BLS is now out with their third compilation Skullage. The CD is 16 songs of some of the best that BLS has compiled over the years. There are two songs on the CD that were from previous solo bands of Wylde, Pride and Glory and Book of Shadows. The DVD is full of videos, live performances, as well as an interview of sorts with always funny and quirky Wylde.
The CD contains some of the best and hard hitting bass lines with songs such as “All for You”, “Fire it Up”, “13 Years of Grief” and also able to give you the acoustic balance of “The Blessed Hellride” and “In This River”. I didn’t find anything on this disc to skip ahead from. Well rounded and heavy entertainment. The song “Machine Gun Man” was from Pride and Glory and “Dead as Yesterday” was from Book of Shadows.
The DVD is just as impressive giving you live performances of “Spoke in the Wheel”, “All for You”, “13 Years of Grief”, and “Bleed for Me”. Also the video lineup has favorites “Stillborn”, “Suicide Messiah”, “Fire it Up”, “New Religion” and the emotional “In This River” video in memory of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, founding member of both Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott was shot by a mentally ill man in Ohio in 2004, in which the attack injured many also killed one other besides Abbott. The interview of Wylde was truly a hilarious walk through his mind and shows how much of a wild man he is. He shows his collection of guitars and his amazing collection of his prized dolls
I couldn’t ask for a better compilation CD/DVD to have been put together. Awesome playlist, I could find no reason to miss a song. Wylde’s voice is like no other, and the band as a whole meshes without a flaw. This has been my favorite CD in a while. Definitely a great introduction to anyone who has missed this great line of work from the boys at BLS and a must have for the dedicated fans.
Reviewed by Michael Albaugh
