Black Label Society -- '1919 Eternal' [classic review]

Black Label Society
"1919 Eternal"
(Spitfire Records)


"Take a bunch of pissed-off Rottweilers that have been in the cage, a bunch of ravens, some skulls and chains, violence, alcohol, some Sabbath, and you got the new album."

-- Zakk Wylde on "1919 Eternal"

If ever there was an album filled to the breaking point with a completely no-nonsense approach to metal, this would be it. From the opening choke of "Bleed for Me," it's clear Black Label Society is interested in taking no prisoners. Wylde has perfected his specific approach to the rock-metal hybrid BLS favors.

"Bleed for Me," "Lords of Destruction," "Demise of Sanity" ... each song is constructed with a simple, repetitive riff and verse-chorus-verse approach. The band isn't interested in over-tech-ing its sound. This isn't rocket science, it simple balls-out metal. However, the monotony is completely destroyed by the insane solos Wylde heaps upon each and every track, and the ease at which each mind-bending twist and riff flows out of the speakers is exactly why Wylde is metal's new guitar god.

BLS isn't afraid to take it down a couple of notches either. The melancholic "Bridge to Cross" is a slow-burn affair that oozes with emotion. And forget (the overrated) Jimi Hendrix's version of the "Star Spangled Banner," if ever there was to be a new national anthem, how could you not choose Wylde's unforgiving "America the Beautiful." Instantly poignant and unforgettably beautiful, Wylde's guitar work never sounds more crisp and clear.

Wylde is backed up by a competent group, including Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo on a handful of tracks, but this album is really the Zakk Wylde show.

The beauty of "1919" is that Wylde was still finding his singing voice and thus wasn't afraid to vary the tempo or cadance from time to time. Over the past couple of years, he's taken to emulating Osbourne on any of the band's louder songs. "1919" was that one moment ... where the band was just starting to blossom into what it was to become. There's the hard-hitting anthems, the melancholic moments, the killer cover and one of the best metal songs of the past 10 years, the bludgeoning "Battering Ram."

Wylde and BLS took what "1919" was and continued to build and improve upon the formula. "The Blessed Hellride" is killer, "Mafia" is a classic in its own right, but this was where it all started to come together. "1919" isn't a debut, it isn't an underground sensation, it's simply a band finally coming into focus.