March 5, 2002 - 1919 Eternal

A week after my last release and two years since "Stronger Than Death", Black Label Society released their third album "1919 Eternal" on March 5, 2002. Zakk Wylde is still playing his same style of biker metal, but his original drummer Phil Ondich is gone and he is replaced by new drummer Craig Nunenmacher. Robert Trujillo, who Zakk recently worked with on Ozzy's "Down To Earth", also plays bass on a couple songs. Let's check out the latest from BLS!

The album begins with "Bleed For Me" and Zakk leads the way with a nice fast and chugging guitar riff while singing a slow verse overtop. He adds some scary-sounding short screams that sound pretty cool as well and the chorus has a much slower guitar riff, but it's smooth and solid. After another chugging round it's solo time and Wylde delivers a long solo with lots of sweet shredding parts. It rolls right into a final chorus to predictably finish things off and while it was a little repetitive, it was a solid song with a typically sweet solo. Up next is "Lords Of Destruction" and Zakk plays a slow, distorted opening that sounds pretty cool and then settles into a catchy and cool main riff that nicely chugs back and forth, as well as playing some distorted lead guitar overtop for a cool mix. Zakk sings in a really low voice, mixed with some super high yells for a nice vocal mix and everything sounds very heavy and cool. After another round Zakk sets the stage nicely for solo time and the solo starts off epic and strong, but it peters out towards the end and doesn't finish very strong! They then predictably jam out another long verse to end it and both of these first two songs were good, but didn't need to be over five minutes long. Track 3 is "Demise Of Sanity" and it's got an upbeat and solid main riff with Zakk singing a fast verse to nicely match the mood. Nunenmacher plays a catchy drum beat in the chorus that is unusually pretty quiet and after the next round Wylde squeezes in a short but sweet guitar solo, then it's back to the bouncing main riff for another predictable finish. The next track is "Life, Birth, Blood, Doom" and it's got a catchy bell that tells and Trujillo plays some decent bass in the background while Zakk leads the way with a slow main riff. Things sound good, but pretty basic as they slowly jam through a couple rounds, then Zakk spices things up with a lengthy guitar solo that is really sweet! Then it's back to the chorus to jam things out slowly. Thankfully the solo heated things up, but it was largely a forgettable song. Track 5 is "Bridge To Cross" and Zakk leads the way with a soft but cool acoustic guitar riff and some nice slow bass to form this quietly epic main riff. He sings a nice slow verse to match the mood and this is obviously not a headbanger, but he does a good job with this quiet song. The solo is pretty long, but it's mostly slow and melodic with a few cool shredding parts to it. This near six minute song was also a little too long, but I didn't dislike it despite it's low volume. Up next is a short song called "Battering Ram" and the dive right into a pretty fast main riff with Zakk playing some pretty cool guitar. He sings a nice verse overtop and then sings a low chorus that doesn't sound as good, but the music is still plenty fast and heavy. After another speedy round Zakk delivers a short but really awesome guitar solo! They jam out the chorus a few too many times to end it, but this was still a pretty sweet little song! Track 7 is called "Speedball" and it's only 58 seconds long, and the whole song is Zakk shredding an acoustic guitar! It's easily one of the best acoustic guitar solos I've ever heard, he packs so much awesomeness into this under a minute song! Superb! The next track is "Graveyard Disciples" and it's got a nice heavy, yet bouncing main riff with some really catchy lead guitar overtop the chugging yet upbeat bass. Zakk sings a solid verse that matches the mood perfectly and it rolls right into a similar chorus with Zakk holding some long "ohhhhh"s. Zakk sets the stage for himself with a cool rhythm guitar riff, then proceeds to play a pretty sweet solo overtop, then it's right back to the chorus to finish things off. Track 9 is "Genocide Junkies" and after a really long and boring intro they finally snap into an upbeat and pretty cool main riff with some predictably cool guitar by Wylde. He does a wonderful segue into the chorus which is pretty heavy and unrelenting, this one's a real headbanger! After the next round they shift to a new riff that is also pretty cool and it sets the stage with a short new verse, followed by one hell of a guitar solo! Zakk delivers at several points with some awesome stuff, then it's back to the chorus to finish banging that head to the finish. I didn't mind this longer song, it was rockin' the whole way through! Up next is "Lost Heaven" and it's another slow and quiet song with Zakk leading the way with some epic light guitar. Nunenmacher adds some epic drums and Zakk sings a solid verse overtop this smooth backdrop. The solo isn't very flashy and follows the mood perfectly so the whole song just seems to slowly drift by. Track 11 is "Refuse To Bow Down" and we hear a voice talking about women have a dark side to them while Zakk plays another pretty cool main guitar riff. It's fast for the most part, but breaks down for a couple slower, heavier parts and together things sound pretty solid. Zakk sings a low verse and chorus that sounds pretty good and after a couple rounds you could guess that it's solo time! This solo is pretty Pony and Zakk plays all kinds of crazy fast shredding in a pretty awesome guitar solo! They continue to predictably jam things out for too long at the end of songs though. The next track is "Mass Murder Machine" and it's got a slow main riff, but it's pretty groovy and a nice slow headbanger. Zakk sings a solid verse overtop and eventually they reach a similarly slow and heavy chorus. He sets the stage slowly and nicely for solo time, and then Zakk proceeds to unleash another phenomenal solo! All of his solos are pretty sweet, but this one is not just super fast, it's also groovy and fits the mood perfectly! Sadly it's followed by another overly long jam to finish things off, but it was still a good tune, with a great solo! Track 13 is called "Berserkers" and Zakk plays a really sweet bass riff to get us started, then lays a super catchy and cool, stop-and-start guitar riff overtop and things sound really good! Zakk sings a nice verse that matches the mood well and I'm ready to start a riot! "Drinkin', pukin', pissin', and fightin'" Zakk sings after a couple rounds in a distorted new part, then it's time for, you guessed it, one hell of a good guitar solo! He does a nice job of building up to some sweet shredding and although they do predictably jam out the finish, it's a much better riff that doesn't grow old fast. The album wraps up with Zakk's rendition of "America The Beautiful" and he plays the vocal melody on guitar to make this an instrumental cover. I'm obviously not a fan of this alterior American anthem, but Zakk's version does sound pretty epic even though he plays it in a very light style. It's a far cry from the rest of the album and probably my least favourite song on the album, a bit of a crap ending.

That is the end of "1919 Eternal" and I thought it was another good album from Black Label Society. Zakk's not reinventing the wheel here, but he is consistently playing some wicked guitar solos and also providing lots of catchy and heavy riffs. "Battering Ram" and "Berserkers" were both especially sweet, and of course the short shredder that was "Speedball"! BLS's other two albums were also pretty good though and I actually think this new album isn't as good as their last one "Stronger Than Death", but that just shows the high level of music Zakk Wylde is at! I look forward to more biker metal in the future!