April 22, 2003 - The Blessed Hellride

Two weeks after my last release and a year since "1919 Eternal", Black Label Society released their fourth album "The Blessed Hellride" on April 22, 2003. Zakk Wylde is still playing his usual style of metal, but there's a pretty good mix of slower songs on this album as well. Let's check out the latest from BLS!

The album kicks off with "Stoned And Drunk" and after a slow opening Things snap into a pretty cool, fast-paced main riff with Zakk playing some unsurprisingly good guitar and shouting out a decent verse in his biker metal voice. The chorus has a nice stop-and-start riff and Zakk's raspy yells fit the mood very nicely. After a couple rounds of course it's solo time and of course Wylde delivers the goofs with a long solo filled with all kinds of sweet shredding. Things wrap up with a final chorus and this seems like a nice choice to get the blood pumping! Up next is "Doomsday Jesus" and Wylde plays a pretty catchy main riff and also sings a verse that matches the catchy mood pretty perfectly. Things slow down in the chorus, but Zakk is still playing some nice chugging guitars and he holds some really long notes as well before repeating "Doomsday Jesus we need you now". This follows the BLS formula of a couple verses/choruses, a solo, and a final chorus, but it's such a hard-hitting main riff that I don't find it drags at all. Even though the solo was a short one, this was still an epic tune! Track 3 is probably BLS's most famous song, the hit single "Stillborn" featuring the godfather himself, Ozzy Osbourne (even if it is just on backing vocals)! Zakk plays a really catchy and cool main guitar riff that drives the whole song and he and Ozzy hold some long "ahhhhhhhhh" notes together before Zakk comes in to sing a solid verse overtop the catchy music. Zakk's high voice sounds pretty good and the low, chugging guitars in the chorus complement the higher guitars in the verse very nicely. The solo on this one fits the mood perfectly and Zakk plays some pretty awesome stuff before they predictably wrap things up. It's a little repetitive, but still a no-brainer for the single. The next track is "Suffering Overdue" and Zakk's guitar riff perfectly combines the super low with the super high and it's a really cool, bouncing chorus riff that kicks us off. The verse is similarly loud, heavy, yet quite accessible and Zakk sounds pretty good belting out the verse in his high voice. After a couple really good rounds they slow and quiet things right down as Zakk switches to an acoustic guitar riff and a much lighter new verse. They ramp up nicely from here and set the stage for solo time, and it's a lengthy one this time and it's probably his best solo of the album (so far), he really shows off with all kinds of awesome shredding! Really cool song! Track 5 is "The Blessed Hellride" and it's the first slow song on the album as Zakk leads the way with a solid acoustic guitar riff and a light rhythm section behind him, albeit with some solid bass in the background. Zakk's lower voice fits this slow, acoustic mood very well and things are a little repetitive, but pretty smooth. Zakk's acoustic guitar solo is pretty cool and it sounds like two solos playing at once for a pretty interesting sound! The rest of the song is pretty light and predictable. Up next is "Funeral Bell" and Zakk leads the way with a nice chugging rhythm riff and then plays some cool lead guitar overtop. He sings a typically raspy verse overtop and holds some more long notes in the chorus. Things are a little repetitive, but Zakk spices things up with a pretty epic and wicked solo before they predictably wrap things up. Track 7 is "Final Solution" and Zakk plays a really cool main riff with some nice super high notes and his verse fits the mood nicely as well. Things roll into a similarly solid chorus that has some nice bounce and groove to it. It's a long solo, but not a particularly flashy one by Zakk's standards, which is a little disappointing since the rest of the song is pretty cool. The next track is "Destruction Overdrive" and Zakk leads the way with a fast-paced and pretty sweet main riff. He sings a low, raspy verse, then hits some pretty high notes in the pretty sweet chorus. The solo is short but pretty awesome on this song and it's a short song that they pack lots of awesome guitars into! Track 9 is "Blackened Waters" and it's got a slow, acoustic verse that is pretty quiet and chill, but things turn up for a loud and heavy chorus with a catchy guitar riff and some nice yelling by Zakk. His slow guitar solo fits the mood perfectly and they nicely wrap up the ending to this cool slower song. Up next is "We Live No More" and Craig Nunenmacher sets things up with a catchy drum beat before Zakk enters with a pretty cool stop-and-start guitar riff overtop. It's pretty simple, but undeniably catchy and if there were another single this surely would have been it. The solo isn't his flashiest, but it hits all the right notes and I'm really surprised this wasn't a single, it's very accessible and catchy, but still very BLS! The final song on the album is "Dead Meadow" and Zakk plays some cool light piano as well as some nice slower guitar to lead this very slow, but very well done finale. It's not a headbanger like most of their songs, but Zakk is a good piano player and he really nails the sad, dead vibes on this one.

That is the end of "The Blessed Hellride" and I thought it was another pretty solid effort from Black Label Society. Zakk Wylde is up to his usual tricks and there's plenty of great guitar work, but at times it was simple and formulaic as well so I think it continues their downward trajectory and does not surpass their last album "1919 Eternal". All four of their albums are solid no doubt though and I look forward to more BLS as Zakk seems to work much faster alone than with Ozzy!