April 20, 2004 - Hangover Music Vol. VI

It's a double release day! On the same day as my last release and just a year since "The Blessed Hellride", Black Label Society released their fifth album "Hangover Music Vol. VI" on April 20, 2004. For the first time on a BLS album Zakk Wylde gets some help on bass with James LoMenzo playing about half the songs, John DeServio playing bass on four songs and even one song with Mike Inez from Alice In Chains! This album is unlike any other BLS album in that it's largely acoustic based, but not entirely. There are still your expected electric guitar solos, but most songs have either an acoustic guitar or piano base to them. Let's check out the softer side to BLS!

The album begins with the song featuring Inez and it's called "Crazy Or High". Zakk leads the way with a cool acoustic riff that has some nice faster bits to it and he also overlays some slow, epic electric guitar overtop. Wylde sings a soft verse that nicely matches the mood and he sings a loud chorus that fits pretty nicely with the softer backdrop, including some solid bass by Inez. Zack goes off for the solo with some pretty wicked shredding stuff, then it falls back to acoustic for a final chorus to wrap up this very interesting and well done opener. Up next is "Queen Of Sorrow" and it also follows this album's template of Zakk keeping the pace with a cool acoustic riff, but also adding a slower extra layer of electric guitar to the mix. Zakk sings another softer verse to match the acoustic vibe and most of this song is pretty chill and smooth. The solo erupts out of nowhere and Wylde shreds it up once again and I love how epic this insane solo sounds overtop the acoustic backdrop! Zakk usually nails these slower songs, there's just usually not so many of them! Track 3 is "Steppin' Stone" and it's driven by a pretty simple acoustic riff with Zakk playing one super loud and echoing note that reverberates through the following four bars. Zakk sings a super slow verse to match the pace and it flows into a similarly slow and simple chorus. Things sound decent, but this is definitely the least exciting verse/chorus combo so far. The solo is really short for such a long song and while of course it's pretty sweet, it's not enough to save what is largely a pretty bland song. The next track is "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" and it's our first piano-driven song as Zakk plays a slightly sappy but decent piano riff and sings in a high, soft voice that is far from his usual tone! This is the definition of a ballad and while it's definitely not what I'm generally looking for I guess he does the nail the soft pop-y vibe? Track 5 is a short song under a minute called "Takillya (Estyabon)" and it's just Zakk shredding a bit of acoustic guitar! It sounds pretty awesome and it just might be the best 39 seconds on the album! Up next is "Won't Find It Here" and Zakk rolls right into a slow and steady main acoustic riff with a simple but catchy drumbeat by Craig Nunenmacher. Zakk sings a solid, emotional verse overtop and things move slowly but sound pretty solid. Zakk does a nice job in the long solo of working his way into things and is shredding pretty nicely at the end! It might be a little long at six and a half minutes but it was pretty good! Track 7 is "She Deserves A Free Ride (Val's Song)" and it's driven by a slow, sappy acoustic riff and everything has a bit of a lovey-dovey vibe, which is not exactly what I'm looking for from BLS. Zakk's singing is so light and fluffy and somehow he still managed to have a pop-y, sappy single on an album filled with what would normally be the sappy song on a BLS album. The solo sounds distorted and solid, but even it is tame by Wylde's standards. The next track is "House Of Doom" and LoMenzo plays some cool bass to back Wylde's catchy main acoustic riff and this is a perfect example of how being lighter and acoustic doesn't mean you have to be soft and sappy. Zakk's vocals sound like his usual self again and he spices up this pretty solid chorus with some high yells and some epic electric guitar. After a couple nice rounds it' solo time and of course Zakk makes your jaw drop with some pretty sweet stuff. This is definitely one of the better songs off the album for me! Track 9 is "Damage Is Done" and Zakk leads the way with some slightly soft but pretty epic piano, but the rhythm section is super simple and sappy and takes away rather than adds to things for me; i'd rather it was just Zakk and his piano. Once again, this would sound much better as the break from several heavy songs on the album, but when it's an even slower and simpler version than the other lighter songs, it really drags unfortunately. The solo is actually acoustic instead of electric and it has a couple cool parts to it but this song was way too long with not enough going on. Up next is "Layne", named after singer Layne Staley of Alice in Chains who very sadly died from a heroin overdose in 2002. Zakk does an excellent job of paying tribute to Layne with a grunge-y acoustic main riff that reminds you perfectly of Alice In Chains acoustic stuff! DeServio's bass is solid as well and Zakk even sings in a more grunge-y tone that is a perfect tribute to Layne! He does such a great job at combining these elements into the perfect elegy for his fallen friend. After a couple quiet rounds Zakk slams into easily the heaviest part of this whole album (so far) and it's a pretty sweet chugging chorus that is also a nice grunge tribute! Zakk's solo isn't his flashiest, but it fits the mood pretty nicely and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that probably my favourite song on the album is dedicated to such a great singer. R.I.P. Layne Staley! Track 11 is "Woman Don't Cry" and Zakk combines a simple but decent piano riff with a bit of a sappy guitar riff to drive this song as Nunenmacher keeps the pace with a nice slow drum beat. Zakk sings a sappy verse to match the mood and he slices up the chorus a bit with some electric guitar, but it's otherwise pretty tame. Until solo time that is! Zakk rips off one hell of an awesome electric guitar solo that definitely makes things more tolerable, but then it's a slow chorus to carry us to to the end. The next track is "No Other" and Zakk drives things with a smooth, catchy and pretty cool acoustic riff. His verse flows perfectly with the riff and while nothing really jumps out (aside from the solo of course) this is just a really smooth and well done tune. The solo is mostly slow as well, but of course Zakk spices it up a bit with some short but super speedy shredding. Track 13 is "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", a cover of the Procol Harum song from the 60s, and Zakk does a pretty excellent job of playing all the epic (and slightly sappy) piano. It's just Zakk on vocals and piano on this whole song and he gives things a very BLS spin as he holds several long, high notes in a way that only Wylde could do! I think everything sounds really epic and good the whole way through and if you're gonna do sappy piano ballad, this is a perfect example of how to do it, a splendidly done cover! Up next is "Once More" and Zakk is back to his regular eveything-but-drums approach on this one as he plays piano, acoustic guitar, bass, and sings! He combines some more slow and epic piano nicely with a light acoustic riff and I like his over-the-top vocals that honestly don't seem to match the vibe very well, but it's an interesting take to be yelling so loudly overtop such a slow and quiet riff. The "solo" on this song is acoustic, but it's easily the tamest one on the album and it fits the light mood pretty well. Definitely a good tune, but pretty fluffy. The last song on the album is "Fear" and Zakk is playing some regular piano and acoustic guitar to drive things (as we're used to on this album), but he also throws in some slow and epic electric guitar, as well as a different kind of keyboard for four different things going on! This turns out to be the chorus riff, but it's certainly a unique, complex and interesting one! The electric guitar and other keyboard fall away for a simpler verse as Zakk sings in a nice softer voice overtop and they nicely return for the chorus and things sound about as epic and cool as a light song like this can! I especially live the piano in the chorus, and then solo time is not only lengthy on this song, it might be Zakk's best solo of the album with all kinds of awesome stuff! This is definitely one of the best songs on the album and a string way to close things out!

That is the end of "Hangover Music Vol. VI" and I thought it was a good album for what it was, but it's certainly a departure for Black Label Society to have 0 songs on an album that are based in loud, heavy metal. I think that it continues their downward trajectory and does not surpass their last album "The Blessed Hellride", but that shouldn't come as a surprise. It's definitely still a good album, but I look forward to hearing some more standard BLS next time out!