Let me start by saying that I have never been a fan of Zakk Wylde as Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s guitarist. I usually associate the man with recycled pentatonic scales and an overdose of squealing harmonics, whether playing original material or Black Sabbath covers. But Grimmest Hits<\/i> is a pleasant surprise that gives me a new respect for Wylde and Black Label Society. <\/p>\n
The title itself is a joke initially lost on casual fans like myself: I thought I\u2019d have a sample of the band\u2019s work from the past twenty years and found instead an album of new material that offers a nice balance of heavy riff-rockers and subdued acoustic numbers.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The opening song, \u201cTrampled Down Below,\u201d begins with an bass line that reminds me of Geezer Butler\u2019s contributions to Ozzmosis (1995) before Zakk Wylde kicks in with a heavy riff sans the squealing harmonics, a raspy singing voice that goes quite well with the music, and a nice compact solo. For casual listeners like myself who\u2019ve not given BLS a fair listen since The Blessed Hellride<\/i> (2003), it\u2019s immediately clear that Wylde has matured and refined his style over the years. \u201cSeasons Of Falter\u201d is another solid, hard rock song with vocal overdubs that really add to it, while \u201cThe Betrayal\u201d is the first number with an immediately catchy groove and a neat changeup midway through. Just three songs in, the album sounds like a mature, focused effort where the whole band clicks very well. And bassist John DeServio really adds some punch to the album\u2019s sound!\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Some listeners may balk at the plain influence of Black Sabbath on some of the tunes. \u201cRoom Of Nightmares\u201d has a delightfully heavy groove; it\u2019s easy to imagine the Ozzy Osbourne of the mid-1970s singing on this one, while the trilling guitar solo recalls Tony Iommi\u2019s playing. \u201cDisbelief\u201d just about lifts the main riff from \u201cA National Acrobat\u201d on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1975), but it\u2019s actually one of my favorites on the album! And the lyrics of \u201cAll this time you thought that you belonged \/ In this world that could do no wrong \/ As belief begins to sway and faith begins to fade \/ I watch it all just waste away\u201d certainly resonate in this year of pandemic uncertainty. <\/p>\n
The softer numbers and a pair of ballads are hit-or-miss, but one can understand their inclusion on the album to break up the series of heavy metal songs. \u201cThe Day That Heaven Had Gone Away\u201d gets my vote as the best of them. Wylde has a nice clean tone, and it\u2019s easy to imagine the song being played as a solo acoustic solo number. \u201cNothing Left To Say\u201d is a good choice for a closer, too. There\u2019s a nice chime to Wylde\u2019s guitar and the vocal harmonies he\u2019s added feel like a tip-of-the-hat to the Allman Brothers, 25 years after he pinch-hit for Dicky Betts at one of their shows. It\u2019s a nice way to wind down after a plethora of heavy riffs.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Particularly for Randy Rhoads purists like myself, Grimmest Hits<\/i> is an album worth listening to. It shows Zakk Wylde as a band leader who is much more versatile in his guitar playing and songwriting than I previously thought. Not having given Black Label Society a chance since The Blessed Hellride<\/i> for its single with Ozzy on vocals (\u201cStillborn\u201d), I will certainly explore more of the band\u2019s recent efforts now. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":34052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6332],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-45882","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-black-label-society","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45882"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45882"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}