Black Label Society - Download 2012 review

'The Hell's Angels-esque metallers didn't quite raise hell'

Ali Ryland - 10 June 2012

The heavy foursome were hotly talked about before appearing, the infamous frontman Zakk Wylde having become something of a metal legend thanks to his close ties to Ozzy; yet perhaps that's a reason as to why the Hell's Angels-esque metallers didn't quite raise hell or rock our socks off.

With no friend Osborne to appear for 'Stillborn', Wylde and the gang resort to decorative skulls and cheesy poses to the camera to appeal to the crowd. While opening with 'Crazy Horse' is a blinder, Black Label Society play a mildly disinterested show that is enjoyable yet leaves much to the imagination.

'Parade of the Dead' livens proceedings up with the introduction of sizeable bouncing balls into the crowd, turning a stirring circle pit into a big kid's play ball pit. Yet such fun isn't to last as Wylde's guitar solo is nigh, something so long-winded and self-masturbatory that it seemed as if even the fans would start booing.

However, the solo thankfully couldn't last forever, and the band rock into 'Concrete Jungle'; somewhat of a saving grace until Wylde's chest-beating self-congratulatory farewell; still, at least the actual songs couldn't be faulted.

 

 

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