Black Label Society - The Blessed Hellride

List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $13.49
You Save: $0.49 (4%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.16 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases

Music CD Cover

Free Music Notes for The Blessed Hellride

Free Music Review: Masters of Reality Society
Hit: 5 Stars

I agree with the amazon reviewer in that Zakk's voice sounds a lot like Ozzy's on Stillborn. In fact Zakk's voice in many parts of the album reminds me of a young Mr. Osbourne, circa 1972. The fluctuations and intonations in his voice are similar to that of Ozzy's on Master of Reality. I am reluctant to mention this, as these similarities are not always blatantly obvious and you would have to really listen for them, I think, in order to hear them.

In my opinion Zakk picked a bit of a sleeper to begin the album. Drunk and stoned rocks, but it is slow, repetitive and it runs a bit long, great solo though. The opening track is forgivable though since after that the album finds its and groove and maintains it. Doomsday Jesus is a good, hard, grinding track. Great scream by Zakk on this track. It is here that you begin to hear the improvements in his voice. Stillborn, as mentioned earlier, features Ozzy who adds just a bit more of a high pitch to the chorus, and it works beautifully. This song kicks major rump. Ozzy's contribution here is better than what he contributes to his own albums. Suffering Overdue is a good example of Sabbath shinning through in Zakk; a great slow, head nodding, kick you in the face kind of song. The Blessed Hellride is the first real slow song on the album. It's mostly acoustic with a great blues solo complete with twang. Good song but slow throughout. Funeral Bell is one of my favorites so far. Heavy, good groove, good melodies, all around good song. Final Solution is a good rocker in a style typical to BLS, complete with overly frequent use of pinch harmonics. The song is another one somewhat reminiscent of early sabbath. Destruction Overdrive is a great fast riffing, groove laden grinder; pinch harmonics abound. Blackened Waters is a slow and powerful song but not really a ballad. We Live No More is just good classic rock BLS style, although it is a bit slow. Dead Meadow is a straight up southern rock ballad. The drums seem a bit loud and obstrusive at first but once you let yourself drift into the mellowness of the track you find yourself loving it. Very good track to end the album with. Overall the whole album gets the job done. It kicks.

If I have one complaint it is perhaps that playing with Ozzy so much over the years has made Zakk accustomed to busting out the ballads. While he is good at writing ballads, one per album is enough Zakk. This complaint is minimized by the fact that the songs in question (mainly the last three and the blessed hellride) are more like slow blues/southern rock songs than ballads.

The best part of this album I found was that while listening to the great songwriting, one tends to forget that you are listening to a master of the guitar. Just when you think the song couldn't get any better, Zakk does what Zakk does, plays some truly wicked solos.

Buy low, Sell High, but buy now. Boo Yah.

The Blessed Hellride Poster

Hard Rock & Metal Music CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock