ZAKK WYLDE'S BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
METROPOLIS, FREMANTLE
November 25th 2015
The axeman cometh...Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society kicked off their Australian headlining tour in true
rock fashion as the band launched into Fremantle for what would be a great night of rock n' roll. We last
saw Zakk in Australia at Soundwave Festival in 2011 and he never disappoints, his guitar playing the main
drawcard of the band as we saw on Wednesday night in the port city.
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Opening for the night was Perth's premier power metallers Silent Knight who as of late, seem to be everywhere. Having now seen them numerous times this year alone, the one thing I always notice and mention everytime I see them is their enthusiasm for not only what they are doing performance wise but just being appreciate of the fact that they are on stage sharing their music to the fans. They don't ever seem to disappoint despite the style being not fantastically new nor it not having a big following in Western Australia. Or maybe I'm wrong? But whatever the case may be, Silent Knight, who are supporting their latest effort "Command & Conquer" seem to be hitting the right chords with promoters and fans alike.
Zakk Wylde and the doom crew came out to "Whole Lotta Sabbath" soon after and went straight to business, busting out classics like "The Beginning...At Last" and one of my personal favorites, "Bleed For Me" off the "1919 Eternal" album. Still one of the best BLS album's to date in my opinion. A new song, "Heart Of Darkness" off the latest album "Catacombs of the Black Vatican" made an early entrance and as the fans starting getting into it, along came another classic with "Suicide Messiah". The band mixed it up real good from old to new and everything in between so not one fan was walking out tonight without hearing at least one of their favorites.
After "My Dying Time", Zakk proceeded to go into another one of his famous 10 minute guitar solos which always blows me away. Mixed with the use of his wah pedal and some dazzling finger work, Zakk showed the crowd why he is one of the best as his extended guitar solos eventually merged into the next track "Damn The Flood", also off the new album. The new material clearly shows not a thing changes with this band but that's what you expect from Black Label Society. No bullshit straight up rock n' roll with a not so subtle nod to the classics of Zeppelin and Sabbath. It's what Zakk is known for and it's what he will always be known for, like AC/DC and fine wine, no change is needed. This is what they do.
The band slow things down for a bit with some mellower tracks including the beautiful tribute to the late, great Dimebag Darrell with "In This River", complete with Zakk on keyboards. Mellow songs like this are not new in the Black Label Society world but this song in particular is a standout because of Zakk's friendship with Dimebag himself. "The Blessed Hellride" comes crashing in right after to get things in heavy mode again and as Zakk and co. finish the set with a couple more songs to end the night, the packed crowd gave the band a good send off for the rest of the tour in Australia. It was truly a great start to the run of shows downunder.
Photo Gallery - click to enlarge
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Review by Andrew "Schizodeluxe" Massie
Photos by Tammie Parr - Molotov Enterprises And Photography
