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Before I say anything, I’d like to tip my
hat to Spitfire Records who finally seem to "get it." THERE
IS A MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES FOR HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL.
WE WANT TO HEAR IT GODDAMMIT!!! So, not only do we get a
new Zakk Wylde heavy CD, it comes re-mixed with a US Bonus
track! Ain’t life grand? May this be the first of many successful
releases. Cheers!! Now on to the review...
Zakk Wylde is one of the best guitarists around,
yet both his critically acclaimed Pride & Glory and his
awesome Book Of Shadows (one of my fave CD’s EVER) projects
never achieved commercial success. Why? Maybe his record
company was too busy promoting the depressing, suicidal
garbage that we’ve all grown to hate. I guess we’ll never
know. I have very good news for Zakk fans, though; on Sonic
Brew, Zakk takes yet another direction. This is the heaviest
thing he’s done yet. Take the Black Sabbath influence and
mix it with Zakk’s Allman-esque vocals and you have a winning
combination. Oh and guitar? And solos? There’s plenty of
guitar, and there’s plenty of solos. PLENTY!! Guitar fans
should be foaming at the mouth over this CD.
Here’s the track by track review...
1. Bored To Tears - (MetalGod’s pick) The
1st single. Very heavy, yet it has a really cool guitar
groove and various vocal hooks. The more I listen to this
track, the more I like it. You’ll love the rippin’ guitar
solo.
2. The Rose Petalled Garden - A dark tune, with very
cool guitar and moody vocals. Killer Solo.
3. Hey You (Batch Of Lies) - A mid-tempo, moody song.
It starts out kind of ballady with acoustic guitars and
mellow vocals and then it picks up with a vengeance. Awesome
solo. The acoustic lead breaks are a plus.
4. Born To Lose - Heavy tune with very cool vocal
harmonies and very cool lyrics. Catchy Bass riffs and rippin’
guitar.
5. Peddlers Of Death - Piano at the beginning is
the calm before the storm. Some signature Zakk Wylde licks
throughout. This epic takes you on a majestic journey.
6. Mother Mary - Very Heavy tune. Cool drum chops.
7. Beneath The Tree - This is kind of a psychedelic
tune, starts slow then picks up.
8. Low Down - A thundering rocker, Zakk uses some
vocal effects but it sounds very cool. This song is very
groove-oriented, reminiscent of Badlands.
9. T.A.Z. - This acoustic instrumental is just Zakk
going off, it showcases his axe-handling abilities. Shows
off the Pride & Glory roots.
10. Lost My Better Half - This is the US Bonus Track,
and a good one. Heavy as hell with grooves galore.
11. Black Pearl - Another heavy tune, gotta love
the drums on this one. Psychodelic guitar licks are also
featured.
12. World Of Trouble - This Heavy Rocker features
Zakk doing the Hetfield growl. Killer Guitar throughout!
13. Spoke In The Wheel - A ballad with beautiful
acoustic guitar, soulful vocals, and meaningful lyrics.This
one could have been in Book Of Shadows.
14. The Beginning... At Last - The closer and what
a closer it is. This song wants to take your head off. And
it does with a very heavy groove, thunder drumming and killer
guitar.
BLS features guitar, guitar and more guitar,
which is fine by me. But it also features well-written,
well-structured songs. Oh, and the cool booklet is an added
bonus - it's funny and rude as hell. Balls & attitude, gotta
love it!! I predict that this smokes anything Ozzy puts
out with that wannabe Joe Holmes. The lyrics for this CD
are very dark, yet inspiring and real. The drums are very
adequately handled by Phil Ondich, with Zakk handling pretty
much everything else. Can’t wait to hear this stuff live!!!
Get excited about this CD, for it is Zakk’s finest hour...yet!
-MetalGod
Visit Zakk Wylde's Official Website - www.zakkwylde.com
Editor's note: This CD's cover was changed due to a
complaint filed by a whiskey maker. If you can find this
with the "banned" cover shown above, grab it!
Click
here to order Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society's Sonic
Brew from
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