Black Label Society
Doom Crew Inc.

Zakk Wylde knows how to play the guitar, and he does it like a god-demon. The instrument, symbolic of blues and rock, under his fingers, pounds, sings, cries, screams in despair, moans sometimes with pleasure, sometimes with pain.

2021: our rock-metal Viking, with his Black Label Society, releases the new work Doom Crew Inc., a beautiful and remarkable album from several perspectives, probably one of the best since The Blessed Hellride.

When it comes to played music, to the technical and stylistic ability of the musicians, the level is absolute: Zakk Wylde is as incisive as ever, Dario Lorina on second guitar does a superb job, the rhythm section represented by John DeServio on bass and Jeff Fabb on drums is excellent; all tracks have a consistently grand drive, from the more overtly rock-metal songs (Destroy & Conquer, Ruins among others) to the beautiful ballads, more numerous in proportion than in previous works (Forever and a Day, Love Reign Down, Farewell Ballad in particular).

What is even more surprising, however, is the artistic maturation of the group, beyond their indisputable musical abilities; the synthesis of Sabbath-inspired influences, guitar sounds that at times recall Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), and Soundgarden-like melodic lines reaches its peak here; the music returns all these influences to the listener in a unified and perfectly blended manner, in a personal, recognizable, and, let's face it, cool style. Wylde's vocal timbre is fantastic and perfectly integrated within the instrumental sounds and the musical discourse—just listen to the single Set You Free to understand this so important aspect. The artistic choice for this album was to favor particularly melodic vocal lines: considering the final result, the choice can be deemed decidedly effective, and if the aim was to create an album that sounds more intimate, I would say this intent was perfectly achieved.

All this connects to the discussion on music production: this album, among the numerous works of Black Label Society, stands out for a great attention to sounds and their mixing, which sounds balanced, with the basses pushing just right, without ever spilling over into the "zarrata", which unfortunately is too often found in many metal productions, even high-level ones. The guitars, as expected, stand out a lot, yet always harmoniously within the context of the overall sound.

Finally, when it comes to the composition of the tracks, another step forward in the band's work is recognized: the structure of the pieces is never banal, the verses alternate with choruses and solos, sometimes alternating with doom sections in an always creative manner; it is known: rock, especially of this American type, has a mostly simple structure, but when it is possible to observe an artistic effort not just for its own sake but that confers additional beauty to the music, this should be recognized and appreciated.

In conclusion, listening to this album is recommended for all lovers of played music, the kind that makes the deepest strings within the body vibrate, those down in the belly. It is innate blues, not so much in structure but in intention and mood, and it is the extraordinary rock attitude of Zakk Wylde and his associates that allow them to do this: to speak directly to our most intimate, perhaps rawer and more primeval subconscious, which dwells somewhere hidden in us, but which nonetheless defines us perhaps more than anything else and makes us human beings, made of pleasure and rage.