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Rating:
It seems to me that there isn't a review of this album yet, which in my humble opinion can be included among the best releases of 2005.
Let's start from the premise that the writer has a weakness for this important band led by a great character, such Zakk Wylde, a phenomenal guitarist, voice full of style and charismatic frontman of this group (which also boasts a high-level bassist, James LoMenzo). Having introduced the team offering us this music, let's talk about the music itself!
"Mafia" opens as best it could, with a "Fire It Up" that immediately clarifies to those unfamiliar with the band the ingredients that make up the perfect dish for every self-respecting true-metal fan: heavy and virtuosic guitar, precise rhythm in marking heavy metal-rooted times, and a voice that penetrates the gut for how harsh and venomous it is, yet remains pleasant. It continues, attacking with greater force, with "What's In You" always sticking to the genre standards proposed by Black Label. Already now, one can make an observation: the music present in this release is the same that we have gladly found in the previous releases of this group.
There are no unpleasant surprises like absurd experimentation pretenses; this is a band that takes traditional heavy metal to new levels, while staying anchored to a rock lifestyle made of beer, Harley Davidson, and songs that are straightforward but enormously substantial. This album never betrays you; there's not a song that isn't worth listening to until the end, and it's an album full of masterpieces like the two tracks already mentioned to which I would easily add "Forever Down", "You Must Be Blind", "Death March" and "Too Tough To Die" without forgetting the eighth track "Dr. Octavia" entirely dedicated to a Wylde solo where it seems a turbine is starting up and pushing to the max... what couldn't this bearded individual pull out of a guitar!!
I now move on to comment on the anomalous piece of the record, anomalous because it's not in line with the speed and violence of the rest of the album, but is instead melancholic, melodic, and simply beautiful... "In This River" presents us with Zakk Wylde at the piano, a position perhaps not perfectly suited to the drunk frontman, yet one in which he doesn't stop offering emotions, this time more intimate and moving. A simple yet touching ballad, with a sparse but significant lyric, a moment of rest within the album. A piece so anomalous yet fundamental to once again highlight the greatness of this "Mafia", one more reason to thrash your lower abdomen should you have overlooked it and thus lead you to rush out and make one of the most genuine masterpieces of the past year yours.
Amidst many more or less successful complicated works, here's a truly desired breath of fresh air!
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Fire It Up (04:59)
Fire it up
Let the engines roll
It's time to burn it down
Keep bleeding on
'Til the day you die
Forever, love it loud
Hellfire, doom
Watch the hatred spin
Beyond the speed of sound
Fire it up
Let the engines roll
It's time to burn it down
Keep moving on
Keep moving on
Keep moving on
Keep moving on
Keep moving on
Keep moving on
Keep moving on
Keep moving on
Face your fear
Accept your war
It is what it is
Face your fear
Accept the war
Oh yeah
-Solo-
03 Suicide Messiah (05:47)
Crawl through the flames
That eat your flesh
Drowned in the waters
That know you best
Step inside I've been
Waiting here for you
On your knees
For you shall crawl
Flying so high
You'll never fall
Step inside we've been
Waiting here for you
Bow down
You chose your maker
Never gives
He's always a taker
The electric burns
That fuel the fire
It's just your
Suicide messiah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Bow down
You chose your maker
He never gives
He's always a taker
Electric burns
That fuel the fire
It's just your
Suicide messiah
Walk through the streets
That know your name
All that's pure is now insane
Step inside I've been
Waiting here for you
Another trip, another lie
Life's hand of doom
Has you feeling fine
Step inside we've been
Waiting here for you
Bow down
You chose your maker
Never gives
He's always a taker
The electric burns
That fuel the fire
It's just your
Suicide messiah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Bow down
You chose your maker
He never gives
He's always a taker
Electric burns
That fuel the fire
It's just your
Suicide messiah
-Solo-
Oh yeah
Bow down
You've chose your maker
Never gives
He's always a taker
Bow down
You've chose your maker
He never gives
He's always a taker
Electric burns
That fuel the fire
05 In This River (03:52)
I've been around this world
Yet I see no end
All shall fade to black
Again and again
This storm that's broken me
My only friend
In this river
All shall fade to black
In this river
Ain't no coming back
In this river
All shall fade to black
Ain't no coming back
Withdrawn a step away
Just to find myself
The door is closed again
The only one left
This storm that's broken me
My only friend
In this river
All shall fade to black
In this river
Ain't no coming back
In this river
All shall fade to black
Ain't no coming back
In this river
All shall fade to black
In this river
Ain't no coming back
In this river
All shall fade to black
Ain't no coming back
-Solo-
In this river
All shall fade to black
In this river
Ain't no coming back
In this river
All shall fade to black
Ain't no coming back
In this river
All shall fade to black
In ths river
Ain't no coming back
In this river
All shall fade to black
Ain't no coming back
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By NotWarned!
If it had been the debut, we would have hailed it as a masterpiece, but after twenty years, Zakk and company's trademarks become clichés.
"In This River" is a passionately devoted tribute to the never-too-much-mourned Dimebag Darrel (R.I.P.), a beautiful song that slows down the pace a bit.
