... Almost as much as I miss Pantera and the old Guns N' Roses...
His finest work...
Three guys.. just jammin'.. No posturing.. No pretense... Ozzy was supposed to be retired
He was just being himself. Doing what naturally came to him. He had a youthful exuberance. There was a certain vitality and spontaneity in everything he did.
Great songs, solid riffs... insane guitar solos... That was the beauty of Zakk back then... He could blow you away without sounding like a "shredding" fucking show off. And he could take your head off playing anything. Country, Rock, Metal, Southern Rock, Blues... Whatever. And not only could he probably cram it all into a cover of Mary Had A Little Fucking Lamb.. It would all fit snugly into the context of the song. All the little signature things he still does today were still used tastefully. The pinch harmonics were still thrown into random spots, but their presence made shit sound cool. These days I almost roll my eyes, because they're every third note.
Book Of Shadows is a strong second, but nothing he has ever put together or recorded can pop a zit on the ass of his first (post-Ozzy) solo endeavor.... You may think I'm railin' on him a little bit after you read this thing... Maybe I am, to a certain extent... But I still love Zakk AND Black Label Society, I just have some bones to pick, that anyone who's known me for a while has heard me say this shit a thousand times, I'm just getting it out there....officially... On The Record.
Book Of Shadows is a strong second, but nothing he has ever put together or recorded can pop a zit on the ass of his first (post-Ozzy) solo endeavor.... You may think I'm railin' on him a little bit after you read this thing... Maybe I am, to a certain extent... But I still love Zakk AND Black Label Society, I just have some bones to pick, that anyone who's known me for a while has heard me say this shit a thousand times, I'm just getting it out there....officially... On The Record.
Zakk Wylde was a brilliant, uniquely gifted and diverse musician and songwriter. Then...
I think he said "Fuck It", and got a little lazy.
I can almost pinpoint when it happened...
No More Tears? Brilliant.
Pride & Glory? Aces..
Book Of Shadows? Incredible...
Ozzmosis? Great.
Sonic Brew? All four of the previous albums on Performance Enhancing Drugs... Amazing.
Then the cracks started to show. After 3 records in which he sang and wrote (at worst) pretty good lyrics and vocal melodies, the words he crooned on Stronger Than Death (awesome title by the way... :/) were a little more.. shall I say... generic? So much so, that I was extremely thrown off.... Musically, it's a fantastic album.. but, one can't help but notice how far down those guitars are tuned, and how singing has been replaced with more of a.... growling. Is he growing a beard? An image was starting to take shape.
That was the moment we lost our Zakk Wylde.
Let me say it again, though...
This isn't a complete indictment on his post- Sonic Brew output.
I think he said "Fuck It", and got a little lazy.
I can almost pinpoint when it happened...
No More Tears? Brilliant.
Pride & Glory? Aces..
Book Of Shadows? Incredible...
Ozzmosis? Great.
Sonic Brew? All four of the previous albums on Performance Enhancing Drugs... Amazing.
Then the cracks started to show. After 3 records in which he sang and wrote (at worst) pretty good lyrics and vocal melodies, the words he crooned on Stronger Than Death (awesome title by the way... :/) were a little more.. shall I say... generic? So much so, that I was extremely thrown off.... Musically, it's a fantastic album.. but, one can't help but notice how far down those guitars are tuned, and how singing has been replaced with more of a.... growling. Is he growing a beard? An image was starting to take shape.
That was the moment we lost our Zakk Wylde.
Let me say it again, though...
This isn't a complete indictment on his post- Sonic Brew output.
Outta the ten records Black Label Society has released since 1998, I'd say there's probably 3 discs full of amazing tracks, 5 of material that needs work, and 2 albums of pure horse shit.
Not to mention the Ozzy shit...
Not to mention the Ozzy shit...
It wasn't until I heard the latest Ozzy record, Scream, that I realized how wrong I was to bitch about Ozzy letting Zakk go in favor of Gus G... So very wrong. Zakk isn't cut out for that gig anymore.....I keep hoping he'll bring some of that old mojo back... As far as I can tell, he's perfectly content recycling the last 3 or 4 BLS records.. even with Ozz. For all of the bitching he did about not being able to write with the old man for Down To Earth, he certainly didn't fucking floor me in the opportunities he's had since. Black Rain was going to "piss all over NMT", remember? Uh huh... I heard Gus G. play solos on Scream like Zakk would have played them in 1992.. 28 seconds into the fucking thing....He had that old school Wylde mojo that Zakk appears to no longer possess
Check this out:
Tell me that ain't got a modern No More Tears vibe....
It's proof positive that Mrs, Osbourne made a wise move, even if her husband hasn't been musically relevant since 1993, nor will he be ever again.
And it forced me to confront the fact that No More Tears 2 ain't coming any time soon. That Zakk Wylde is long fucking gone... I almost kinda wish he never got the gig back after his departure following the recording of the brilliant Ozzmosis... His Ozzy legacy would have at least remained intact.
Recently, I've had some reason to be slightly encouraged...
Order Of The Black is his most inspired record in ages. But I'm still not gonna hold my breath for my hero to miraculously show back up... It is what it is. Could be worse... Yet, I'm still sitting here longing for a day where Zakk starts playing and writing music that fulfills his limitless potential once again.
He may be gone... But, hey... I'll always have good ol' P&G... Right?
Check this out:
Tell me that ain't got a modern No More Tears vibe....
It's proof positive that Mrs, Osbourne made a wise move, even if her husband hasn't been musically relevant since 1993, nor will he be ever again.
And it forced me to confront the fact that No More Tears 2 ain't coming any time soon. That Zakk Wylde is long fucking gone... I almost kinda wish he never got the gig back after his departure following the recording of the brilliant Ozzmosis... His Ozzy legacy would have at least remained intact.
Recently, I've had some reason to be slightly encouraged...
Order Of The Black is his most inspired record in ages. But I'm still not gonna hold my breath for my hero to miraculously show back up... It is what it is. Could be worse... Yet, I'm still sitting here longing for a day where Zakk starts playing and writing music that fulfills his limitless potential once again.
He may be gone... But, hey... I'll always have good ol' P&G... Right?
*sigh*
UPDATE:
It got worse...
... We're DONE here
:'(
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