Few guitarists capture the imagination more than American guitarist extraordinaire Zakk Wylde. For many years he was Ozzy Osbourne’s partner in crime and in the meantime, his own band Black Label Society built a large and often fanatical worldwide fan base. Wylde co-wrote many of Ozzy’s later hits and was the Madman’s faithful sidekick on stage. Black Label Society were founded in 1998, releasing their debut ‘Sonic Brew’ in the same year. The band’s bluesy and southern-rock inspired metal hit a nerve with the public at large. On the first four albums he not only took care of the vocals but also recorded all of the instrumental parts with the exception of the drums. When Zakk’s twenty-year plus tenure with Ozzy ended, the talented multi-instrumentalist stepped it up a gear on the Black Label Society front. He perfected his signature southern metal on ‘Skullage’ (2009) and ‘Order of the Black’ (2010). On their last album to date, ‘Doom Crew Inc.’, (2021) a more prominent role is reserved for second guitarist Dario Lorina, mirroring the on-stage dynamics of the Wylde-Lorina tandem that often sees them trade solos and improvise. (#GMM26)
