Artist: BLACK LABEL SOCIETY [ZAKK WYLDE]
Album: SONIC BREW (CD)

Release date: 1999
Media type: CD

Around the late '90s/early 21st century, the traditional guitar solo in hard rock/heavy metal appeared to be a dying beast, as most bands were rejecting six-string leads in favor of focusing solely on detuned riffage (culminating a few years later with Metallica's sonic stinkbomb, St. Anger). But one early sign that the tide was changing was the arrival of the Zakk Wylde-led project Black Label Society, and their 1999 debut, Sonic Brew. Expectedly, the group is all about the almighty guitar -- loud 'n' proud riffs and solos abound -- while Wylde himself handles the vocal duties (and can alternate his voice between a more melodic Phil Anselmo on the heavier material, and a Southern rocker on the acoustic fare). The majority of the album's style is basically summed up with the opening track, "Bored to Tears," with a few detours along the way (such as acoustic guitar shredfest "T.A.Z.," and the Lynyrd Skynyrd-like ballad "Spoke in the Wheel"). With the arrival of Sonic Brew, a whole new era of guitarists practicing their speed and scales in their bedrooms would soon be ushered in.

TRACKLIST:

1 Bored To Tears 4:28 
2 The Rose Petalled Garden 4:55 
3 Hey You (Batch Of Lies) 3:53 
4 Born To Lose 4:23 
5 Peddlers Of Death 4:33 
6 Mother Mary 4:26 
7 Beneath The Tree 4:09 
8 Low Down 5:04 
9 T.A.Z 1:56 
10 Better Half 4:24 
11 Black Pearl 3:27 
12 World Of Trouble 5:20 
13 Spoke In The Wheel 4:13 
14 The Beginning....At Last 4:26 
15 No More Tears - bonus track