Black Label Society - Mafia

In the interest of total disclosure, I have to let you know that I'm not a big fan of Zakk Wylde. He strikes me as a knucklehead and the whole "Black Label is a way of life" thing? Yeah, right. As far as music goes he's a fine guitarist but away from Ozzy I haven't heard anything I've cared for, with the exception of the song Stillborn. Having said all that, though (and it's okay because I'm not likely to run into Zakk on the street :-), Mafia, the latest album by Black Label Society, is pretty good. Zakk's taken that quasi-Ozzy style of singing he used on Stillborn and really settled into it (if you're going to steal you steal from the best, right?) (and yes, I know that Ozzy sang backup on that song). He's come up with a rocking album, of course, but one with vocals you can get into the whole way through. The first single is Suicide Messiah and it's pretty darned good. Check out You Must Be Blind, too. It really is an improvement over his earlier work, isn't it? Either that or I'm nuts--either way. Just goes to show that as far as music goes, it always pays to have an open mind and to keep the focus on the music.