Album Review: "Shot to Hell" by Black Label Society (2006)

Zakk Wylde delivers a steady if unspectacular set with his latest release here. While the first three tracks are long on bombast but short on freshness, and the fourth is an embarassing ballad titled "The Last Goodbye", things start to pick up at about the midpoint of this disc with "Hell Is High", which reminded me of KISS shredder "Unholy", and the haunting "Nothing's the Same", a piano-driven light-and-shade affair about approaching one's 40s.

The rest of the CD alternates between scorched-earth heavy metal that has its moments but is by and large unremarkable on the one hand, and catchy maudlin ballads that remind me of Velvet Revolver's "Fall to Pieces" on the other in their audience appeal . In other words, perfectly adequate tracks, but not a true snapshot of the essence of the band.

Basically, "Shot to Hell" contains a lot of singles, the odd double, but as is often the case with Black Label Society, there aren't too many long balls to speak of on this disc, and that's a shame because fans of Ozzy in particular know the talent that lies within Wylde. As many fans have suggested, perhaps he should take a bit of a break from his endless touring schedule buffeted by a release pretty much every year and focus on delivering something really killer. Otherwise, some young hot shot metal guitarist is going come along and push him out of the spotlight as he did to many as a 19-year old back in the late '80s on the underrated "No Rest for the Wicked" album alongside the one and only Prince of Darkness himself.

Overall rating: 5.75/10