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Monday, April 20, 2009
Live Reviews / News Live review: Black Label Society
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Black Label Society with Sevendust and Dope
Amos’ Southend
April 19, 2009
The Deal: Heavy metal band Black Label Society — headed by front man and metal guitarist extraordinaire Zakk Wylde — visit Charlotte for a sold-out performance at Amos’ Southend, along with Sevendust and Dope.
The Good: Sevendust got the crowd riled up — from crowd-surfing and moshing to ladies flashing their breasts here and there — with its thrashing, hardcore metal beats. The band played at least one song from each of its seven studio albums, including hit singles like “Denial,” “Pieces,” “Waffle,” “Praise,” “Ugly” and “Bitch,” among others. After Sevendust, Black Label Society took the stage. It didn’t take long for the band to prove why it’s earned a reputation for being metal mongers in the music biz. They played a lengthy, heavy-metal driven set with blazing guitar riffs and pounding melodies. This included songs like “Suicide Messiah” “Genocide Junkies” “Damage Is Done,” “Stoned and Drunk,” “Concrete Jungle” and many more. When the group played “In The River,” a dedication to Dimebag Darryll Abbott (founding member of Pantera and Damageplan, who was shot and killed in 2004) lighters were raised by the crowd. The song was touching and beautifully melodic, amidst the heavy rock symmetry. After that, huge Black Label Society beach balls were thrown off the stage and into the crowd. They only bounced around for a bit before they were snagged as memorabilia by die-hard fans. Other highlights during the show included an impressive and lengthy guitar solo by Zakk Wylde, who even put the guitar behind his head at one point and then to his face, all the while causing the chords to scream. The rockin’ set finished with the band playing “Stillborn.”
The Bad: Not a thing was bad about the set. I don’t particularly enjoy being packed so tightly in a crowd that I can’t move, and this was a show of that nature. Once you found a spot, you were pretty much stuck there. Some members of the crowd were extra boozed-up, which resulted in aggressiveness even outside of the pit. But, for the most part, the high energy of the show was enough of a distraction from this.
The Verdict: Black Label Society is a band that music fans must see, whether metal is your forte or not. The band delivers an impressive set and Zakk Wylde is amazing on guitar. Try to check them out while they are touring with Sevendust, who also cranks out an energetic hardcore rock show.
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