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Release Info:
Group - Black Label Society
Album - Mafia
Released - 2005, Artemis Records
Producer - Eddie Mapp
Lineup:
Zakk Wylde - Lead Vocals, Guitars, Piano
Nick Catanese - Guitars
Craig Nunenmacher - Drums
James Lomenzo - Bass Guitar
Tracklist:
- Fire it Up
- What's in You?
- Suicide Messiah
- Forever Down
- In This River
- You Must Be Blind
- Death March
- Dr. Octavia
- Say What You Will
- Too Tough To Die
- Electric Hellfire
- Spread Your Wings
- Been a Long Time
- Dirt on the Grave
Overview:
Since his fallout with Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society has been a constant fixture of the metal circut. Their releases have been consistant, if somewhat predictable. After the Alice in Chains tributes and uncharacteristic soul-searching on Hangover Music Vol. VI Wylde has gone back to his old ways - heavy shit. The Black Label Society's riffs aren't particularly fast or inspired, but what they are is heavy. This is explained through some of their tuning habits - Wylde and fellow six-stringer Catanese have been known to detune a step and then take the 6th string down further from D to B. Strange people. Anyway, to sum up Mafia in three words - 'true to form'.
The opening track, Fire it Up, leaves me with one of the effects that truly has me stumped on any album. I think it's a talkbox with a wah pedal, but it's fucking strange. Anyway, when the drums start up and then the rhythm guitars kick in you'll stop worrying about that. No complaints here. What's in You? is a bit ordinary. Suicide Messiah was the first single, and a minor hit, and what can I say but fuck, Wylde has certainly been influenced by Ozzy. I thought the Prince of Darkness was moonlighting on the track at first, as Wylde does his best imitation of the instantly recognisable style. The song itself is good apart from some irritating vocal parts, but the soloing is good. Forever Down starts Zakk showing off his piano chops before moving into a standard heavy riff - sounds OK, but it's been done once or twice before. In This River is wholly done on piano and guitar, and the ridiculous lyrics and constant references to "fading to black" would make it sound like a 12 year old's tribute to Metallica, if it weren't for the tricky guitar licks. After this I must confess that my attention starts to wander. You Must Be Blind doesn't stand out in any particular way. Death March is a plodding Sabbath-esque tune with an interesting chorus. Dr. Octavia is just Wylde soloing for 50 seconds - not bad technically, but it's no Eruption. Say What You Will has an odd kind of melody to it that Zakk can't really pull off. Too Tough To Die is typical BLS, not a bad song though. Electric Hellfire has the most annoying vocals from Wylde I've heard. I like the Spread Your Wings intro a lot, and all in all it's one of my favourite songs on this album. Been a Long Time is allright, but by this point the songs are starting to kind of blur together. Dirt on the Grave is a more sombre number, another guitar/piano job in the vein of In This River, but it does a better job of sounding dark and the lyrics are much better - probably my favourite song on the album.
Verdict:
Mafia is not a bad album by any stretch, but it's nothing exceptional. It's disappointing that a musician of Zakk Wylde's calibre isn't producing better stuff at this point, and it's much more worthwhile listening to his work with Ozzy Osbourne in the late 1980s. Basically, if you like the BLS you'll like this, and if not this probably won't change your mind.
Worth a Download - A Matter of Taste
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I thought I'd start nice and easy with a metal essential, and this one is an absolute must for all headbangers and metalheads.
Release Info:
Group - Megadeth
Album - Countdown to Extinction
Released - 1992, Capitol Records
Reissued - 2004, Capitol Records
Producer - Max Norman & Dave Mustaine
Remix/Remaster - Dave Musaine & Ralph Patlan
Lineup:
Dave Mustaine - Lead Vocals, Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Marty Friedman - Lead, Rhythm, Acoustic Guitars & Backing Vocals
Nick Menza - Drums, Backing Vocals
David Ellefson - Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals
Tracklist:
- Skin O' My Teeth
- Symphony of Destruction
- Architecture of Aggression
- Foreclosure of a Dream
- Sweating Bullets
- This Was My Life
- Countdown to Extinction
- High Speed Dirt
- Psychotron
- Captive Honour
- Ashes In Your Mouth
- Crown of Worms
- Countdown to Extinction (Demo)
- Symphony of Destruction (Demo)
- Psychotron (Demo)
Overview:
Countdown to Extinction has always been a controversial album, and a point of contention amongst Megadeth fans. While 1990's stellar Rust in Peace is rated as one of the greatest guitar albums of all time and vies with probably only Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood for the title of the best thrash album ever, Countdown began Megadeth's transition from an underground attraction into commerically viable act. For this sole reason, many people rate Countdown quite harshly. Quite frankly, these people are idiots.
Countdown does make a substantial departure from Rust in Peace. Dave's vocals have become more refined, though they still carry what I call his "melodic whine". Gone are most of the insanely difficult riffs - Dave seems here to have fully embraced the catchy guitar work that he flirted with on the title track of Peace Sells... The lead guitar work isn't quite as intense as on Rust in Peace, but the previous album was, to be fair, going over the top - Hangar 18 contains 11 guitar solos, nearly as many as on the whole Countdown album. That isn't to say that the guitarists don't get to show off their chops - Marty takes out shred sessions on most songs, and Dave chimes in on quite a few. There's just no new Good Mourning / Black Friday or Tornado of Souls.
The album opens with Skin O' My Teeth, with a riff reminiscent of Iron Maiden's 2 Minutes to Midnight, though never to the point of ripping it off. The catchier sound and glossy production are immediately apparent, but the subject matter is pure 'deth - well, death. The album moves through several lyrically intense songs, from the insanely catchy Symphony of Destruction and the political Architecture of Aggression through the unusually mellow Foreclosure of a Dream to the schizophrenic Sweating Bullets. Personally I consider This Was My Life somewhat lacklustre compared to the rest of the album, but while some people protest the intensely political Countdown to Extinction's simple structure, I personally think that the incredibly melodic harmonized double solo is quite frankly, beautiful. High Speed Dirt is nice and fast, complicated, and has several solos thrown in, and is probably the standout throwback of the album. Psychotron is the only track on this album I actually dislike - I think that Dave should have used the demo arrangement, and in the new notes on the bonus tracks, he agrees (more on this later). Captive Honour is good fun, especially Nick's roleplaying. Ashes in Your Mouth is overrated but a good album finisher - and no, it's not about a joint falling apart.
Onto the bonus tracks. Crown of Worms, you may have guessed, is a personal favourite of mine, and I can't think for the life of me why they didn't include it. The song was written based on lyrics given to Dave by Sean Harris of Diamond Head. The lyrics are certainly above Dave's usual standard (probably because he didn't write them), and the music is cool as well. The Countdown to Extinction demo differs from the final version somewhat, and isn't too notable. The Symphony of Destruction demo is close to the live version they played on Rude Awakening, and features solos by every member. Very cool, but the vocals and production are definitely lacking. As I've said, I don't like Psychotron much, but the demo's buildup to the first verse is not lacking in ingenuity or skill.
Verdict:
Countdown to Extinction is definitely an underrated album which should stand alongside - not below - Rust in Peace. It hit #2 on the charts because it was a good, accessible album; not because Dave sold out or forgot how to play guitar. Obviously they can still play the technical stuff from the first 4 albums, but with Countdown Megadeth matured, and in doing so expanded their audience base, bringing their earlier work into more prominence - which can only be a good thing.
Buy the CD - Absolute Essential
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