Black Label Society
- COUNTRY: USA
They will knock you down with boulder-heavy numbers, rock’n’roll nonchalant vibration and out-of-this-world groove. Black Label Society, led by the charismatic Zakk Wylde from its inception, will show you what makes them the kings of southern metal and what first-rate form looks like live. With headliners like these, there’s no need to worry about the power of riffs at Mystic Festival.
History:
Black Label Society was formed in 1998 in Los Angeles. The stylistic groundwork for the band, however, was sketched out by Zakk Wylde much earlier, at the beginning of the 90s, when he kicked things off with a solo project, Pride & Glory, which combined heavy metal with blues music. Things quickly started moving for Wylde’s new outfit as well. In 1999, he already presented the world with the debut Sonic Brew. This first record – as well as the follow-up, Stronger than Death, released three years later – largely flew under the radar, though they were quite the hit in Japan. The band’s breakthrough came with The Blessed Hellride from 2003, which saw the band’s southern metal sound fully realised and their biggest hits served on a platter. The album reached no. 50 on the Billboard 200 chart and outsold by a large margin the band’s previous releases. Since then, Black Label Society have gradually become a fixture of the global metal mainstream, from which they’re yet to fade. The band’s latest record is Doom Crew Inc., released in 2021.
Discography:
LP:
Sonic Brew, 1999
Stronger than Death, 2002
1919 Eternal, 2002
The Blessed Hellride, 2003
Hangover Music Vol. VI, 2004
Mafia, 2005
Shot to Hell, 2006
Order of the Black, 2010
Catacombs of the Black Vatican, 2014
Grimmest Hits, 2018
Doom Crew Inc., 2021
EP:
Glorious Christmas Songs That Will Make Your Black Label Heart Feel Good, 2011
Nuns and Roaches, 2019
Singles:
Bored to Tears, 1999
Born to Lose, 1999
Bleed for Me, 2002
Stillborn, 2003
The Blessed Hellride, 2003
Suicide Messiah, 2005
In This River, 2005
Concrete Jungle, 2006
Overlord, 2010
Parade of the Dead, 2010
Crazy Horse, 2010
The First Noel, 2010
Ain’t No Sunshine, 2013
My Dying Time, 2014
Room of Nightmares, 2017
Trampled Down Below, 2018
Black Pearl / Spoke in the Wheel, 2019
Set You Free, 2021
End of Days, 2021
The Gallows, 2024
Lord Humungus, 2025
Splits:
Penchant for Violence, 2000 (z Crowbar i Sixty Watt Shaman)
Kings of Damnation – Era ‘98-04’, 2005 (z Zakkiem Wyldem i Pride & Glory)
2006 New Shit Sampler, 2006 (z Cradle of Filth, Trivium, Hatebreed i Stone Sour)
Live albums:
Alcohol Fueled Brewtality, 2001
Live and Acoustic, 2004
Unblackened, 2013
Live at Dynamo Open Air 1999, 2019