BLACK LABEL SOCIETY – Doom Crew Inc.

Groovey Doom

A household name in the world of Heavy Metal, Zakk Wylde made his name first as the 3rd axe-man for Ozzy Osbourne, and has since established himself as a singer/front-man with his very successful band Black Label Society. His newest offering: Black Label Society – Doom Crew Inc. is the 11th studio album, and both a tribute to the band’s “first to bleed, last to leave” road crew, and a salute to the legion of fans whose steadfast support stretches back to 1998. Rounding out the Black Label Society is longtime bassist John “J.D.” DeServio, drummer Jeff Fabb, and guitarist Dario Lorina.

Twin Guitars

Doom Crew Inc. is the fourth Black Label Society album created at the Black Vatican, the studio built at the Wylde residence back in 2010. “I’d sit in the garage with my amp and just write riffs,” Zakk recalls. With nearly 30 songs hammered out, they then whittled the list down to 12 as the album took shape at the onset of the 2020 Covid pandemic. Doom Crew Inc. is definitely more of a twin guitar album than previous releases, as evidenced on tracks like “Gather All My Sins”. Zakk Wylde explains:

“We incorporated Father Dario even more into the solos, doubling with me and being more involved in that regard. It really, truly is a two-guitar album, more so than ever. A twin guitar band, whether it’s the Allman Brothers or Judas Priest, with harmony lines, unison lines, and trading off solos. It stemmed from the live shows, where we’d both go into the crowd and extend songs like ‘Fire It Up.’”

Final Notes

The album seems to have a mixture of styles, as songs like the opener “Set You Free” and “You Made Me Want to Live” are very strong, and feel like the Black Label Society. Tracks like “Destroy & Conquer”, “Gospel of Lies” and “Gather All My Sins” sound like they could have been on any Black Sabbath album, from the Iommi-ish riffing to the vocal style that still emulates mentor of metal Ozzy Osbourne. At 12 tracks, the album has hits and misses for this reviewer, and could have been a tighter release perhaps without the out-of-place ballads that throw a wrench into the works, so to speak. Overall, there are several very good songs on Doom Crew Inc., and a few forgettable ones that shouldn’t keep you from picking this one up.

Lineup

Zakk Wylde – lead guitar, lead vocals, piano
John DeServio – bass, backing vocals
Dario Lorina – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jeff Fabb – drums

Doom Crew Inc. – Tracklist

01. Set You Free
02. Destroy & Conquer
03. You Made Me Want to Live
04. Forever and a Day
05. End of Days
06. Ruins
07. Forsaken
08. Love Reign Down
09. Gospel of Lies
10. Shelter Me
11. Gather All My Sins
12. Farewell Ballad