Enchanting Introspection

In a world that’s largely oblivious to the finer aspects of rock music, there was no way in hell a truly gifted talent like Mark Lanegan would ever get the props he deserved for his vocal skills. That sad fact will never change.  Not unless it’s the trend for real rock music to be mainstream. Like some prized jewel buried under layers of archaeological waste, however, Lanegan’s latest album Blues Funeral, will remain undiscovered and cheated of the acclaim he undoubtedly deserves.

Album opener The Gravedigger’s Song - also the album’s first single – has a steady pace that makes frequent appearances later on in the disc. With the kind of guitar riffage Queens of the Stone Age fans are familiar with, the straightforward track treats listeners to Lanegan’s gritty baritone voice that would’ve surely made Queens fans stop and take notice since 2000’s Rated R album. Elements of blues and psychedelia are constant fixtures throughout the album that is largely introspective whilst being abstract and replete with metaphors. There might be some artists who fall back on trends to lure the helpless demographic of teenage listeners into buying their albums. Fortunately, Lanegan does nothing of the sort. The use of drum machines, the odd synth and some decidedly non-rock melodies on tracks such as Gray Goes Black demonstrate his refusal to stick to the tried and tested and venture down some terra nova. Lyrics that delve into Christian themes feature in St Louis Elegy, while The Ode to Sad Disco perfects the art of aptly naming tracks.

Failed love and the dark winding road are the focus of the sweet and redeeming sound of Phantasmagoria Blues, while the shrill opening riff of Quiver Syndrome makes it look like composing a great rock song is child’s play. The tasteful background vocals a la the Dandy Warhols’ Bohemian Like You might earn it added airplay. The new wave vibe (try saying that out loud really quickly) continues on Harbourview Hospital and despite the obviously melancholic lyrical subject matter, the delightful little solo that features at 1.10 might do something amazing to listeners tuned into a certain frequency. If there’s any truth to what at least one artist said about all great art coming from pain, we should be glad that Lanegan felt tortured for whatever reasons he did. The evocative wind instruments and simplistic guitar in Deep Black Vanishing Train give it a folksy tone laced with admonition something that harkens back to the iconic prelude to Chris Rea’s Road to Hell.

I suppose the Tiny Grain of Truth, with its clear Pink Floyd influenced sound, might speak only to the few lunatics and enlightened folk that have the pleasure of actually listening to this album closer. It’s an uphill battle to pick out this album’s top tracks since each one’s got its own kind of flavor, but St Louis Elegy seems to set itself apart, as does Bleeding Muddy Water and Quiver. This album’s not as accessible as say, the Beatles, but in its own special way, it has made me want to dig up some more dirt on good old Mark Lanegan.

Can't You See There is Hope Here?

            Whilst looking at a tasty young woman’s food blog the other day, it dawned on me that bands are a lot like great dishes. Both require certain ingredients and methodologies to turn them from something second-rate to something sublime. Change a little something here and there and you end up with results that could be wonderfully stunning or horrifically nightmarish. Fortunately for everyone, Yours Truly, the new disc from Sublime with Rome, dwells squarely in the realm of artistic brilliance.

            Sure, with a new singer in tow any band’s sound would be altered, but that isn’t 100pc the case here. New vocalist-guitarist Rome Ramirez has been blessed with one of the silkiest and simultaneously scratchy voices on vinyl but its surprisingly close enough to that of the deceased Brad Nowell (the band’s original guitarist and singer) to fool fans into thinking that these songs were recorded before the latter’s death. After a thorough listen, I was possessed with the notion that the band should’ve changed its name to Rome with Sublime, since he seems to have taken over the duties of principal songwriter. As such, the themes of failed relationships and relationship maintenance are easily evident, so much so that listeners might, on some tracks, forget that they’re actually listening to a Sublime album.

            Yours Truly sounds like sunshine in a usually rainy city - upbeat, charming and inviting, it smells like happiness swirling out of a Rasta’s living room. While the odd lyric is peppered with Marleyesque practical wisdom the lion’s share of this disc manages be radio-friendly yet genuine. In parts, you might not even realize that you’re bobbing your head to it, while receiving a subliminal message to make yourself a mojito.  Fans who were drawn to the original line-up’s primarily reggae sound will be pleased, whilst the punk-rock-loving contingent would notice its cameo presence here.

Opening track Panic is a throwback to earlier work, with a frantic opening that eases into a slightly more relaxed second movement. There’s a bit of a contest deciding what deserves more praise, Rome’s astonishing guitar technique or the alluring work of the wind instruments. Going by its lyrics, Only’s mission might be to empower listeners to go with their gut feeling instead of just accepting something at face value. Lovers Rock , meanwhile, is an homage to the eponymous sub-genre of reggae music. Cool vibes emanate from this track despite the lyrics that deal with a relationship gone awry. There’s inventive use of the saxophone in the backing track of Murdera but the rest of the song is pure filler. My World is another throwback to the skariffic pace and urgency of Sublime’s earlier years. In terms of lyrics, it isn’t an in-depth report on a day in the life of Ramirez, rather a man talking about his beliefs.

            The album’s shortest track, at just 1.53 in length, is Paper Cuts, which showcases more accelerated punk rock inspired riffage. Yes, it’s a short tune, but then again the brightest flames burn quickest don’t they? Listeners will notice that PCH features acoustic strumming popularised by the likes of Jack Johnson. With sunshine coming out of Rome’s guitar its damn near impossible to accept that the lyrics deal with taking stock and looking at a bad relationship through a rear-view mirror. Conversely, the lyrics to album high-point Same Old Situation consider giving the union another go. Tracks such as first single Take It Or Leave It and You Better Listen continue the discussion on relationship matters while album closer Spun sounds a bit like the Kook’s track Naive.

            Whilst the above songs warrant getting a copy of the album, the real gems are the bonus tracks. Can You Feel It is an awesome combo between rap and reggae that should’ve made the actual album tracklist. Guest rapper Wiz Khalifa shines on this jam that dwells on the joys of engaging in herbal remedies. Familiar fans would probably want the album to feature more tracks with this kind of subject matter. In fact, they would probably wonder whether Nowell would’ve still been alive today had he heard these lyrics before experimenting with other substance. Dynamite is a timeless reggae masterpiece complete with a commitment to rebellion. Big time! The aptly-titled Safe and Sound is spiced up with some tasty dubstep inserts, making it fit easily on playlists that cater to fans of different musical genres. The acoustic version of Lovers Rock rounds up the bonus material and is just a stripped down recording of the track that appears earlier on the disc.

            Even though the lyrics are a little too soft and personal for yours truly, (pun intended) this album’s strongest suit would have to be its overpowering yet subliminal positive vibe. It’s not the band’s eponymous album, but hands down it’s one of the best albums of the year gone by. Not only for listening to at 4.20, the album is pure magic. Get yourself a copy and then pass it to the left.

Sublime with Rome’s Yours Truly…doing Brad Nowell proud

What’s Their Age Again?

It’s great to hear a band mature and the boys from Blink 182 have done some growing up over the years. Their latest album Neighborhoods gives listeners the idea that they’ve each gone through some serious shit during their hiatus and this has, for better or worse, given the album a grittier, darker overall vibe. Lyrically, they’ve left out the toilet humor, but they might’ve also left out the humor entirely. This album is truly a labor of love, or maybe even lost, or failed love. No doubt, pockets of people will say that they should’ve maybe hung out a bit more; maybe got a bit high and rediscovered their chemistry again before deciding collectively where they wanted to go. Maybe this would’ve made them sound a lot less sullen on the album.

Going by the lyrical content people might wonder whether they might just depress the shit out of kids if they play the new stuff live? Maybe not if they only play some of these to punctuate sets that are dominated by songs from their earlier albums. So they’ve taken a few bullets and aren’t singing about fart jokes and beer pong beer bong parties. But then again isn’t that just the way life goes? There’s no snot on this album. On this disc they’ve just expanded the whole vibe of their track Stay Together For the Kids…dark, melancholic and tearful. The guys all live in the same city, but they’ve definitely been to different neighborhoods during their hiatus.

Old school fans would wonder what the meaning of keyboards are on an opening track of a Blink 182 album as in the track Ghosts on the Dancefloor. In fact, if they’ve grown up with the band, they might appreciate the variety and new musical ideas. When the haters give up on living in the past, they could possibly understand that maybe this is what pop punk is supposed to sound like on its path of evolution. Green guitarist and co-lead vocalist Tom has definitely aged, but the Blink still sounds mostly the same. The opening track itself showcases Travis Barker’s penchant for enduring percussive awesomeness, a talent that is on show on every task.

Co-lead vocalist and bassist Mark Hoppus does an amazing job of putting the clock to shame with his vocal contributions as evidenced in the track Natives. The track’s themes of paranoia, loneliness, separation and death reflect that indeed some rites of passage did take place during the band’s downtime. Up All Night takes listeners down an intro of interesting warped distortion with the mandatory pop punk sensibilities. What’s this? Lyrics dealing with a guilty conscience raising kids, struggle, demons and death? Consider this a warning about a heady and beautifully distorted outro.

There is precious little proof that combats the cliché that drummers are just strong-armed imbeciles that have no melodic inclinations. Barker’s ownership of his drumkit on the track After Midnight does its bit to refute several unfair stabs. Tom chose an interesting approach to writing the verse part of  Snake Charmer. The track, including its meandering into different genres, is a fine example of making inventive use of musical elements from outside one’s comfort zone to great effect. The Heart’s All Gone interlude separates sides A and B of the album and could be considered as a blueprint of the majority of their song structures sans lyrics and hybrid mutant-human drummer. The actual track’s straightforward, blistering approach and somewhat defenceless and self-disparaging lyrics aren’t a let down at all.

Wishing Well is a throwback to the Blink of bygone decades with some added non-words for some sing-along temptation. While lyrics such as “Play me something I can dance to,” wouldn’t be entirely out of place on an earlier Blink disc, their place on the track Kaleidoscope could easily make listeners question what the band members’ ages are. Tom’s decision to syncopate parts of This is Home could easily earn the band non-English-speaking fans. You can almost imagine some young French high school girl bobbing along if her eardrums haven’t been plagued with too much radio-programmed garbage.

Mh 4-18-2011 could possibly be the album’s most upbeat-sounding track on the disc, but hark! There’s some prophecy of bearable turbulence in the chorus. Imitation is the highest form of flattery and the Blink has taken a page out of the Alkaline Trio songbook with their work on Love Is Dangerous. It almost felt like the 80s. If a blind Blink fan were to listen to the opening bars of Fighting the Gravity, he might believe he was listening to someone else entirely. The pacing, harder and edgier sound could be likened, musically, to something a bit like mid-career Incubus. Album closer Even if She Falls has an abrupt ending and in that regard is reminiscent of Anthem, the closer from Enema of the State.  Not the most jaw-dropping end to a disc, but far from the worst thing the Blink has ever commited to tape.

It would seem that the Blink is still pretty rock and roll simply because they’re sticking to their guns and bravely being themselves without going the dubstep route. Blink 182’s Neighborhoods wont take you back to the American Pie days in the blink of an eye, but the slow-burn vibe of this album wont entirely disappoint either.

Incubust?

                Whilst millions doubted where the hell their favourite bands were, some took comfort in the fact that Incubus had something planned for the summer of 2011. If Not Now, When, their seventh album was something to look forward to if the lead single Adolescents was anything to go by. A walk down familiar territory with a soft gradual build up that paved the way for some kind of screamy chorus, the track whet the appetites of those who missed their favourite intelligent rock band.

                 The album cover art features some kind of high-wire balancing act, which proved quite ominous after the initial listen. Sure, Adolescents was Incubus sounding like…Incubus, the mainstream version if you will, with a guitar and drums intro that paves the way for a bassline that glues everything together. Pay attention to the choice backing vocals from multi-instrumentalist Ben Kenney in the chorus. The song’s outro demonstrates that the boys still remembered a thing or two about songwriting from their Morning View days. Known as much for their pretty lead singer as for their intelligent music and lyrics, by the time they were famous, the band weren’t recording the kind of tunes that featured on their grassroots efforts Fungus Amongus and S.C.I.E.N.C.E. There were instead songs of lost love, long distance love, outer space love and the love of life and awareness. The trend continued with their subsequent albums, but they seemed to be gaining new fans in equal proportion to the fans that they were losing. So where then does their seventh album find them now?

If Not Now, When - The title track and album opener begins with violins before a steady drum beat and an 80s-inspired bassline takes listeners to Brandon’s brilliant, introspective lyrics that are replete with picturesque metaphors. This album signals an unprecedented shift to more mature territory. The lyrics to the title track in particular are somewhat empowering, encouraging listeners to act upon a long postponed dream or wish. Keep an ear or two out for the glistening crescendo with some delightful instrumentation at 3.59. Fans know from the band’s earlier albums that they are well and truly capable of some fast paced musicianship, but throughout the album listeners learn that Incubus seems willing to do what it takes to serve the song best. Maybe not the best choice for album opener.

Promises, Promises - An affable love tune that was probably born of a piano-playing session. People might enjoy the light tambourine sounds in the chorus, along with Einziger’s ska style upstrokes in the verse.

Friends and Lovers - One of the album’s standout tracks with lush arrangement and a perfect soft drum landing at the end of each chorus. Any doubts about Brandon’s remarkable pensmanship are all assailed with lines like “What’s wrong with you is good, for what’s wrong with me.”

Thieves - This track leaves behind filler aftertaste. It might convince you that this belongs on some kind of Alanis Morisette homage album. Skip.

Isadore - Radio friendliness at its catchiest and best. Music fans will enjoy skillful song construction with a verse, pre-chorus, chorus structure that builds tension that makes the release so much sweeter. There’s some kind of lesson in the lyrics apparently.

The Original - Some effective minimalist guitar work in the intro and verses. A steady bassline and drumbeat provide the meat of this song. Evidently the love theme continues and there's some quality backing vocals in the chorus that itself grows on listeners. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself singing along. Another noteworthy point is the epic climax which begins at 3.20 and ends with a guitar tone and riff that takes a page out of the earlier Third Eye Blind songbook.

Defiance - Distortion fans might vomit all over this one, but the bare bones singer-guitarist ditty is actually an endearing marriage with honest, unpretentious guitar and catchy howling. Why does it sound so much like Chris Cornell's Just Like Suicide? Hmmm.

In the Company of  Wolves - A showcase of Incubus’ impressive approach to writing some classic rock tunes. I might be bold enough to say that if there was no Coldplay and indeed no Pink Floyd this track would not exist. The vocals reflect an honest vulnerability, while each musician is on top of their game. Part 2, that begins at 3.14 will more than likely make hairs on the back of your neck stand, especially if headphoned and comfortably unsober. From 3.56 till the track ends the band takes listeners on an epic ride serving up some scintillating jazz piano just for good measure. Get your lighters out.

  

Switchblade - This convinced me that it was some kind of B-side from the Light Grenades era, which is evident from its nearly non-existent appeal.

  

Tomorrow’s Food - Another exercise in minimalism, this comes off as apt background music for indie films about travel. Listeners will take note of the use of vocal harmonies, but this time it doesn’t quite sound as persuasive as a Cornellian composition. Mild percussive elements underline the song’s meanderings into a dream segue. Comparable to the score of a new and wonderful drug experience, the song once again features violins towards its end.

Engulfed in maturity and mind expansion If Not Now,When’s soft pop love songs might speak more to people who are in love, rather than lust. It doesn’t quite rock hard but it might impress fans who have grown up with the band.

Incubus' latest album...a balancing act

Gold Cobra - Limp Bizkit

    While most people questioned the relevance of a band that found its heyday during the whole Nu Metal phase of the late 90s and early 2000s yours truly decided to give Limp Bizkit’s sixth studio album Gold Cobra a chance. The slightly baffling album title leaves one wondering what they were thinking, but are dubious album titles that uncharacteristic for this group?
    After giving it a fair chance, I’d be lying if I said I’d be listening to this collection of music again. Does this come as a surprise? Have a listen to it for yourself and you might notice a few things. Many people believe that a vocalist, whilst definitely part of the traditional rock act, is not the whole and soul of a band. Limp Bizkit, it seems, does not subscribe to this ideology. Fred Durst’s contribution to Gold Cobra is quite imposing even upon the first listen. He’s also taken on the mantle of album producer. If an apt title was their aim they should’ve named the album Control Freak, instead of trying to sound glittery and venomous. Sadly, Fred delivers his vocals with the potency of an old and irrelevant cobra. Wes Borland’s decision to return to the band again reportedly stems from his belief that something special comes out of sessions with the Limp Bizkit members. Something about this reminds me of how Lennon wouldn’t let go of Ono.
    A first listen might convince you that indeed, the Bizkit’s latest effort is somewhat just under par. It’s something akin to a once tremendously popular band trying hard to relive their former glory. On this outing they’ve convinced me that they’ve left shoes too big for their older selves to fill. This kind of music was popular once. But there’s a possibility that many listeners have outgrown this sound.
    The somewhat downplayed stars of the show are largely the musicians Wes Borland, John Otto and Sam Rivers. It’s only on tracks like 90210 that listeners are reminded of the presence of DJ Lethal. Maybe his other skills were coming up with the album title. Whilst no Jimi Hendrix, Wes has always been able to hold his own. The same goes with John and Sam. The tragedy about this album, and indeed this band, is the vocalist. His unnecessarily aggressive, shallow and unconvincing lyrics and sheer pointlessness make themselves mercilessly known in a bid, it would seem, to induce earaches. The opening segue has been named Introbra. This stuck out like a sore thumb, but I persisted.
    Bring it Back is the Bizkit being ruthless and aggressive. There is indeed hope in the opening bars and possibly a sign of broadened musical horizons with the inclusion of beats that seem more suited to a Beastie Boys record. And then, sadly, the vocals come in. Listening to the title track before the album dropped, made me think of a few things. Its vicious opening riff foretold that the album would feature Limp Bizkit sounding like...Limp Bizkit. Wes shines throughout with unabashed and intelligent use of punchy pinch harmonics the way only Wes does. His touches are mostly audible in the verse and are reminiscent of the raw-sounding track Counterfeit – from the band’s debut album that also featured masterpieces like Indigo Flow and the instrumental epic Everything. The sound of the bass in the breakdown part takes listeners back to the breakdown in tracks like Nookie, or Eat You Alive.
    Shark Attack kicks off with a reference to Break Stuff and runs along like the LB of old. Pay attention to the breakdown part and you will wonder if you’d be able to appreciate these lyrics if they were delivered by someone else. Fred once again shits all over a tight and beautifully frenzied track. A listen to the lyrics of the track Get a Life are, to be fair, just awful and come off as all bark and no bite. He’s convinced me of how deluded he is. The musical parts are sadly overlooked because of the needlessly intrusive vocal parts. The breakdown showcases some inspired use of double stops on the bass while the actual breakdown is a platform of some inspired use of guitar delay. The follow up chorus is misplaced, like every lyric on this album. On the POD-esque track Shotgun the sonic heaviness continues. The well -constructed song features an uncharacteristic guitar solo. It’s debatable what purpose the screaming in between the guitar solos serve. I notice after a third listen that there are some subtle samples that are barely audible beneath all the layers of heaviness until the outro begins. The sample of the shotgun, meanwhile, rips off 2pac’s Thug Luv.
    Douche Bag has the potential to kick some serious ass had it not been for the shockingly inane lyrics in the chorus. How badass does Fred sound in that part of the song? Not very. Meanwhile Walking Away is a moment of brilliance on an otherwise contrived record. Featuring some blissfully dissonant guitar parts and bass melodies it seems that finally the musicians will have their moment in the sun. This would be a phenomenal instrumental number, but harrowingly it isn’t. It raises the question of how relevant heavy music in this foul year of our Lord 2011? Cruel are music fans and critics. If a lyricist bears his soul a little too much he comes off as a whiny loser. Apparently in the hip-hop circles, a certain degree swagger is a hallmark of an emcee who knows what he’s doing. But anyone who goes overboard paints a self portrait of a pompous megalomaniac. Fred seems to think it a feat of impossibility to find a semblance of balance. He’s either one or the other.
    It’s easy to think about the track Loser with a different vocal melody. Its deliciously stellar and spacey guitar tones warrant a bit of eyebrow raising. Every non-instrumental song is a perfect example of what’s wrong with Limp Bizkit. I began listening to the album with optimism, trying my best to give Fred a chance, but that interlude with the autotune just about sums it up. The track Autotungage does have a little something to it. The frenetic intro to 90210 throws you off and makes you expect something different rather than the distortion-laden bassline. This track brilliantly demonstrates John Otto’s preferred technique on the drums. The outro interlude serves as a reminder that, yes, DJ Lethal is still kickin’ it. Why Try like every other song on the album features needless vocals. I feel tremendously sorry for the overshadowed musicians. The same applies to the track Killer In You that features some delicious guitar work. On the whole, the vocalist leaves the impression that he’s trying to sound like Vanilla Ice trying to sound like Eminem.
     System of a Down showed some maturity and lack of ego by allowing their vocalist and guitarist to both cover some vocal duties on their Mesmerize Hypnotize album. Perhaps the same approach would’ve done wonders for Limp Bizkit. At the end of the day this, by all definitions, a Limp Bizkit album. I wonder if kids today will find it as special as kids of years past found it back in the day. Maybe its not about being taken seriously. Maybe these guys put out records purely for entertainment and not for the sake of creating art. If that was their goal, weak lyrics over brilliant sounding music, they have succeeded.

The Same, but Different

There’s always a degree of dichotomy when it comes to the Black Label Society. On the surface guitarist and frontman Zakk Wylde looks pretty much like any biker from hell. Full flowing beard, tree trunk forearms and black leather garb. But if you’ve listened to any of his previous work, you’ll know for sure that there’s more than meets the eye with him.

The law of the jungle states that might is right. The biggest gorilla will always throw his shit around, quite literally, if he wants to. He can pretty much do whatever he wants and people can take it or leave it. I wonder if this was the line of thought that Zakk embraced when he decided to record their latest album, The Song Remains Not The Same. Quite possibly. Was there any ‘need’ to record an acoustic album? Perhaps not. I’ve never claimed to be an expert on human behavior or psyche, but it could be argued that every brute yearns to show his softer side. No, the 300 didn’t tire of war. They didn’t even allow themselves to cry remember? However, maybe Zakk tired of recording blistering, big fat bludgeon guitar music and decided to unplug for a change.

            How far was this a good decision? The opening bars of the opening track Overlord harken back to the days of MTV Unplugged, albeit, with the definitive pinch harmonic and vibrato sounds of Wylde’s guitar. You’re left to contemplate how much of an impact Alice in Chains had on the way hard rock tunes were written in their wake. The curtain raiser is essentially a rerecord of the version on 2010’s Order of The Black album. Beautifully engaging without being invasive, the track doesn’t require the listener to have heard the original to enjoy the second outing. Whether he should’ve retained the screaming in the chorus is a matter of opinion. The image-laden metaphoric lyrics, replete with warning, leave no doubt that Wylde is some kind of Christian. But with music as the focus of this piece of art, he avoids being a preachy ‘holier than thou’ sort of person. He may well have been a choirboy or a choral arranger in some past life. If we had arrangements of this quality at our own house of worship, I’d consider attending weekly service.

            Parade of the Dead – The second track immediately disarms listeners with its eerily soothing piano and strings, reminiscent of Just Killing Time from 2000’s Stronger than Death album. The drums carry on with steady ambition and drive, synching beautifully with the lush piano tone. Keep an ear out for its perfect finish. A flawless track.
           

            Riders of the Damned –When artists that are best known for their heavier work release something acoustic a section of audiophiles and sound geeks rejoice like Star Wars fans who discover a map to a forgotten back alley of Alderaan.  They live in the hope that the new information will reveal something juicy. Those who listen to this track might learn how heavy tracks originally sound before they are beefed up with overdrive, distortion and layers of effects. While the lyrics may come off as slightly mournful, aficionados will forgive the deserving Mr Wylde. He has been through some shit in his time. There are some surprising off-centre turns to this track. Zakk has inadvertently influenced hick rock croon act Three Doors Down as demonstrated in this song’s opening strum pattern.

            Darkest Days – No, this isn’t a Stabbing Westward cover. This is quite something else. Images of rural life, donning overalls, growing corn and grazing cattle swarm into frame when this song’s playing. Fans of violins will lick their lips at the fact that some bright spark decided to fiddle around for their benefit on this track. An angelic dual-layered acoustic guitar solo leaves listeners in some kind of hex, unsure of what the hell just happened. Some might imagine themselves listening to some warped version of Tom Petty’s Free Falling.

Junior's Eyes – This has tremendous ringtone appeal. Apparently this is a salute to a lesser known work from the Black Sabbath catalogue while the album title is quite obviously a tribute to the ever-influential Led Zeppelin. Easy Gospel oohing and aaahing underscore some fine guitar work. Meanwhile, Ozzy’s influence on his former guitarist’s approach to vocals manifests itself here.
           

Helpless- A tad too tender for tearing down the highway to hell.  A section of people will undoubtedly argue that Zakk’s delicate vocals maybe should’ve been saved for another album but this is an experimental album isn’t it? It’s one of those song that you think won’t end, but then it does, without warning.

            Bridge Over Troubled Waters – A grandiose Gospelesque cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 track. Again, listeners will wonder what possessed Wylde to record this. To prove that he wasn’t just some booze swilling musical warrior? The pre-chorus line does endear itself to you before the actual chorus kind of shakes you into wondering whether you’ve just found your latest guilty pleasure. Some might find that evident piano bass note delightfully somber.

            Can’t Find My Way Home- Yes! A gorgeous piano cover of the Blind Faith masterpiece. With oceans of sing-along appeal listeners can really feel for Wylde when he confesses that he’s wasted. The piano rejuvenates this classic rock tune while the outro solo and piano jam are among the album’s higher points.

            Darkest Days version 2- a recording of the track albeit with guest vocals from country singer John Rich who reportedly was part of the group Lonestar that permeated mainstream music with their hyperbolic hit Amazed back in 1999. The track’s guitar tone is what Alkaline Trio aspired to achieve on their 2008 acoustic Agony and Irony sessions.

            The First Noel- Irrelevantly relevant, the instrumental album closer might be more appropriate as the background music for a familial yuletide feast. Still, take a wintry walk on the Wylde side. He demonstrates with flair his prowess across the fingerboard, but there’s somehow a danger that this track leaves listeners finger bored. As such, the piece’s final note answers that question: why is it called a GRAND piano?

            A couple of talented young musicians who I shared a bottle with last weekend both concurred with my idea that Zakk Wylde and Dimebag Darrell were my generation’s guitar gods. It might be a balanced dichotomy that ensures a band endures in the harsh environment created by certain record companies. The Song Remains Not The Same may not feature tunes that build on Wylde’s reputation as the sickest axe-player in the west. It could be said that it is a collection of songs that remind listeners of past BLS soft moments like the intro to Forever Down, In This River and the heartfelt I Never Dreamed. They are enough to convince you that not every pianist (pronounced peenist) is necessarily a dick. All the same, as a guitar player you’re advised to leave a window open for your self-esteem to escape. Whether heartbroken or hungover, raising hell or having a quiet read, Black Label Society’s The Song Remains Not the Same  is well worth getting your hands on.