I guess I’ve always had overly high expectations of this album. Following up the previous three albums Black Label Society had done, it had a bit to live up to. In places, it does so admirably. In others, it doesn’t quite gel.
Now, there is nothing wrong with doing the odd slow song, if it is done right and in the right company. Book Of Shadows for instance is excellently done. And I don’t want to suggest that songs on here such as “The Blessed Hellride” and “Dead Meadow” aren’t fine, but they are in my opinion dead boring, and don’t enhance the album as a whole. No doubt many will disagree with me.
I just don’t see the point of doing songs like “Stoned and Drunk” and the absolutely brilliant “Stillborn” (with Ozzy Osbourne also lending a hand on vocals) on an album if you are going to go against the mood and do these other songs in the same company. Perhaps I just missed the point, but I think it was a mistake.
The potential for this album is still in the shrinkwrap. But I can’t deny that there are some great tunes here that generally make up for the one or two lapses.
Rating: Not quite up to where it could have been. 3.5/5
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