582. Black Label Society / Order of the Black. 2010. 3.5/5

After a succession of very average albums (unless you enjoy his piano-laden recent releases) it was only out of sheer loyalty to the man that I decided to check out this latest offering. Given that he had been finally cast aside by the Osbourne Foundation, was it possible that he could rekindle his metal spirit and deliver something that fans of Black Label Society's initial releases were craving?
Somewhat surprisingly, the answer is a cautious 'yes'.
Order of the Black is a much better balanced album than anything the band has done since perhaps 1919 Eternal. There are songs here that you can actually get enthusiastic about, sing the lyrics loudly with a lungful of air and even play a little air guitar to. While I admire Zakk's musical ability, it's the heavier songs that really make him what he is, and he had not produced enough of that lately until this album.
OK, they mightn't be the calibre of songs that he had with Ozzy in early 1990's, and his vocals have never been Ozzy's, but that doesn't detract from the product here. To be quite honest, this album outrates Ozzy's Scream on every level. Whether that is much of an achievement is open to question.
My favourites are, probably unsurprisingly, the opening three songs of the album, "Crazy Horse", "Overlord" and "Parade of the Dead", but there are other good songs here too. The two ballads again, for me, tend to destroy the momentum of the album, but better that there are only two and not ten of them.

Those that have abandoned Black Label Society before this should somehow grab a copy and at least give it a try before all hope is lost. I like the album, and to me it does raise some hope that we may yet see more good material from one of the finest guitarists we have seen in the past twenty years.