After a weekend anniversary trip to the Bahamas with my wife, I was dreading reality as we disembarked in the rain this past Monday morning. As we moved through the customs line, a list of to do’s was rolling through my mind, making the return to reality even more unwanted. Then I remembered I was coveringBlack Label Society later that night and just like that, the weight of reality was magically erased.
If you don’t know Black Label Society (BLS) then you are missing out. BLS is a heavy metal/biker metal band that was formed in 1998. Lead by front-man Zakk Wylde, they have gained a dedicated following known as Berzerkers. I’m not going to use fancy descriptive words to portray their sound. I will put it bluntly and say this: BLS is a group of all-around badasses that play pure hard rock.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing BLS live several times over the years and I’ve never been disappointed. I’ve been a Zakk Wylde fan since his early days when he played with Ozzy Osbourne. When I hear him and BLS I find myself transported back in time to when I was 14 and jamming to the album No More Tears. If you know them musically, you know that they bridge the gap between young and old HARD ROCKERS. This was obvious by the fans gathered at the House of Blues on this night…from young kids rocking out with their GenX and Millenial parents, to Baby Boomers who remembered Zakk when he started out, everyone was there to rock!
Despite the weather, the fans were lined up early, waiting outside the House of Blues in Orlando. Listening to fellow fans talk about prior times they had seen these guys live really got my adrenaline going. The doors finally opened (a little late because the Meet & Greet ran over) and the house was PACKED! This was stop number 19 of their 24-stop Fall tour, celebrating 20 years since the release of their Sonic Brew album. Alien Weaponry was set to open and I was looking forward to hearing this new band, especially considering that BLS had chosen them open.
Alien Weaponry is a 3-piece heavy metal band from New Zealand. Saying that these guys came ready to rock is an understatement. Their set started with a traditional Maori chant and continued with crisp, clean, hard-hitting sound that you could feel in your bones. Language was no barrier as the band performed “Raupatu” with the audience chanting along. I was sucked in with the first note, and it was evident that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. When they were done, the house erupted and horns were in the air, ready and primed for what was about to come.
Behind closed curtains, you could see the shadows of the stage techs getting ready for the main show. Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” starts playing with Ozzy Osbourne’s voice singing “War Pigs”. The crowd is over the top. The curtains opened and there stood the kilted messiah, perched high and ready to feed some rock religion to his loyal disciples below. Zakk and the crew came out rocking hard as always, leading the disciples into a headbanging frenzy with “Blessed Hellride”.
The crowd was prepped and ready to sing along with hits such as “Genocide Junkies”, “Suicide Messiah”, “Stillborn”, and many others. Zakk put away his signature Wylde Audio Odin guitar and had a seat at the piano. To see this long-haired biker dude go from shredding a guitar to tickling the ivories was simply amazing. After a brief interaction with the crowd aka the “local chapter”, Wylde lead into “Peddlers of Death”, followed by “Another Spoke In The Wheel” and then “In This River”. It was a heartfelt moment as the room slowed down to honor Zakk’s friends and fellow musicians Dimebag Darrell and his brother Vinnie Paul. Dimebag Darrell passed away in 2004 and Vinnie Paul passed more recently in 2018. Both were honored on stage with a large banner photo with Dimebag on the left and Vinnie on the right. There were definitely wet eyes in the crowd. What a great feeling it was to be a part of it.
The show then shifted back to hard rock and roll and headbanging. What could have possibly made this show any better? Beach balls (of course) and Zakk and Dario Lorina pushing their way through the crowd while still playing guitar followed by a guitar battle high above the crowd. Yup, that happened and it couldn’t have been more perfect. If you’ve never had a chance to see Black Label Society in person, get off your ass and find them on tour! Their stage presence keeps you coming back to see them over and over again and this show goes down as one of the best I’ve seen from them. Great job to the House of Blues Orlando for bringing BLS to this amazing venue.
Enjoy photos of Alien Weaponry and Black Label Society performing at the House of Blues Orlando on October 7, 2019. All photos copyright and courtesy of Chris Cornett.
