I
have to start this review by saying that this is one of those albums
that you really have to hear for yourself to decide if it is good or
not. In fact, when I first heard it, I wasn't even sure that I wanted
to write a review of it because I felt it would be too difficult to
accurately describe it! This is a very odd record for a band like
Black Label Society to put out.
Those
of you who are familiar with the music of Black Label Society know
that the band is one of the loudest and heaviest rock bands in
existence. Their sound is built on Zakk Wylde's throaty, growling
vocals, and his wall of massive, bombastic, earth-shaking
guitars...both of which possess about as much subtlety as a
Louisville Slugger to the base of the skull!
On
this CD, all of that changes. If you do purchase this CD, be prepared
for one hell of a curve ball! The Song Remains Not The Same is
a collection of (mostly) acoustic versions of four of the songs from
the band's 2010 release The Order Of The Black, with a
few outtakes and other assorted odds and ends thrown into the mix for good
measure.
Maybe
this is just my opinion, but I think this record is just too far "out
of character" for this band. It just didn't sound quite right to
my ears to hear this band go unplugged. Don't get me wrong, listening
to this album is not entirely unpleasant; the record
isn't necessarily bad, but for me, it was simply too different to be
counted among their best work. I listened to it several times, each
time hoping that it would grow on me, but no such luck!
On
the good side, the instrumentation is beautiful. Zakk does some
exceptional work on the guitar, and some really great piano playing
as well. However, I think the biggest downfall of this record is the
vocals. Zakk's rough and gritty style of singing is simply not suited
for acoustic music or ballads. In addition, he has always had a
grunge-like moan in his voice, very similar to that of Alice In
Chains singer Layne Staley. When he is singing heavy rock, he can
pull it off, because the guitars and the overall volume of the music
has a tendency to cover that up a bit. But here, the acoustic
instrumentation makes that "moan" in his voice much more
pronounced; that became annoying to me after the first few songs!
I
know that everyone has different tastes, so in the end, you will have
to listen to this and judge for yourself. In my opinion, though, this
was only an average album. It wasn't completely awful; there were
several things that I did enjoy about it, but it just isn't a good
representation of what Black Label Society is all about. If you are
new to their music, I would definitely recommend starting with
something else. I would rate this one at about three out of five
stars!
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