Article and Photos by Andrés Alvarado
Atlanta, GA – Rocking the night away at Atlanta’s Center Stage, Black Label Society packed the house full of metal-heads ready for a throw-down of the band’s “grimmest hits.” Led by larger than life rock-titan Zakk Wylde, the Los Angeles quartet kicked the evening off in grand fashion by hovering a gargantuan curtain between stage and crowd that displayed the band’s logo. The lights go dim, the cheers roar throughout, the musicians rev their instruments, drapes fall, hell breaks loose.
Packing the walls front to back and side to side of fans in leather and denim Black Label Society biker-vests, Wylde and company are light on their feet, fierce on their equipment, and gung-ho with the head-banging. Inducing the crowd surfing bunch to do their thing is just a bonus to a BLS gathering, and no metal concert is complete without a classic mosh-pit; which, on this night, paralleled the savagery of Wylde shredding on his Odin BLS.
Having formed back in 1998, Black Label carries a catalogue broad enough to play for hours on end. However, this evening displayed the gang beast-mode through fifteen of its biggest hits. From renditions of classic oldies off The Blessed Hellride to newly released Grimmest Hits, the BLS blokes perform with the giddiness of a band half their age despite having nothing to prove. Maybe it’s just strong work ethics, or maybe it’s just one more added element to what makes Zakk Wylde so fucking cool.
Black Label Society is currently on tour. Get stoked, grab a friend, and get tickets to a venue near you here.
