Shot to Hell

Shot to Hell is a work on which BLACK LABEL SOCIETY built weighty hard rock, centered on Zakk Wylde’s thick guitar, low surging rhythm and raw singing. Not only hard riffs but a tenacity derived from blues and Southern rock deepen the songs’ expression. Keeping the direction up to the previous album, the sound has a tighter outline. On “Concrete Jungle,” “Black Mass Reverends” and “Hell Is High,” aggressive riffs and powerful groove come to the front. Meanwhile, songs like “The Last Goodbye” and “Blood Is Thicker Than Water” hold an introspective melancholy. The gap between fierce and introspective songs is large, and a dry, wilderness-like air drifts over the album. Mixing melancholy into forceful heaviness, it is a Zakk Wylde–style record, with the melodic sense behind the rawness giving the work a firm depth.