Sonic Brew

Sonic Brew is the debut on which BLACK LABEL SOCIETY blended weighty riffs, earthy blues feel and rough vocals. It is the record on which Zakk Wylde — famed as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist — properly launched his own band. The songs push heavily forward, yet the guitar has weeping phrases and Southern-rock sway, so it never turns monotonous. On “Bored to Tears,” “Hey You (Batch of Lies),” “Mother Mary” and “T.A.Z.,” thick riffs and Zakk’s signature pinch harmonics radiate a strong personality. Songs like “Rose Petalled Garden” and “Black Pearl” breathe a blues-rooted melancholy too. Behind the raw playing is a firm sense of valuing melody. Housing heaviness and guitar-hero expression together, it is a powerful record that became the origin of a long-running band, with Zakk’s overwhelming guitar a firm axis throughout.