Black Label Society: Zakk Wylde (vocals, guitar, piano, bass guitar); Nick "ET" Catanese (guitar); John "JD" DeServio (bass guitar); Craig Nunemacher (drums).
SHOT TO HELL is the eighth record by Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society and their first for Roadrunner records. Most famous for stepping into Randy Rhoad's prematurely empty shoes and keeping Ozzy Osbourne commercially viable into the mid 1990s, Zakk Wylde has definitely earned a place in the upper echelon of metal axemen.
Whereas the songs on SHOT TO HELL do not immediately strike the listener like some of Osbourne's finer moments (although "Black Mass Reverends" does recall Black Sabbath's "War Pigs") and Wylde's singing sometimes apes more articulate frontmen like Axl Rose and Layne Staley (particularly on the opener "Concrete Jungle"), the album soars on the strength of Wylde's ever-dizzying leads. Of course, any Wylde fan will find that alone worth the price of admission.
Professional Reviews
CMJ (p.26) - "[Wylde] knows what fans want and delivers it in spades: Sabbathy riffs, Southern twang, heartfelt ballads, histrionic solos...and anthemic lyrics."
Kerrang (Magazine) (pp.46-47) - "SHOT TO HELL has a warmth and depth to its tones and textures that greatly enhances the dramatic impact..."
