The Blessed Hellride
The Blessed Hellridefinds formerOzzy Osbourne's guitarist and Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde playing all instruments bar the drums, yet retaining an intensity that Osbourne has sadly lacked for some years. Combining the bludgeoning heaviness ofBlack Sabbath, the Southern flavor of theAllman Brothers, and the flashy pyrotechnics ofEddie Van Halen, Wylde delivers crushing riffs and head-spinning solos throughout such highlights as the grand "Blackened Waters," the stomping "Suffering Overdue," and "Stillborn," a pained lament for dead love that features Osbourne. Wylde owes such a debut to Black Sabbath that his voice is nearly indistinguishable from Ozzy's, and he lacks subtlety, as evinced by the clattering percussion that invades the otherwise melancholic closer "Dead Meadow". Even so, this is a cut above the heavy-rock norm.--Dominic Wills