Shot to Hell
Make no mistake, Zakk Wylde remains one of the most invigorating guitar players in rock & roll today. OnShot to Hell, he continues his fascination with the Alice in Chains-esque grunge that he and the rest of BLS whipped up for 2005'sMafia. As convincing as Wylde's riffing can be on tunes such as "Concrete Jungle," "Blacked Out World" (a track that imagines a darker version of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion"), and "Faith Is Blind," you can't help but get the feeling you've heard this before--whether on previous Black Label outings or on the records that Wylde has made with Ozzy Osbourne. The slow-build ballad "New Religion" and its stylistic cousin "Sick of It All" suggest that Wylde may be wise to put a little more distance between albums and try to focus on making the all-killer, no-filler album he so clearly has inside of him.--Jedd Beaudoin