BLACK LABEL SOCIETY / ZAKK SABBATH / DARK CHAPEL – MOHEGAN
By Kat Gullage
Zakk Wylde, who stays in a perpetual touring cycle, brought two of his bands, Black Label Society and Zakk Sabbath, to Mohegan Sun Arena with Dark Chapel as support.
Based out of Vegas, Dark Chapel is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Dario Lorina (Black Label Society) backed by guitarist Brody DeRozie, bassist Mike Gunn and drummer Luis Silva. The house lights went dark as aprerecorded orchestral piece, right out of a 70s horror film like The Exorcist, set the mood.
They kicked off their six song set with “Afterglow” and immediately established a loud as fuck (in a good way) tone for the night. “Hollow Smile” and “Sign Of Life” followed, all of their originals pulled from their LP, Spirit In The Glass.
Dario took a spot at the piano for the bluesy ballad “Hit Of Your Love” which flowed nicely into a cover, their version of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers. If you’ve read my stuff, ya know I’m not a fan of covers, but this was a solid choice and well executed, even if it didn’t surpass the original.
Dark Chapel wrapped their set with “We Are Remade”. “Connecticut, thanks for being here!” The band was solid and proved themselves a worthy opener for a night centered on iconic guitar work. Need a dose of melodic hard rock? Dark Chapel is worth a listen.
As is tradition at Zakk Wylde shows, he pulled off his hilariously insane pre-show stagewalk. He painted his face, held dolls in front of his cell phone and accosted people along his route from the tour bus to the stage by growling at them, equal parts menace and comedy.
The house lights were on, the unsuspecting crowd just waiting for the band to come on, when suddenly the WyldeMan appeared in warpaint holding three dolls toward the audience, “The Boss” (OZZY), “St.” Richard Simmons and The (Ultimate) Warrior.
At this large venue, he was limited to stalking across the front of the stage but the fans still lost their shit. I’ve seen him snake his way through crowds at smaller places. Our beloved doll wielding goofball wildman.
Add Zakk Wylde to Black Sabbath and you get the high octane tribute band Zakk Sabbath. Wylde is the
frontman, guitarist and singer, and on this night, backed by BLS brothers John “JD” DeServio on bass and
drummer Jeff Fabb.
The elite axe man emerged, without the face paint, in a purple kilt and boots and barked “Connecticut chapter sing it!!!” before they launched a carefully cultivated five song set that pulled from four sacred Black Sabbath albums from the 1970s. “Children Of The Grave” (Master Of Reality) was the opener.
The sound was booming yet clear and I was immediately astonished by Zakk’s guitar playing, which is crazy cuz I saw him three times last year. It ain’t never enough. He’s that ridiculously good. The trek back in time continued with “Snowblind” (Vol. 4) and “Fairies Wear Boots” (Paranoid).
Zakk yelled “Connecticut!” during the intro for “N.I.B.” (Black Sabbath) and unlabeled beach balls rained down as the audience screamed “Oh Yeah!”. Another track from Paranoid, fan favorite “War Pigs” was the closer and the place erupted.
Black Sabbath tribute bands seem to be on trend, as this was the second one I caught in a week. Adding Zakk Wylde to anything just heightens the experience so Zakk Sabbath does in fact capture the rawness of the original Birmingham quartet.
For the finale, the night’s trio that was Zakk Sabbath added guitarist Dario Lorina (Dark Chapel) and reemerged as Black Label Society. Zakk Wylde, iconic riff lord, is a mother fukin machine. Former OZZY
guitarist, founder and frontman of Black Label Society and Zakk Sabbath, and slinging riffs for the current Pantera line-up, the long haired bearded kilt wearing bad ass never stops.
This was stop night number twenty-three in their thirty-three date run, and they fed us a polished and thunderous thirteen song set that included tracks from six of their twelve studio albums. The 10,000 seat arena was about eighty-five percent full and the floor was full GA, no seats, as it should be.
Zakk, who had switched to a red kilt, used his hair whipping windmill signature move to unleash “Funeral Bell” (The Blessed Hellride) which immediately ignited a mosh pit. Black Label Society never let off the gas as they tore into “Name In Blood” (Engines Of Demolition), “Destroy & Conquer” (Doom Crew Inc.), “A Love Unreal” (Grimmest Hits) and “Heart Of Darkness” (Catacombs Of The Black Vatican).
“Connecticut Chapter of Black Label Society! Can you sing!?” preceded “No More Tears”. It’s listed as an
OZZY Osbourne cover, but since it was Zakk Wylde who performed it, one of the song’s writers and the original lead guitarist, it hits more like his song. The band performed an excellent rendition of it and the crowd sang it word for word. Yet the void of the Prince Of Darkness lingers can never be filled.
We got member intros in Zakk’s humorous vein, “The Italian Stallion from the New Jersey chapter, I give you the godfather on bass, John DeServio!” “He’s amazing! But he doesn’t like anybody from Connecticut.” Crowd booed. “But I love everybody from Connecticut!”. Audience erupted in resounding cheers.
“Our drummer, Jeff Fabb, is from the Long Island chapter and he doesn’t like anybody from Connecticut either!” A louder wave of booing swept through the venue. “From Las Vegas, little brother and prodigy Dario Lorino!” and “I’m from New Jersey and I love everybody from Connecticut!” Zakk announced from his perch at the piano. “Lovely to be here, Connecticut Black Label family.”
The power ballad “In This River” (Mafia) had images of Vinnie & Dime Abbott (Pantera) flanking the drummer. It looked like they were being projected on old sheets. It was a lovely tribute even though I saw less than twenty cell phone lights on. Zakk pointed to the sky and proclaimed “We love you Dime. We love you Vinnie.”
We collected ourselves as they played a tune that I like, with a slower bluesy vibe, title track “The Blessed Hellride”. The band revved it up again with “Set You Free” (Doom Crew Inc.) and two more from Mafia with “Fire It Up” and their biggest hit “Suicide Messiah” which dropped more unlabeled beach balls and triggered a full circle pit. We watched in awe as Zakk and Dario synchronized behind the lead guitar solos while cranking out a flawless version of the song. A sight I won’t soon forget.
Dario shifted to piano duties and Zakk brought out his double neck axe as we watched him perform their newest In Memoriam ballad, “OZZY’s Song” (Engines Of Demolition) and I noticed the amount of cell phone lights lit up had at least doubled.
Zakk pointed to the sky to give thanks about one thousand times during the gig. It was an honor to see the song performed live on this tour. An extended “Instrumental Jam” reminded everyone there’s no such thing as too much Zakk Wylde.
The set closed with one of their other big hits, “Stillborn” (The Blessed Hellride), and Zakk and crew took their time to offer genuine thanks to the Connecticut Chapter of the Black Label Society.
If you’re a fan of the band you are automatically a chapter member in the state you reside in. The only rules are basically: Be kind and respectful to all fellow Black Label Society fans, the band and Doom Crew Inc members. The group’s motto, SDMF, stands for “Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever”. I can’t think of a better description of the celebrated axe master. Zakk. Freaking. Wylde
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