Zakk Sabbath Rocks with Album Debut
Zakk Sabbath Rocks with Debut Album
Hey all you metal heads and berserkers out there I know how much you love heavy metal, and you are in for a real treat come September 4th of this year! The Almighty Father Zakk Wylde, and his two sidekicks Father Rob “Blasko” Nicholson and Father Joey Castillo, are releasing their debut album as Zakk Sabbath. These guys have formed the group as a tribute to the pioneers of Heavy Metal music, Black Sabbath. Zakk Sabbath is releasing their album “Vertigo” via Magnetic Eye Records; it is an outstanding tribute to Black Sabbath’s self-titled album that was originally released on Vertigo Records 50 years ago. We got to have a sneak peak of the album, and it is nothing short of great like the original album was years ago when Black Sabbath released it. I think that if you love heavy metal and honestly who does not these days, I think that you will love this album. Zakk and the guys really hit it out of the park with their debut album.
The first song of the album is just as the original Black Sabbath album and it is simply titled “Black Sabbath” and the opening starts with the sound of rain falling and church bells ringing and then you hear the first guitar riffs sound off you know right then Father Zakk Wylde is on the other end of that guitar with his distinct tone ringing in your ears. Following that Zakk comes in with the vocals for the opening line to the song and he sounds hauntingly close to that of Ozzy’s singing on the original fifty years ago. As Zakk continues in the song you can see right away that they are keeping it very close to the original as they are paying tribute to some of their heroes on the 50th anniversary of the original album. They did keep it very close to the original and at the same time made their own with some change ups here and there and some different tones as well.
The second song “The Wizard” starts out with the howling of a harmonica quickly joined in with the thunderous riffs and beats of the drum to get the heavy metal flowing into your ears. With some guitar soloing and thudding of the drums they continue the song in same heavy fashion as you have always heard the song many times before. As you continue to listen to the song and hear the eerie closeness of Zakks voice to the Boss Ozzy you can tell they have been really working on this to make it as great as the original Black Sabbath did so many years ago. It was great to hear the little adds hear and there and the effects and wails of Zakks unmistakable sound and tone that we have grown to love over the years.
The third song one the album is three songs combined into one “Wasp / Behind the Wall of Sleep / N.I.B.” that kicks off with the sound of some great guitar riffs that pioneered the sound of Heavy Metal as we know it today. They kick off with a heaviness that you will never forget once you hear it and just makes you want to get up, move around and bang you head while they are jamming out for you. They just continue from one song to another with a few breaks for some of Zakks amazing guitar solos that fit right into the song as they are playing. A few minutes into the song it takes a turn to a little quite and then the Bass guitar solo comes thumping into your ears as they kick off into one of the other songs with that unmistakable riff, we all know and love. Following the bass lines as they start to slow down and the suddenly starts to get a little faster, then you hear the Zakk singing remarkably close to the sound of the original song. They continue these songs on rocking you out for a little over ten minutes of Heavy Metal for your listening pleasure ending it with and insane guitar solo.
They follow that up with the fourth song on the album which is titled “Wicked World” that begins cymbals hitting and guitar riffs ringing along with it and then they all start getting heavier as they go. Almost a minute into the song the drums thud to a slow for a few seconds and then the abruptly kick back off with guitar riffs and bass thuds on the low end leading into Zakk starting to sing the lyrics of the song. This song is a lot of up and down with highs and lows of the drums, guitar and bass going around and round in your head as you are listening to them play. Following that up with more guitar solos and thunderous drums so that you know the song but also know that Zakk and the guys are making it their own.
The last song of the album is “A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning” that starts off with the striking of guitar chords and then the bass comes in and Zakks soul-stirring low voice singing the lyrics of Sleeping Village as the song slowly starts. This quickly gives way to faster and heavier hitting riffs and chords as they continue with the songs. Zakk and the guys continue to just play music with no singing for a couple minutes for you to just sit and groove to while the play along. Zakk then starts singing and the guitar and bass solos start to go back and forth with each other giving you more music to just absorb and take it all in. With all these songs combined I could only imagine what it was like in the recording studio with these guys. It seems that they are just jamming out and have a great time making some amazing music for the whole fifteen-minute song you never lose interest in just listening and enjoying it.
I cannot wait until this album comes out on September 4, 2020 via Magnetic Eye Records. This album will not be distributed digitally and will only be available on CD\DVD combo and of course on Vinyl with a special edition one. I like how they are releasing it like this playing homage to the pioneers of Heavy Metal as they only released the Original Black Sabbath on Vinyl Fifty years ago. Zakk Sabbath has been around as a tribute band since 2014 even though this is their debut album. I do not think that they could have picked a better debut album and time to release this album then on the 50-year anniversary of the Album that started it all for many Heavy Metal fans all over the world. They kept it close to the original but also, they made it their own as well as you will hear when you listen to this album. I am sure this one will be spinning on many record players for many years to come.
Review by Craig Youngblood
