Having recovered from the hangover, BLS are back with the band’s excellent new effort, ‘Mafia’. This album is evidence of the fact that Zakk Wylde is progressing as a composer, by keeping the audience’s attention fixed with the fast, aggressive, ‘battering ram’ riffs that BLS started out playing, as well as by introducing some of the more lyrical elements that have started to emerge from behind that rough and tough exterior. You have to admit, Zakk still sounds like Ozzy when he sings – something that may or may not appeal to you, but for me it works a treat, as Zakk adds a certain dirty heaviness to the vocals that are typical of the BLS sound overall. An added attraction of this album is the number of solos we are treated to by the man shredding the only LSD-inspired guitar in the business, something that was, in retrospect, lacking from albums, such as ‘1919 Eternal’ and ‘The Blessed Hellride’.

The result is a more complex, thought-out album, which grabs you from start, with tracks, such as ‘You Must be Blind’, ‘Suicide Messiah’, ‘Electric Hellfire’ (with it’s interesting Arthur Brown crazy intro) and ‘Say What You Will’ appealing to the baser emotions and ballads, such as ‘In this River’, ‘Dirt on the Grave’ and the bonus track ‘I Never Dreamed’, evoking the listener’s more emotional side. The whole album is carried by the fantastic groove and heavy riffs that Zakk has become a master of.

BLS have dedicated ‘Mafia’ to the lately deceased Dimebag Darrell and here the lyrical content of the album is particularly poignant – the insleeve is a ‘newspaper’ with ‘articles’ on what seem to be a collection of thoughts of a person caught up in an everyday aggressive struggle to survive. This appears to be Zakk’s observation on the state of affairs in his country and the world in general at present: ‘I feel off fear inside a world that’s wrong...Another trip inside the acid bath, No salvation and the grave is coming fast’. In true rock’n roll style, the message is simple and down-to-earth: make of it what you will.

I can categorically say that ‘Mafia’ has taken the place of ‘favourite BLS album’ in my collection. Based on the bands previous album, ‘Hangover Music’, and the direction that Zakk has taken BLS in with ‘Mafia’, I can’t wait to hear the next offering from this band. I suggest you get ‘Mafia’ if you know what’s good for you!

****½

Review by Emily Dgebuadze

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly