Zakk's back for the attack and he's not taking any prisoners! Zakk Wylde's solo band Black Label Society is on the prowl once again with the new Stronger Than Death CD, their sophomore effort to Sonic Brew. The new material is nothing short of a swift kick right between the eyes. Stronger Than Death has a truck load of hard hitting riffs, a large helping of monstrous low bass lines, a dash of blazing solos, and harmonics galore that only Mr. Wylde can deliver (the kind that will make your mom's ears bleed!). Whether you're a fan of Zakk's days with Ozzy, or his solo efforts such as Book Of Shadows and Pride And Glory, Black Label Society's Stronger Than Death is definitely the CD you've been waiting for! By the way, don't forget to pick up Zakk's debut album Sonic Brew as well, with the special re-issue bonus-track cover of "No More Tears" (with Mike Inez on bass!). I recently had the privilege to talk to the brewmaster himself about the new album, the tour, and, of course, beer...here's what he had to say...

JO: How's the tour going?

ZW: The tour is called "Penchant for Violence." We go to Japan, June 14th through the22nd, and then on the 23rd the tour starts in Anaheim, CA with the Brotherhood of Brutality, witch is Crowbar and 60-Watt Shaman. We're gonna rape and pillage every stage we can play on! It starts in Anaheim and then we end up in Virginia. From there, we head over to Europe to do about seven festivals, 35-65,000 seaters. Then the tension continues through Canada. We're just gonna keep touring and pummeling until December. Then we may head out in the New Year with the guys from Pantera or something.

JO: Do you have to have a certain surrounding when you write? Do your prefer to write alone?

ZW: Actually, anytime and anywhere, man. Usually its like, I could write a jam down in the rehearsal room while I'm just hanging there. I'll get up first thing in the morning, have a cup of coffee, and I'll usually start playing a cool riff or something I like, and just stick with that and build from there. It always starts out with the music first, though.

JO: Do you ever write material while you're on the road?

ZW: Yeah, totally! "Thirteen Years of Grief" I wrote while I was on the road and "All For You" as well.

JO: I noticed that on "Book of Shadows," you also play harmonica, piano, keyboards, and bass. You're very versatile. Did you come from a musical family?

ZW: No, not really. My dad worked at GM and my mom worked with this agency that did children's commercials and things like that. My dad dicked around on the trumpet but he didn't do it professionally.

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