BLACK LABEL SOCIETY (08/03/18)

While Zakk was concerned about the first show of the Euro tour, gear-related, we had the honor to have a little chat with him, careful it’s a short one!
 

Hi Zakk, how was the Russian gigs before heading to Paris?

Zakk Wylde: Oh well we were supposed to do three shows up there but we only ended up doing two because we couldn’t fly in because of the snow.

“Grimmest Hits” is the bands tenth album. We noticed that you only named an album after a track two times. Why is this album named this way? The album isn’t musically grim maybe lyrics related?

Zakk: “Grimmest Hits” is just a…  we have the grim reaper picture and I thought it’d be terrible to name it like this. The funny thing is, as a joke, that if you want greatest hits record you have to have hit songs but we only have songs (laughs) so that’s why it’s called “Grimmest Hits”. (laughs)

You first unveiled “Room Of Nightmares” and that hilarious video. First how fun was it to shoot it?

Zakk: It was great with all the kids!

But there’re also “A Love Unreal”, “All That Once Shined”. The band doesn’t appear in it but what’s your part in it? Or is it your team taking decisions on that kind of matter?

Zakk: Justin how has done a batch of videos for us for a while now. We’ll talk about a concept and stuff like that and then Justin goes ahead and shoots it. “We’ll have the Grim Reaper doing all the Bob Dylan video with the cards and do a spoof” and I’m “alright cool”. 

This album is kind of different regarding the way you sing, more smoothly, even on “Catacombs Of The Black Vatican” there were more “BLS” singing. How would you define this result vocally? Because the music is still heavy and you’re not doing the Book Of Shadows tour.

Zakk: The “Book Of Shadows” thing it is what it is indeed from the beginning to the end, for that kind of record. For this one, well Black Label is more riff oriented.

The vocals being smoother, we felt that even the solos got a higher spot in the hearing due to the space left. Do you agree? We found them mindblowing by the way.

Zakk: For me it’s just about which side of the bed I wake up if you know what I mean. As I said, the Black Label stuff is more riff oriented, all starts with a riff and then that dictate the vocal line.

A word about “The Day That Heaven Had Gone Away”. You played it for a Facebook Live a few weeks ago with Dario. You said it’s about not having wifi while tempting to have fun with yourself.

Zakk: That’s just us being serious like all the time. (laughs)

Last time you played with BLS here in Paris, it was here at Bataclan, a few months before the attacks. How is it to be back here?

Zakk: The guy here just before asked if I was going to do something different tonight. The whole thing is, everyone how passed away here, you celebrate their lives and you also celebrate the music they were here for. We’ll have an ass-kicking show because this is what’s all about.

Tonight is the first night of the Euro tour, what can we expect? Do you still have your preshow routine with shaving legs and Black Label lingerie?

Zakk: Yes, anal bleaching, shaving legs, going through our costume changes, making sure that our rouges and eyeliners and blush matches our fishnets : YES. (laughs) That’s how we do.

You’re playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London in April, will you shoot a DVD or something?

Zakk: We were talking about doing something special there or with the Irish chapter too, we were considering shooting something yes that’s a huge thing for Black Label.

You’re back with Ozzy this summer here in Europe but will we see Zakk Sabbath one day?

Zakk: Yes obviously between Black Label and rolling with the boss, at some point yes. We already talked about bring Zakk Sabbath over here.

What are BLS next plans?

Zakk: We have a batch of US shows, making it up for the ones we cancelled because of my floating tube terror and I’ve tore my vagina on the Black Label uterus deadlift so once I’ve glued my vagina back together we’ll do this bunch of shows. Then I’ll be back on the road with Ozz’.

Any message to the French Chapter?

Zakk: Stay strong, keep bleeding Black Label, God bless and keep waiting Ozzy, we’ll see you guys before you even know it between BLS and Zakk Sabbath.

Website: blacklabelsociety.com