Black Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde,
with nine albums released to date.

Band's Formation

In the early 1990s, Wylde had formed his own solo band Pride & Glory, playing a mixture of bluesy southern rock with heavy metal. However, after one album, they disbanded in December 1994. Wylde subsequently recorded an acoustic solo album, Book Of Shadows (released 1996). In May 1998, after limited commercial success with Book of Shadows, Wylde and drummer Phil Ondich recorded what became Black Label Society's debut album Sonic Brew. It was decided, rather than the album being another solo album for Wylde, that they would form a long-lasting band. It was known from the get-go that Nick Catanese would be retained as the second guitarist in the band (Catanese previously toured as rhythm guitarist for the Book Of Shadows tour). John DeServio, who previously worked with Wylde as a temporarily replacement in Pride & Glory, joined as the band's bassist for the album's tour.

Sonic Brew was released in Japan on 28 October 1998. Due to delays in signing with a record label (Spitfire Records), the album was not released in the rest of the world until 4 May 1999, almost a year after the album was recorded.

Line-up Changes

The band's second album Stronger Than Death followed in 2000, with DeServio being replaced by Steve Gibb. Craig Nunenmacher replaced Ondich in July 2000, with his debut recording with the band being the live album Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live +5. This was followed by 1919 Eternal in 2002. Steve Gibb was temporarily replaced by Mike Inez during the Ozzfest 2001 tour, and then Robert Trujillo took over bass duties for the band the next year.

In 2003, Trujillo joined Metallica, leaving the bass position in BLS open, which left room for Inez to rejoin the band for a short 2 week tour, supporting the band's album The Blessed Hellride. James Lomenzo joined the band in 2004 after the release of Hangover Music Vol. VI, which was the band's last release for Spitfire Records.

In 2005, after the band signed with Artemis Records, the album Mafia was released. In October, Lomenzo left the band and was replaced by the band's original bassist, John DeServio. In 2006, the band left Artemis Records and signed to Roadrunner Records, releasing the album Shot To Hell.

In June 2007, Black Label Society parted ways with Roadrunner Records.

Changes within the band

On the first four studio albums, Wylde played every instrument except for the drums, including vocals, guitars, piano, and bass guitar. However, starting with 2004's Hangover Music Vol. VI, Wylde decided to let the band's bassist perform on the album (though uniquely, three bassists - Mike Inez, John DeServio, and James Lomenzo perform on this album, as the band had no permanent bassist at the time, though Lomenzo became a member of the band soon after), preferring a bassist's interaction and feel to the sound of himself, a guitarist playing bass. Nick Catanese has not, to date, played on any of the studio albums, but, as of 2006, Wylde allows him to perform some of the songs' guitar solos live while he is playing piano.

Current members

* Zakk Wylde (Vocals, Guitars, Piano) 1998 - present
* Nick Catanese (Guitar) 1998 - present
* Craig Nunenmacher (drums) 2000 - present
* John DeServio (bass) 1999, 2005 - present

Previous members

* Phil Ondich (drums) 1998-2000
* Steve Gibb (bass) 2000-2001
* Mike Inez (bass) 1999, 2001, 2003
* Robert Trujillo (bass) 2002
* James LoMenzo (bass) 2004-2005

Trivia

The song "Fire It Up", from the 2005 album Mafia, featured as a bonus song in the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero.

Actor Mark Wahlberg appears in the band's video for "Counterfeit God," as their bass player, because they did not have a bassist at the time. Coincidentally, Steve Gibb, who was hired as their bass player after the video was filmed, also appears in the video with skull face makeup and holding chains. They asked Mark to appear in the video because Zakk and Nick were his fellow cast members for the movie Rock Star which was filming at the same time.

On June 29, 2006, "Concrete Jungle", the first single from Shot to Hell was released online via Blabbermouth.net, which is owned by the band's then record label Roadrunner Records. The single's video, directed by Aggressive, was released in early September 2006.

External links / Sources

• BlackLabelSociety.com - Official Band-Site
• ZakkWylde.com - Official Site of Band-leader Zakk Wylde
• SDMF Worldwide - Official Fan-Site
• BLS.net - Longest running unofficial site