Black Label Society's new album Doom Crew Inc. is very much a Black Label Society album.
That's really the only way to describe the 11th studio effort from Zakk Wylde and company, which offers another 12 entries into the band's tradition of growling vocals over big riffs and bigger solos. And while that sound may not exactly be new, that doesn't mean it doesn't have any heart.
"To me...I didn't approach [Doom Crew Inc.] any different than I approached any other record," Wylde tells ABC Audio. "You go in and just play what you love, however you get inspired."
One new element that does sneak its way into Doom Crew Inc., though, is a heavier focus on twin-guitar riffing between Wylde and guitarist Dario Lorina, which evolved from Black Label's live shows.
"When we do 'Fire It Up' [live], instead of just me going out in the crowd and soloing, Dario comes out there with me and we do trade-offs and everything like that, a little guitar battle-type thing," Wylde explains. "So [the album's] just a progression of that."
The result, Wylde says, makes BLS feel more like a "two-guitar player band" akin to Judas Priest or The Allman Brothers Band. Even still, it's hard for Black Label Society to sound like anybody but Black Label Society.
"AC/DC never tried being anything other than AC/DC," Wylde muses. "I mean, it didn't matter what the musical climate was."
Doom Crew Inc. drops, fittingly, on Black Friday, November 26.