Zack Wylde, New Jersey born and one of the world’s renowned guitarists came to his native state with his band Black Label Society on their Fall 2021 tour called Doom Trooping over North America. They are supported by one of death metal’s most influential bands Obituary and New York based heavy metal band Prong. The tour made a stop in Montclair which is about a 40 minute drive away from Bayonne where Zack was born. As expected, his home state did not let him down, and the venue was filled with fans, even with Wellmont Theater being the strictest in the state by enforcing COVID-19 safety protocols.
First up were Prong, followed by Obituary. The Tampa, Florida band are arguably the staple of the death metal scene. First album Slowly We Rot was issued back in 1989, after which the band has followed with another nine studio albums, from which the latest self-titled album was released four years ago. With the exception of a few years’ hiatus from 1997 to 2003, the band has been active in touring and releasing music.
The Death metal legends opened their set with Redneck Stomp, Sentence Day and A Lesson in Vengeance. Guitars were heavy, drums loud and John Tardy’s voice intimidating. Johns brother Donald was his usual hyperactive self on the drums, often interacting with the crowd and after the second song just going shirtless. On this night it was actually the bands bassist Terry Butler’s birthday, and as John delivered this information to the fans, the bandmates raised their cups to give cheers.
Obituary’s performance was perfect. Fans stayed engaged in the circle pit through all songs. Any fallen comrade was picked up by other fans right away, no injuries to report, just an amazing time. They rounded up the set with the title track from their first album Slowly We Rot, and that heavy almost doom like intro just gave chills running down the spine.
It was a long wait to see Black Label Society, but it was all worth it. As curtain fell the mayhem ensued. Zack right there on his pedestal shredding and headbanging was all we needed that night. His staple microphone stand with skulls and crucifix right beside him. From the get-go the performance was exactly what you would expect from BLS, as everyone from the band was engaged with fans. The quality and ferociousness of the music reverberated through the hall and left no one standing still.
The band is set to release their eleventh studio album later this month and they gave fans a little glimpse into it by including in their set with the first song from it called Set You Free. Their set was very comprehensive and included songs spanning through eight studio albums. Songs included were – Bleed For Me, Overlord, Heart Of Darkness Suicide Messiah just to mention a few. They wrapped their set with Stillborn.
The whole show, the whole band was amazing, and not to take anything away from anyone, but Zack was literally and figuratively at the center of the stage. Every time his guitar solos came up and he jumped on his pedestal all eyes were on him, and oh boy, hi did not disappoint. What a night of celebration for metal music.
The tour will continue for another two weeks and make a swing through western states, who are in for some good times.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Andris Jansons
Black Label Society
Obituary
