Page 18 - RockRevoltMagazine-Fall2016
P. 18

Gone but not forgotten                                                                                  that didn’t sound good enough. We were
You cut me down just to watch me bleed                                                                  like, “Let’s make it 20.” Because, the only
                                                                                                        other guy that could probably go 20 years
Hey, Zakk. How are you?                             I hear you (laughs). So, I have to ask you –        without making another record would
    I’m doing good, brother. Just sitting in                                                            be Richard Branson. So, regardless of
    the gym right now waiting for this hot          it’s been 20 years now since the first “Book of     whether people didn’t like the record, or
    rockin’ call. I gotta stay sexy at all times,   Shadows” record. What made now the right            they think it’s the best record since sliced
    you know?                                       time to put out a follow-up to the first one?       bread, the thing is – we now own that
                                                                                                        record (20 years). You’ve gotta have goals
                                                        My whole thing was, it took Guns ‘n Roses       (laughs), and you’ve gotta have a reason
                                                        Chinese Democracy 15 years to make. At          to get out of bed.
                                                        that point, we were like, “We have to put       The thing is, if somebody hadn’t
                                                        out this record.” When it got to 16 years,      mentioned we were coming up on the
                                                                                                        20-year anniversary, we would have made
                                                                                                        another Black Label album or something.
                                                                                                        I really couldn’t believe it had been almost
                                                                                                        20 years. While I was knocking around
                                                                                                        doing whatever crusade we were doing,
                                                                                                        like the “Catacombs of the Black Vatican”
                                                                                                        crusade or whatever, the Black Label
                                                                                                        family in whatever town we were in would
                                                                                                        ask me, “Are you ever going to do another
                                                                                                        one of those “Book of Shadows” albums,
                                                                                                        because I really dig the mellow stuff? I
                                                                                                        was like, “Maybe if I get around to it, in
                                                                                                        between changing diapers, world peace,
                                                                                                        and curing syphilis and gonorrhea.” I
                                                                                                        feel like I could knock that out before
                                                                                                        brunch. We’ve been rolling, doing Black
                                                                                                        Label since 1998, so it’s not like we’re
                                                                                                        sitting around for the last 20 years, and

I gave you the last word
And that’s the last thing you’ll take from me

    I’ve always done my mellow thing on the             in a different mood; it’s a different color, a
    Black Label albums anyway. The whole                different flavor of food. Instead of eating
    thing with the “Book of Shadows” is that            the same thing all the time, I’d rather go
    it’s mellow from beginning to end – if you          to an ass-kicking deli.
    want to chill out, just put this thing on.
                                                    I’m listening to this record, and I love the
At this point, Zakk, you’re probably just as        range of emotion on here; whether it be
well known for the mellow material just as          the passage of life in “Autumn Changes,”
much as the heavy stuff. As you mentioned,          or the fighting through the tough times
you’ve been sprinkling the mellow material          in “Darkest Hour.” Where do you find the
into Black Label Society all these years.           inspiration for a lot of this stuff? Is there
What’s it like for you writing the softer fare      any particular place that’s a hotbed of
– is it a different mindset for you going into      inspiration for you?
a project like this?
                                                        It’s funny, I was talking to a guy who said,
    Not really. It’s like, I love Zeppelin when         “Well, I don’t know how to write songs.”
    they do “Whole Lotta Love,” and I love it           He could play, but he was talking about
    when they do “Thank You.” I love when               writing songs. I said, “What do you mean
    they do “Black Dog” as much as “Going to            you can’t write a song?” “Knocking On
    California.” The heavy stuff is super-fun,          Heaven’s Door” is three chords – great
    too. I love it all – I love playing piano just      lyrics and a killer melody. As far as the
    as much as I love playing the guitar, and           lyrics, it’s just like with anything. Like in
    stuff like that. Playing the piano puts you         bodybuilding; you’re not going to start off
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