Black Label Society came to Orlando, Florida after a long overdue absence on Monday, October 7, 2019. A slight drizzle threatened the crowd which stood in the line that snaked around The House of Blues, waiting to enter. There was a 15 to 20 minute delay opening the doors as the meet and greet with the band and a few fans ran longer than scheduled. When the doors finally opened, the patient crowd moved in an orderly fashion through security to escape the evenings humidity into the air-conditioned confines of the venue. General admission at The House of Blues holds just over 2,200 and the house was packed. MNPR Magazine had Mark Horan with MarkHoran.Pictures LLC on hand to cover the show.

Alien Weaponry, a thrash metal band founded in Australia in 2010, led off the show at approximately 7:45pm. Alien Weaponry is a three-piece band that brings thrash metal energy with the ability to incite any crowd into exploding into a mosh pit on any given song. If this show was at an outdoor festival, I believe their set would have gotten out of control, as you could feel the energy on the brink of explosion. Although it never materialized because the crowd was older, I was keen to pay attention to my surroundings. This trio was worth waiting in an uncomfortable line for to see. They were extremely fun and a great opener to hype the crowd for BLS. Band: Lewis de Jong – Guitar/Vocals, Ethan Trembath – Bass Guitar, Henry de Jong – Drums

Setlist:

A quilted curtain hung before the stage as a montage of songs from different artists played through the PA system, from Dio to Led Zeppelin to Black Sabbath. The audience sang along. You could feel the tension growing as the house lights finally went down. Then the curtain parted; Black Label Society was on stage drenched in red light as Zakk Wylde stood at his skull clad microphone, shaking his long mane back and forth, concealing his face from view as he shredded his guitar with the heaviest of metal riffs. Metal’s number one front man clad like a Viking, complete with his signature Scottish kilt, looked ready to pillage and plunder. Taunting the crowd from right to left, Zakk Wylde was the show and every eye was glued to his every move on stage. As the show went on, things became a bit more somber. Wylde played with the crowd a bit while sitting at a grand piano that was pushed on stage. He showed an ability to play classic piano as bass player John DeServio joined him for a duet. The piano was removed and banners of the brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, founders of Pantera were rolled down. The band played “In This River” to pay homage to these fallen metal heroes. The fun returned soon after with beach balls being released. Zakk Wylde ventured into the crowd as he played his solo, joined by the second guitarist, Dario Lorina, in the balcony. With the guitarists entering the crowd, everyone in attendance felt completely vested in the show as it came up close and personal. I have seen Zakk Wylde a few times and this part of his show is what I always remember vividly. Get out and see Zakk with Black Label Society, Ozzie Osborne, or any other project where he is performing. He is an amazing musician and entertainer.

Band: Zakk Wylde – Vocals, Guitar John DeServio – Bass Jeff Fabb – Drums Dario Lorina – Guitar

Setlist: