ALBUM REVIEW: ENGINES OF DEMOLITION BY BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Release date 27 March 2026
A fantastic rock blues acoustic guitar riff with atmospheric layered vocals opens ‘Name In Blood’ on Black Label Society’s 12th studio album, the ‘Engines of Demolition’. The statement of intent follows with the big guitar lick, the chugging melody and blues-rock voice stating: “I give you all I’ve got, I’ll give you my name in blood. My name in blood!”. And then the guitar solo hits! It is a great rock track and it is an instant sing along classic. I can hear it being sung in a large venue. It’s fantastic!
The second song ‘Gatherer Of Souls’ is another chugging blues bassline in lockstep with the drums as the melody works around it as the “beat of salvation” drives the song on into a huge guitar solo. Zakk Wylde’s unmistakable vocals soar over the top like a war cry. It is followed by the big blues soundscape of ‘The Hands Of Tomorrow’s Graves’ as the rhythm section steers the song and the vocals soar over the top. I guess we all need ‘Better Days And Wiser Times’ and the acoustic guitars, piano and vocal harmonies frame this rock ballad. It’s the first album highlight as it tells us to let go of past slights and hurt.
The album moves back into the chugging blues beat and big guitar riffs with ‘Broken And Blind’. Then, ‘The Gallows’ is true heavy rock with its origins of the guitar riff in its DNA as “together we shall burn”. Then, it gets heavier with ‘Above And Below’ before a lovely break in the song delivers a pure acoustic guitar break and shows the song’s melodic origin. Then, ‘Back To Me’ takes up the acoustic guitar to underpin the electric guitar melody in its riff and solo. The song is another mid-tempo ballad and it’s a song of longing as a lover waits for their special one to “find their way back”. Its another album highlight.
The track ‘Lord Humungous’ is a huge rock song that is anchored by the steam train steady beat behind the drumkit and in the basslines. Then, a more laid back but still heavy rock song with a chugging bassline and strong vocal harmonics delivers ‘Pedal To The Floor’. It is followed by another big rocker of a song in ‘Broken Pieces’ with its really lovely guitar riffs weaving between the rhythm and the vocals. It is a lament, almost a ballad but not quite, about a “water grave” and the shards of events that litter our lives. It’s another album highlight!
Then, the heavy blues rock cuts in with ‘The Stranger’ in “a strange world” that we “all walk alone” with those killer guitar riffs. The guitar solos and guitar work in general are superb. It’s a lesson in how to use guitar in rock ‘n’ roll. The album closes with ‘Ozzy’s Song’, a ballad and a letter in song to a close friend who is dying. It’s an affecting ballad with a lovely guitar and piano core. It is honest and sincere about expressing loss and grief.
Black Label Society (Zakk Wylde, Dario Lorina, John "JD" DeServio, and Jeff Fabb) have delivered a fantastic ballsy rock'n'roll album. I know I have praised the ballads, but the blues rock ’n’ roll tracks are terrific and it’s the lyrics, the melodies and great vocal harmonies that make the album so good. This is an album for rock fans – you won’t be disappointed with this collection of 13 authentic blues-rock tracks.
