Mafia

"Mafia" was Black Label Society's sixth studio album originally released in March 2005. It sees a return to the much heavier style of "1919 Eternal" and "The Blessed Hellride" and was their most globally successful album to date, selling over 250,000 in the US alone. "In This River" is dedicated to the memory of Dimebag Darrell, who had been a close friend of Zakk's before his untimely death, and the album closes with a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "I Never Dreamed". "Fire It Up" was featured in the 2005 edition of the game Guitar Hero.

Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist for nearly two decades, Zakk Wylde slips the off the leash again to release his seventh album with his band, the Black Label Society, creating a weighty masterwork that stands muscled shoulder to muscled shoulder with anything his liege lord is putting out. But then, the slinger is responsible for co-writing some of Osbournes's most memorable tunes from No Rest For The Wicked, No More Tears and Ozzmosis. Mafia does sometimes feel like Wylde is still in search of the heavy metal grail, especially on the Sabbath-esque "Mr. Octavia," but the slinger shows a surprisingly vulnerable side on "The River." The gritty-yet-sensitive song, dedicated to (but not written for) Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott who was shot by a fan in December of 2004, has a noble gravity and depth, and would fit comfortably on a Springsteen album. Wylde has hidden depths and reserves of talents he hasn't even scratched yet. --Jaan Uhelszki