When Ozzy Osbourne decided in favour of a hiatus in 1995, Zakk Wylde (the guitarist of Osbourne) took up the opportunity and recorded his first solo album after the recording sessions of Ozzy's Ozzmosis were over. However, "Book of Shadows" (1996) didn't manage to gain any mainstream success, and thus Wylde took an extended break before resurfacing with a new album (this time under a new name - Black Label Society) in 1999. This time 'round he was more successful, although it was still his solo project that was in question. Having released seven different albums - last year's crushing "Mafia" being the latest - Black Label Society has come a long way to releasing "Kings of Damnation", a compilation of purportedly best tracks from Wylde's brainchild.

Zakk Wylde is one of the few guitarists out there with a really recognisable signature style (his high-pitched harmonic squeals coupled with a rather strong vibrato have come essential to his trademark sound). In case one hasn't heard BLS before, the music is best described as a brutal blend of heavy metal and hard rock. What comes to mind regarding almost every best of collection is the choice of tracks... I reckon some really good songs have been left out from this collection. For example, there aren't any tracks from "Mafia" due to the label change from Spitfire to Artemis Records. In addition to the old material, there are two previously unreleased tracks on this compilation (namely Doomsday Inc. and SDMF). As well it might, the material of BLS has improved throughout the years (in my view, the more recent songs from Wylde are better than his early production... therefore, it's a shame this collection doesn't encompass the Mafia era).

Production-wise this compilation is ok. Surely it could have sounded better, but one can't help but notice that the early production isn't sonically as good as the late. Besides, there's background noise on some recordings, which is unfortunate.

In case you're a fan of Wylde's work, it might be hard for you to decide whether Kings of Damnation features enough new material to justify the buy (after all, there are only two new tracks). However, for someone new to BLS, Kings of Damnation offers an easy way to familiarize oneself with Wylde's production. In addition to the main disc, the limited digipack edition of this compilation comes with an enhanced bonus disc that features cover songs along with three videos. Nevertheless, the choice of tracks could have been better on this collection.

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- MAGE (November 6th, 2005)

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LINE-UP:
Wylde, Zakk: Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Piano Catanese, Nick (ET): Guitars LoMenzo, James: Bass Nunenmacher, Craig: Drums
Producer:	Wylde, Zakk
Mixing by:	Unavailable
Mastering by:	Unavailable

	TRACKLIST:
	- MAIN DISC - 01. Losing Your Mind 02. Horse Called War 03. Between Heaven and Hell 04. Sold My Soul 05. Bored to Tears 06. Bleed for Me 07. TAZ 08. Counterfeit God 09. Stronger Than Death 10. Speedball 11. Demise of Sanity 12. We Live No More 13. Stillborn 14. The Blessed Hellride 15. Crazy or High 16. House of Doom 17. Takillya 18. Doomsday Inc. 19. SDMF Length: 71:59 - BONUS ENHANCED CD - 01. No More Tears 02. Whiter Shade of Pale 03. Heart of Gold 04. Snowblind 05. The Wizard 06. In My Time of Dyin' 07. Come Together 08. Counterfeit God (Video) 09. Stillborn (Video) 10. Bleed for Me (Video) Length: 38:34 + the videos Total Length: 110:33