It's been 20 years since metal heavyweights Black Label Society released their debut album, 1999's Sonic Brew.
To celebrate, band members Zakk Wylde (vocals/guitar/piano), John DeServio (bass/backing vocals), Dario Lorina (guitar) and Jeff Fabb (drums) have embarked on a monthlong anniversary tour dubbed "20 Years of Sonic Brewtality" and released a coinciding re-recording of the album, titled Sonic Brew– 20th Anniversary Blend 5.99-5.19.
“The original recording back in 1997 was mastered with high volume, alcohol, and dance,” Wylde said.
“We went in and worked off the existing performances and focused on the high volume and dance while replacing the booze with Viagra and anabolic steroids. I wanted to re-blend and re-choreograph this release to be the most brewtal and dance-tactic album since Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ dominated the dance floor at Studio 54!”
The tour kicked off with a two-night stand April 24-25 at the Oriental Theater in Denver, Colorado. The trek– which features support from Conan and The Atomic Bitchwax– concludes with another two-nighter May 22-23 at the El Ray Theatre in LA.
The band has been switching up the setlists in their live performances, but the standard show consists of 17 songs, kicking off with either “Genocide Junkies,” “Bored to Tears” or a cover of Wax Audio’s “Whole Lotta Sabbath.”
They play cuts from their entire discography, but primarily pull from Sonic Brew, The Blessed Hellride and Grimmest Hits.
Check out some of the highlights so far!
April 24 – Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado
On opening night, the band played Sonic Brew in full, kicking things off with "Bored to Tears" before diving into the entire record.
A fan captured this clip of "Born to Lose."
May 1 – Concord Music Hall, Chicago, Illinois
The band only played one Sonic Brew song (“Spoke in the Wheel”) and instead highlighted tracks from Grimmest Hits (“A Love Unreal,” “All That Once Shined,” “Room of Nightmares,” “Trampled Down Below”) and The Blessed Hellride (“Funeral Bell,” “Stillborn,” “Suffering Overdue,” “The Blessed Hellride”).
This is pretty much the band's standard set for this tour.
Watch their performance of “Funeral Bell” below:
May 17 – Sonic Temple Festival, Columbus, Ohio
Fittingly performing at the Sonic Temple Festival, the band played a 7-song set that included songs “Bleed For Me,” “Trampled Down Below” and “Stillborn.”
Check out their electric performance of "Stillborn."
Black Label Society have just TWO more performances on this tour... visit their website for ticket and touring info and check out the remaining dates below!
Black Label Society 2019 North American Tour Dates:
05/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
05/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
