That aside, this thing screams "cash in" by Zakk's former record label. Here are some words from The Man his damned self in that regard (all grammatical errors are original): "The record co. wanted to put together a compilation of tune's together since the birth of Black Label til 94' & I just thought it was way too early to be doing this tupe of s**t." While Zakk is correct in this statement, I think he erred, too, as his earliest non-Ozzy recording was P&G in '94. So the number "94" is right, just its placement is not.

Without continuing to gripe about the facts and figures surrounding this release, suffice to say Kings of Damnation is a good way to get one's feet wet were one completely ignorant about Zakk Wylde's music, particularly that apart from his children's godfather. I suspect that most BLS fans/friends/family/chapter members already have the extensive back catalog, so why get this? The 1-CD version I received for review has two previously unreleased tracks, "Doomsday Inc." and "SDMF" but does that make it worth purchasing? Only for the completist. These songs were surely left off 2003's The Blessed Hellride, according to my ears, and while killer parts are found in this pair, that'd be buying a CD for just 2 songs! Your call.

Going a step further, the 2-CD version of this release boasts a second disc of rarities, including the heavier BLS version of "No More Tears" (of course, originally performed by Zakk on Ozzy's album of the same name). Contrarily, the following cover tunes are more acoustic than amped up: "Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum, "Heart Of Gold" by Neil Young, "Snowblind" and "The Wizard" [P&G] by the mighty Black Sabbath, "In My Time Of Dyin'" by Bob Dylan [P&G], and "Come Together" by The Beatles [P&G]. Also on the second disc are three videos: "Counterfeit God," "Stillborn," and "Bleed For Me (Live)."

If you need to play catch up on a decade of Zakk's work because you've been sleepin' with Rip Van Winkle and otherwise missed the BLS boat, or even the P&G or Book of Shadows skiffs, check out Kings of Damnation. If you are primarily a completist and already own much of Zakk Wylde's back catalog, this is mostly unnecessary. If you bought the original 1994 and 1996 albums -- not the Spitfire re-releases -- this one has much of the good stuff the label added as bonus materials. And there are those 2 unreleased songs....

written by Tony Belcher

Playing time: 71.50