Pride & Glory

(Geffen)
by Joe Hacking

I’m not abandoning what I’ve done,” says Pride & Glory‘s guitarist/vocalist Zakk Wylde. “Ozzy taught me so much. We’re like family. I love the Oz, but it’s been over a year since I toured with him and I don’t want to be in a rocking chair and belly up before I make my own record.”

Zakk Wylde started with Ozzy Osbourne back in 1988 when he was only 19. Hailing from southern New Jersey, Wylde had played for years in a Southern rock band called Lynrd Skyhyd when a friend suggested he audition for Ozzy. On a whim, he did. The next thing he knew, he was lead axe for the grandfather of metal.

But with the Oz currently talking No More Tours (again), Wylde decided to do his own thing. Pride & Glory showcases Wylde’s musical prowess and Southern rock influences. From the banjo riffs in “Losin’ Your Mind,” to the mandolin and harmonica on “Lovin’ Woman,” that rural/agrarian sound pokes through the sonic wall of Wylde’s trademark Les Paul crunch.

After personally witnessing Wylde’s one-time appearance with the Allman Brother’s last summer at Great Woods, I’d like to say this album kicks ass. But this is not an ass-kicking album. Wylde is saving his wild side for the Oz-man. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.

For you metal fans, songs like “Harvest of Pain,” “Troubled Wine,” “Horse Called War” and especially “Toe’n The Line” get very close to the heavy metal Wylde we know and love. But the rest of the album is Wylde mixing up his many influences with equal parts of thudding low end courtesy of drummer Brian Tischy and bassist James LoMenzo. “The Chosen One” has a nice orchestral accompaniment with Wylde’s guitar squawking up front. “Sweet Jesus” gets real slow with a violin/piano/drums thing.

There’s a lot of stuff going down on this album, and with Wylde singing over some pretty sick solos and rhythms, it should be interesting to see him pull it off live.