The Album Reader Reviews:
Title: Stronger Than Death
Artist: Black Label Society
Label: Spitfire Records
Release Date: 4/18/00		 There are currently 2 Reader Reviews of this album.
Average Rating: 4.5
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    • Submitted by L.S. BHAN on 7/8/01:
    My review of Stronger than Death can best be summed up in one sentence: Zakk Wylde is THE MAN. (Granted, he is certainly not the god that Yngwie Malmsteen is, but close enough considering that the Swede is in a league of his own.)

    Wylde knows how to do metal right. From this point in time forward, every garage band that ever jams together should hereby be forced to take lessons on How to Play Metal from Zakk Wylde. All the songs on this disc rip like few others, with killer lyrics (and artwork) to complement the music perfectly. Aside from the riffs, the solos are of course a main highlight of this album, and while some might seem out of place or written for the sole purpose to impress, there is no denying that they kick ass.

    Zakk Wylde-- and all his projects, BLS especially-- is a favorite of mine, and for good reason: he's one hell of a song writer. Highlights abound: "13 Years of Grief" has some of the most fitting lyrics I've seen for this style of metal, and the chorus in "Ain't Life Grand" simply rocks. "Counterfeit God" has one of the album's best solos, in my opinion. Of all the songs on here though, my favorites are probably the two ballads, "Rust," and especially "Just Killing Time" (this being one of my favorite songs, period), which boasts my single favorite solo on the album (sounds a bit like the instrumental "To One Far Away" on Mercyful Fate's Don't Break the Oath, at least to me). The latter isn't even exactly metal, but it's mind-blowing nevertheless.

    There's not a whole lot more I can say about Stronger than Death, or even Black Label Society itself. I'd just be repeating the same sentences over and over again. If you like metal in any way, shape or form, you owe it to yourself to pick up this album.
    5 out of 5

    Submitted by Demonic on 6/3/00:
    Well, well, well.... Mr. Wylde is back.

    The newest offering from Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society, as with the previous BLS album, should in fact just list Zakk's name. Who else contributes to these albums? No names are easily found when sought out.

    Regardless, for a Jersey boy, he sure does southern style metal right. While I don't think this album is quite as good as the previous BLS offering, it is still quite good. All the requisite squealing leads and gravel-spewed rhythm chunks are present.

    Production is a bit muddied, particularly as it regards the vocals, but this is because the proprietor of BLS is doing the production (i.e., Zakk.) The best track of the album is not even that metal ("Just Killing Time"), but it'll make your heart bleed. And your ears, too.

    If you loved Zakk's work on Ozzy's No More Tears and the subsequent Live & Loud, you will most definitely like this album. If you liked Zakk's Pride & Glory project, this ain't necessarily for you as it is back to metal.
    4 out of 5

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