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With so much wool on show in Glasgow over two days, and no sporting events to justify the number of bare legs on display, it could only mean one thing: the Glasgow chapter of the Black Label Society Berserkers are in town. The Family O’ Doom is representing.
First up for Zakk Wylde is an insane appearance at Guitar Guitar in Glasgow, where, as well as copious amounts of guitars, albums, and battle jackets, he also signs a few full-size banana costumes, as well as a bottle of Scotland’s other, other national drink: Buckfast. Check out GuitarGuitarUK on Instagram for some insane footage of the President of Doom Crew INC. prowling the length of the queue in his traditional entrance as WWE legend the Ultimate Warrior. An instant shot of dopamine, and a telling one, especially when you see the number of younger fans in attendance. It must be a buzz for a legacy artist like Wylde when he turns up for an event, and there are so many there who weren’t around when the loveable New Jersey legend first launched his career five decades ago.
Although 2025 saw a visit to this same venue from Wylde with his Black Sabbath covers band, Zakk Sabbath, which came a month after he appeared with Pantera at the OVO Hydro Arena, it’s a rare BLS appearance in Scotland (has it really been 11 years since the last visit?). And judging by the huge queues snaking around both sides of the venue, and the wall of noise that greets the huge BLS curtain being lifted into place, it’s a long overdue return.
Two support acts give the evening more bang for your buck. First up are sludge/doom-miesters Dark Chapel, who have been lit by someone who has taken their name literally. Led by Black Label Society’s Dario Lorina, Dark Chapel suffers from the infamous Academy’s muddy sound, which often puts a damper on many gigs at the old venue. Which is a pity, as 2025’s debut album ‘Spirit in the Glass’ has some bangers on it; set opener ‘Afterglow’ being one, ‘Hollow Smile’ is another. Lorina is comfortable in the role of frontman and relishes the chance to take control of the stage. Sadly, the sound lets him down, and it has to go down as a missed opportunity.
The offshoot of influential British black metal pioneers, Venom, Venom Inc. are a strange choice for the main support. Hence, quite a static audience, with fewer crowd surfers than you would normally get during an extreme/black metal show. Venom Inc. originally featured Mantas and Abbadon, two of the “classic” Venom trio line-up (along with Cronos, who still performs as Venom). The sole connection today is frontman/bassist/vocalist Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan, who featured in Venom in the late 1980s and early 1990s, so anyone expecting material from the early days would have to check expectations at the door, as the sole outing from Venom is ‘Cursed’ from Dolan’s last album with the band.
The lion’s share of the set, naturally, comes from Venom Inc. material, all of which is dispatched with a roaring snarl from Dolan. The recent inclusion of the vastly experienced Curran “Beleth” Murphy is a wise one, with the guitarist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, bringing a bit of flair to the party. The poor sound from earlier has marginally improved; although, it’s still darker than the bowels of hell, which makes it difficult to see Murphy headbanging like a loon through material like ‘Ave Satanas’ and a killer ‘There’s Only Black’. Voted MVP of the 45-minute set, however, is drummer Marc “JXN” Jackson, who pummels those skins like it is his last night on earth. The trio departs to a decent reception from the sold-out crowd, but a strange choice, regardless.
With Ozzy’s ‘Mr. Crowley’ being one of the songs blasted through the giant PA during the changeover, the atmosphere is already one of celebration. Once the huge BLS curtain is lifted into place at the lip of the stage, it serves as the signal for hundreds of phones to light up what is still a darkened venue. When Zakk Wylde appears for his customary entrance, filming his stagewalk from the bus to the stage (complete with warring action figures), it is the cue for hundreds of punters to get out of the bar area. And once the familiar intro music of ‘Whole Lotta Sabbath’ seques into the tolling bell of opening track ‘Funeral Bell’, and the curtain drops, the stage explodes to life as Wylde, Dario Lorina, and long-serving bassist John DeServio all take their places.
‘Funeral Bell’ is a stellar opener. Thick with riffs and heavy hits from drummer Jeff Fabb – who is seated dead centre between a wall of cabs on either side – it also has a hooky chorus that is to die for, and when Wylde instructs the crowd to help out, they are only too happy to oblige. Fabb is playing his heart out, and for once, it is great to see a drummer, rather than simply hearing him. That static crowd mentioned earlier during Venom Inc.’s set was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it’s a mass of crowd surfers going over, with multiple pits opening up.
No time for chit chat though, as once Wylde has towelled himself off from the sweltering heat, it’s straight into ‘Name in Blood’ from the new album. Wylde is up on his raised platform, in his usual position, a mass of long hair, with his head swinging from side-to-side. A move copied by many young guitarists on the scene today. Visually, the sight of this man mountain, in a kilt, legs akimbo, next to a mic stand made of skulls, with a crucifix on top, while making his guitar scream, is retina-blasting. More surfers are coming over, and again, the younger demographic is there in numbers, helping bring a youthful exuberance to proceedings.
‘Destroy & Conquer’ has a big-ass bounce to it, and pints are arcing through the sky. The pit crew are earning their money as surfers are going over in numbers, and it’s good to see that they are being well taken care of before heading back around, to come straight back over again, and again. The duelling guitars between Wylde and Lorina have guitarheads purring with delight, and it’s good to actually see Lorina, considering how near impossible it was to make him out during Dark Chapel’s set earlier. Standing conducting the crowd on the opening to a heavy-as-balls live version of ‘A Love Unreal’, Wylde is having a blast as he changes to his signature bullseye guitar. Each change of guitar is met by a sea of phones, capturing the guitar porn on offer. A beachball-strewn version of ‘Fire It Up’ has the pair going toe-to-toe, with Wylde atop his piano, while Lorina shreds from Wylde’s raised platform. Ending with both of them playing their guitars behind their head, it’s pretty damn special.
It’s a special moment (deafening, also) when ‘Heart of Darkness’ bleeds into the latter stages of Ozzy’s ‘No More Tears’ at the exact spot where Wylde’s instantly recognisable solo kicks in on the studio version. DeServio’s basslicks are making the walls throb, while Wylde’s slide work is sublime. When Wylde sings the last few lines, it is met by the crowd screaming “NO MORE TEARS” back at him. Once the song fades out, the chant of “OZZY…OZZY…OZZY…OZZY” goes up and fills the room. Emotional, heartwarming stuff. As is the always-emotional ‘In This River’, which is of course dedicated to the much-missed Dimebag Darrell and his brother Vinnie Paul. Once the song starts, banners of the Abbott brothers are unfurled from the speaker cabs on each side of Fabb’s drum kit. Wylde is at the piano, so it falls to Lorina to dispatch the guitar solo, and that he does, with ease.
Emotion-charged to say the least. But that’s nothing compared to the reaction when a huge backdrop of Ozzy is unfurled once ‘Ozzy’s Song’ starts up. It must take a lot out of Wylde to perform this song every night, and there is hardly a dry eye in the house when he ends the song and turns to face the backdrop with his arms in the air, before leading the crowd in one last chant of “OZZY…OZZY…OZZY…OZZY”.
Hey Zakk, the Academy called, they want their roof back! Maybe not leave it another 11 years though before coming back, eh? tBLSt SDMF.
Catch Black Label Society on tour in Europe from June through August. They will also perform at Bloodstock Festival on Sunday, August 9th. All dates can be found HERE.
All images – Callum Scott Photography
