Zakk Wylde/black Lab SKULLAGE GREATEST HI

Zakk Wylde proved himself beyond capable as Ozzy Osbourne's longtime guitarist. Starting as a teenage prodigy, he rapidly edged himself up the ladder as one of heavy metal's top shredders. And his long-running project, Black Label Society, founded in 1998, gives Wylde a platform to shine in every aspect, to the point where he played every instrument but the drums on the early releases. SKULLAGE is a comprehensive retrospective of Wylde's heavy take on traditional, fat-free heavy metal. Southern-inflected songs like "Machine Gun Man" and "Dead as Yesterday" exist comfortably next to nimble shred-fests like the howling "Doomsday Jesus" and "13 Years of Grief." Additionally, the album includes several acoustic takes on BLS songs, including "Stillborn," that display Wylde's increasingly confident singing and melodic sense. As a package summing up a decade-plus career in ear-splitting guitar wizardry, SKULLAGE succeeds magnificently.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock