Black Label Society Rock Raleigh

Black Label Society, Zakk Sabbath and Dark Chapel live on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at The Ritz in Raleigh, NC

The Guitar Center in Raleigh opens at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw a bump in business following Black Label Society's show at The Ritz the night before. A double dip of one of the last guitar heroes is inspiration for any kid (or middle-aged dude) to buy a guitar and some leather goods and try to learn all the riffs.

We should all try to learn all the riffs. Riffs are what will bring together our divided society.

Zakk Wylde has riffs. On and off with Ozzy Osbourne for 40 years, with Black Label Society and his solo projects for 30-some years, as a keeper of the Dimebag flame in recent Pantera tours and in opening his own shows with his Black Sabbath tribute band, Zakk Sabbath, Wylde works in riffs like Frida Kahlo worked in self-portraits.

Zakk Sabbath is as faithful to the originals as you'd expect from a man who owes a great deal to Ozzy and Tony Iommi. It's a tribute to the godfathers of heavy metal and covers a fair amount of ground in only five songs. Any Black Sabbath fan is going to smile and vibrate over the set list of "Children of the Grave," "Snowblind," a giant singalong of "Fairies Wear Boots" and "N.I.B."

Wylde surprised the balcony crowd with an up close and personal, extended guitar solo in blistering set closer "War Pigs."

Twenty minutes later he was back under the Black Label banner for a set that leaned heavily into the last 10 years of the band's records. More big riffs covering the range he's evolved the band through in the years since the punishing Sonic Brew debut album.

"Funeral Bell" is a driving opener, followed by a new song with a big, heavy hook in "Name in Blood." The band sticks to high octane, driving songs until an interlude into "No More Tears." Hard to call that a cover since Wylde wrote the song that might be the high bar of Ozzy's 90s work. It's still a stellar guitar solo in a classic song.

Another Ozzy tribute pops up later with the new "Ozzy's Song," sandwiched between BLS standards "Fire It Up" and "Stillborn."

The night opened with Vegas band Dark Chapel, a metal band with a heavy debt to blues and a southern gothic vibe. They perform a great version of Bill Wither's classic "Ain't no Sunshine." The kinship is obvious when you see lead singer Dario Lorina, with a great, soulful voice, show up later as the second guitarist in Black Label Society.

Wylde is keeping it all in the family for a night of straight-forward, classic heavy rock. It's an iron he's been forging for decades.

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