{"id":5644,"date":"2016-04-14T12:53:44","date_gmt":"2016-04-14T12:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-zakk-wylde-book-of-shadows-ii\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T21:20:43","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T21:20:43","slug":"album-review-zakk-wylde-book-of-shadows-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-zakk-wylde-book-of-shadows-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Zakk Wylde – Book of Shadows II"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/figure>\n

It’s been twenty years since the first ‘Book of Shadows’<\/i> but like its predecessor, volume II is quite the departure from Zakk Wylde<\/b>’s normal scorching style. Forget the heavyweight shredding and mind-blowing fast-fingered solos, what you get here is a gorgeous slice of reflective country rock. <\/p>\n

\u2019Autumn Changes\u2019<\/i> kicks things off in a suitably laid-back vibe, with lazy acoustic strumming and light orchestration. However, Wylde being the guitar hero that he is, manages to rock the understated solo. This sets the tone for a chilled-out, slightly melancholic collection of folk-tinged tunes with superbly executed guitar breaks that makes for a really nice album.<\/p>\n

\u2019Tears of December\u2019<\/i> is a beautiful slice of melancholy, perfectly suited to Wylde\u2019s understated gravelly voice, which he stretches a little more on the upbeat blues rock of Lost Prayer<\/i>. Like the romantic \u2019Lay Me Down\u2019<\/i> and the really downbeat \u2019The Levee\u2019<\/i>, \u2019Darkest Hour\u2019<\/i> pulls hard on the heartstrings, but it never becomes clich\u00e9 and contains another absolutely superb solo.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There are very few upbeat moments; \u2019Eyes of Burden\u2019<\/i> has a lighter feel to it but is something of an exception. Most of the tracks are on the dark side, but to be frank, I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way. \u2019Sleeping Dogs\u2019<\/i> is all killer, the soulful blues of \u2019Forgotten Memory\u2019<\/i> is pure emotion, while the rich melody of \u2019Sorrowed Regret\u2019<\/i> actually offers a sense of hope. <\/p>\n

At fourteen tracks the record is maybe a little too long, \u2019Harbors of Pity\u2019<\/i> for instance could have been left for B-sides or bonus material, and although some of the melodies sound familiar, Zakk proves himself a more than capable singer-songwriter on this extremely likeable, richly textured introspective record. One to play on your way home after a gig when you need something chilled.<\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

‘Book of Shadows II’<\/em> by Zakk Wylde<\/strong> is out now on Spinefarm Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Zakk Wylde<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been twenty years since the first ‘Book of Shadows’ but like its predecessor, volume II is quite the departure from Zakk Wylde’s normal scorching style. Forget the heavyweight shredding and mind-blowing fast-fingered solos, what you get here is a gorgeous slice of reflective country rock. \u2019Autumn Changes\u2019 kicks things off in a suitably laid-back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[3715,15028,313,3714],"class_list":["post-5644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-book-of-shadows-ii","tag-edward-layland","tag-spinefarm-records","tag-zakk-wylde"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review: Zakk Wylde - Book of Shadows II - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It’s been twenty years since the first ‘Book of Shadows’ but like its predecessor, volume II is quite the departure from Zakk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Album Review: Zakk Wylde - 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