''Shot to Hell'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Black Label Society. It was released September 12, 2006, and was the band's first record released by

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

Track listing

Production

According to Zakk Wylde, the band "just came in here and started knocking it out. That's how you make records." The cover art was originally of three nuns with

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

s (as seen in the advertisements handed out at

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

2006), but it was deemed inappropriate and was changed to three nuns playing a game of pool. The version with shotguns was used as the cover of the "Concrete Jungle" single.

Reception

According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, despite the band's change of label, "not much has changed artistically, no doubt to the relief of fans. Over the course of 13 songs, the band showcases impressive musicianship, incorporating occasional moodiness and balladic touches into its otherwise charging style of metal. The usual comparisons to

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

, and

Corrosion of Conformity Corrosion of Conformity (often abbreviated as C.O.C.) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with lead guitarist Woody Weatherman a ...

are as apt as ever." According to

Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...

, "''Shot to Hell'' will not cause he bandto lose fans, even with the abundance of

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s this time around. In fact, it is easier to listen to ''Shot to Hell'' in one sitting because of the song variety....''Shot to Hell'' is probably more of what you expect with just a hint of progression." Rock Hard gave a more positive summary, stating that the band had acquired a greater sense of its own style, with

groovy ''Groovy'' (or, less commonly, ''groovie'' or ''groovey'') is a slang colloquialism popular during the 1960s and 1970s. It is roughly synonymous with words such as "excellent", "fashionable", or "amazing", depending on context. History The word ...

mid-speed hits. The review noted that there was an unneeded absence of complexity.

Personnel

Black Label Society *

Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heav ...

– guitars, vocals,

talk box A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the so ...

, piano, keyboards,

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

John DeServio John "JD" DeServio is an American musician who has been the bassist of heavy metal band Black Label Society since 2005. He was also a member of Pride & Glory (band), Pride & Glory, a southern rock trio, for a short time in December 1994 (again ...

– bass * Craig Nunenmacher – drums Production * Produced by Zakk Wylde *

Executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

–

Michael Beinhorn Michael James Beinhorn is a North American record producer, composer, author, and musician. He has produced albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Hole, Korn, Kensington and Marilyn Manson. Career 1977–1983: early years, Material, Her ...

*Associate producers and

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

– Barry Conley, David Allen * Mixed by Randy Staub, except "Faith Is Blind", mixed by Dave Allen * Mastered by

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

*Management – Bob Ringe (Survival Management) *Assistant management – Barbaranne Wylde *Founding Father ( A&R) – Mike Gitter *Artwork concept – Zakk Wylde, Barbaranne Wylde *Artwork production – Barbaranne Wylde *Artwork photography – Neil Zlozower *Artwork design and layout – Rob "RA" Arvizuae *Artwork casting – Deborah German Casting *Wardrobe – Bobbie Mannix *Makeup – Ralis Kahn *Nuns – Pat McNeely, Mary Lou Secor, Nan Taylor *Devils – Frank Bettag, David Case, Richard Summers

Charts

Singles

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' (North America)

References

2006 albums Black Label Society albums Roadrunner Records albums Albums produced by Michael Beinhorn {{2000s-metal-album-stub