Black Label Society blows the roof off of The Webster Theater in Hartford, Connecticut November 9, 2021

November 11, 2021
International Concert Reviews
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

I could feel the excitement in the air as the fans were entering The Webster Theater in Hartford Connecticut, they had been waiting almost 2 years for this show. It was an all ages show featuring Black Label Society, Obituary and Prong. The Webster Theater is a 70 year old venue with standing room only. This made a good setting for an old school heavy metal show.

Prong is a 3 piece metal band formed in the 1980’s. They have released 12 albums and had airplay on MTV. Headed by front man and founder, Tommy Victor, this band provided an exciting evening of hard rocking heavy metal music. All three band members sporting cutoff sleeves and tattoos, Tommy playing a Schecter Guitar, and Jason on a Fender Bass. They were all banging their heads and Tommy was jumping all over the stage. You could see how much fun he was having in his facial expressions. Their setlist included songs spanning their career, mostly 80’s to mid 90’s, along with “However It May End” off their 2017 release entitled Zero Days. “Snap Your Fingers, Snap your Neck” seemed to be the crowd favorite. After their 8 song set, the crowd had finally filled the place and was ready for Obituary.

Prong is:

Tommy Victor – guitars, lead vocals
Jason Christopher – bass, backing vocals
Aaron Rossi – drums

Setlist:

Test
Disbelief
Beg to Differ
Cut-Rate
Broken Peace
Whose Fist is this Anyway?
Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
However it May End

Obituary hit the stage with “Redneck Stomp”, an instrumental jam that makes you want to bang your head. Picking up the pace, John Tardy came out, with his mind searing vocals on the song “Sentence Day” off their 2017 self titled album. The band played their set under saturated, mostly turquoise, green and red lighting. The venue was full and it was about now that the crowd started up a mosh pit. At one point, I had to move further away, as I didn’t feel safe close to the pit carrying my camera gear. Security was closely monitoring the Pit to make sure it didn’t get out of control. They continued on to melt the faces off of their fans with a barrage of songs spanning their 37 year career. Also included in their set was a cover of the Celtic Frost song “Circle of Tyrants”. If you are looking to relive your younger days in the mosh pit, this would be the band I recommend going to see.

Obituary is:

John Tardy – vocals
Donald Tardy – drums
Trevor Peres – rhythm guitar
Terry Butler – bass
Ken Andrews – lead guitar

Setlist:

Redneck Stomp
Sentence Day
A Lesson in Vengeance
Visions in My Head
Chopped in Half
Turned Inside Out
Deadly Intentions
Circle of Tyrants (Celtic Frost Cover)
Straight to Hell
I’m in Pain
Slowly We Rot

It was now, as one of my friends described it, “about 100 degrees in here”. The fans in attendance didn’t seem to mind the heat. Before the band took to the stage, I was off to the side watching the smoke machines engulf the whole theater. Before Black Label Society’s “Kabuki” drop on the “Doom Trooping over North America Tour”, the O2 cannons started firing off creating a rock show ambiance for the first song, ” Bleed For Me”. This being my first Black Label Society show, I was excited to photograph Zakk Wylde. One of the first frames I took ended up being the best shot of the set. See the cover photo. Donning the stage with one of his signature Wylde Audio Bullseye guitars, and wearing a Kilt and Battle Vest, Zakk put on a killer stage show flailing his hair around and soloing up on the center stage platform. His mic stand is adorned with skulls and a large crucifix. BLS played a 14 song set which included a dueling solo where Zakk and Dario got up on the center riser both playing their guitars behind their heads. During “Blessed Hell Ride” Zakk played his the double neck guitar, and at the end of the song, he held it up high over his head. The crowd was cheering loudly when huge photo banners of Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul were draped over the front of the speakers while Zakk got on the keyboards and dedicated “In This River” to them. They ended the night with “Suicide Messiah” and “Stillborn”, two of my favorite BLS tunes.

This stop on the Doom Trooping over America was a huge success. The fans braved the heat in the venue while moshing, headbanging, and singing along to their favorite Prong, Obituary, and BLS songs. Zakk put on a killer show, and I will definitely be catching a BLS show again in the future.

Black Label Society is: