Grimmest Hits is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Black Label Society. The album was released on January 19, 2018. According to AllMusic, the sound of the album was inspired by Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.[2] Zakk Wylde admitted in an interview with Billboard that he "just wanted to confuse people", regarding its title.[3]

Grimmest Hits
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 19, 2018
Genre
Length55:52
LabeleOne
Black Label Society chronology
Catacombs of the Black Vatican
(2014)
Grimmest Hits
(2018)
Doom Crew Inc.
(2021)
Singles from Grimmest Hits
  1. "Room of Nightmares"
    Released: October 2, 2017[1]

The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Music, No. 1 Independent, and No. 2 Rock Charts. The album was also the No. 1 selling album at Best Buy for the week of its release, beating out Grammy-nominated Fall Out Boy by a considerable margin. Upon its release, the album landed at #1 spot on iTunes Top Rock Albums Chart and No. 7 on the Overall Top Albums Chart.[4]

Promotion edit

In Spring 2018, Black Label Society collaborated with Corrosion of Conformity, Eyehategod, and Red Fang to promote Grimmest Hits album.[5] On February 26, 2020, the band performed Grimmest Hits at the North American Crusade tour in Tucson, Arizona.[6]

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About the Rock6.8/10[7]
AllMusic     [2]
Blabbermouth.net8/10[8]
Distorted Sound8/10[9]
Ghost Cult7/10[10]
Hysteria8/10[11]
Maximum Volume Music9/10[12]
Metal.de7/10[13]
Metal Express Radio6.5/10[14]
Metal Hammer     [15]
The Spill Magazine     [16]
The Music[17]
The Rogers RevueA[18]

Blabbermouth.net called Grimmest Hits a "partial excuse" for Zakk Wylde to show his affection for Ozzy [Ozbourne] and Black Sabbath.[8]

Blair K. Rose of All About the Rock said that Grimmest Hits "carries on the torch rather proudly".[7] The Moshville Times said that the album "doesn't reinvent the Black Label Society wheel", and mentioning that "it's not their finest hour".[19] Martien Koolen called Grimmest Hits "Black Label Society's best album".[20]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Zakk Wylde

No.TitleLength
1."Trampled Down Below"5:04
2."Seasons of Falter"4:00
3."The Betrayal"3:48
4."All That Once Shined"3:54
5."The Only Words"5:29
6."Room of Nightmares"2:31
7."A Love Unreal"6:00
8."Disbelief"5:28
9."The Day That Heaven Had Gone Away"6:12
10."Illusions of Peace"4:07
11."Bury Your Sorrow"4:41
12."Nothing Left to Say"4:22
Total length:55:36
Japanese CD bonus tracks[21]
No.TitleLength
13."Disbelief (Unblackened Version)"5:08
14."The Only Words (Unblackened Version)"3:49
Total length:64:35

Personnel edit

Charts edit

Chart performance for Grimmest Hits
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 30
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 26
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 21
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 50
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 116
French Albums (SNEP)[27] 132
Italian Albums (FIMI)[28] 88
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[29] 130
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[30] 133
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[31] 74
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[33] 97
US Billboard 200[34] 29
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[35] 1
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[36] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37] 3

References edit

  1. ^ "Black Label Society Debut 'Room of Nightmares' Music Video; 'Grimmest Hits' Album Details Revealed". BW&BK. October 2, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Monger, James Christopher. Grimmest Hits at AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Teitelman, Bram (February 1, 2018). "Zakk Wylde Jokes About 'Grimmest Hits' Black Label Society Album Title: 'I Just Wanted to Confuse People'". Billboard.
  4. ^ "Black Label Society's Grimmest Hits Is The #1 Hard Music Album In The US; Other Billboard Chart Positions Revealed". BW&BK. January 29, 2018.
  5. ^ "Album Review: Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". Metal Nation. January 22, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  6. ^ Nunez, Maurice (March 2, 2020). "Black Label Society Bring Their Grimmest Hits to Riverside". Go Venue.
  7. ^ a b Rose, Blair K. (January 22, 2018). "Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". All About the Rock. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Grimmest Hits - Black Label Society". Blabbermouth.net. January 6, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  9. ^ White, Joe (January 19, 2018). "Album Review: Grimmest Hits - Black Label Society - Distorted Sound Magazine". Distorted Sound.
  10. ^ Swinhoe, Dan (January 22, 2018). "Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". Ghost Cult.
  11. ^ Rose, Anna (January 16, 2018). "Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits". Hysteria.
  12. ^ Thorley, Andy (January 8, 2018). "Review: Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits (2018)". Maximum Volume Music. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  13. ^ Mildner, Peter (January 22, 2018). "Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits". Metal.de (in German). Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  14. ^ Shjred, Stevie (February 6, 2018). "Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits". Metal Express Radio. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  15. ^ Rees, Adam (February 4, 2018). "Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits album review". Metal Hammer.
  16. ^ "Spill Album Review: Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". The Spill Magazine.
  17. ^ Crabb, Brendan (January 16, 2018). "Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society / Grimmest Hits". The Music.
  18. ^ Beverly, Lauren (January 18, 2018). "Black Label Society 'Grimmest Hits'". Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  19. ^ Ross (January 22, 2018). "Review: Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". The Moshville Times. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  20. ^ "Black Label Society - Grimmest Hits". Headbangers Lifestyle. January 13, 2018.
  21. ^ "グリメスト・ヒッツ[CD]" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  22. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  25. ^ "Black Label Society: Grimmest Hits" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  27. ^ "Lescharts.com – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  28. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  29. ^ "グリメスト・ヒッツ". Oricon. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  30. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  31. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  33. ^ "Ultratop.be – Black Label Society – Grimmest Hits" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  34. ^ "Black Label Society Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  35. ^ "Black Label Society Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  36. ^ "Black Label Society Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  37. ^ "Black Label Society Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2021.