- Black Label Society w/ Zakk Sabbath + Dark Chapel
- 3/27/28 – The Sylvee – Madison, WI
- ©Justin Nuoffer / NuofferMedia.com
Madison had that charged, pre-show energy before you even got near The Sylvee. Cold air, packed sidewalks, bars and spots along East Washington overflowing with black tees and biker cuts. By the time you hit the venue, the line was already wrapped around the corner and pushing up the street. Once doors opened, fans were ushered in quickly. Merch sat in a cutout section next to coat check, but most people skipped it and made a beeline straight ahead, down the stairs, and onto the general admission floor where a full-length security barricade stretched across the stage.
Dark Chapel opened the night, the side project of Black Label Society guitarist Dario Lorina. Named after his Las Vegas studio, the project had built serious anticipation the moment it was announced, and The Sylvee filled in fast for their set. With their 2025 release Spirit In The Glass driving most of the material, they came out strong with “Afterglow” into “Hollow Smile,” immediately grabbing the room.
Check out the Dark Chapel concert photo gallery below:
Lorina stepped fully into the frontman role, his vocals a long way from his backing duties in Black Label Society, while his guitar work stayed sharp and commanding. Moving through the set with “Sign of Life” and “Hit of Your Love,” the band leaned into a mix of ‘70s rock, blues, grunge, and melodic hooks that felt both familiar and fresh. A cover of “No Sunshine” by Bill Withers added a different texture before they closed with “We Are Remade,” tying everything together with heavier riffs and haunting vocal delivery that lingered as they walked off.
Zakk Sabbath hit next and pushed the room to capacity. Zakk Wylde’s Black Sabbath cover band features Wylde alongside BLS bassist John DeServio and drummer Jeff Fabb, and it plays with the weight and precision you’d expect given Wylde’s history with Ozzy Osbourne. They opened with “Children of the Grave” and “Snowblind,” and the reaction was instant.
These songs sit at the core of heavy music, and hearing them delivered this tight, this loud, hit across the entire crowd. Wylde stayed true to the originals while weaving in his own phrasing, often stepping mid-stage with DeServio, locking in, fist bumping, then breaking back out across the stage.
“Orchid” gave a short breather before Wylde climbed onto the riser beside his mic stand, arms folded, looking down at the crowd as they roared. He waved for more, got it, and dropped into “Fairies Wear Boots.” Under a single spotlight, DeServio rolled into the iconic bass intro for “N.I.B.,” turning the floor into a full singalong while Wylde stretched the riffs and worked the moment. He pushed an “Ozzy” chant that filled The Sylvee and flowed straight into “War Pigs.”
Check out the Zakk Sabbath concert photo gallery below:
The slow intro gave him space to call out, “Alright. Come on, Madison, let’s do this.” From there it exploded. Mid-song, Wylde shocked the crowd by walking backstage, out a side door, and onto the general admission floor, launching into an impromptu jam surrounded by fans. He flipped the guitar behind his head and kept playing, then walked it all the way back to the stage in the same position to close out the set. Five songs, extended, improvised, and nailed.
A massive black kabuki bearing the Black Label Society insignia waved across the stage with strobes firing behind it as a slow riff built. Jeff Fabb smashed the count into “Funeral Bell,” and the curtain dropped, revealing Wylde on the riser, hair whipping as he tore into the opening riff. The stage setup was massive. Twelve guitar cabinets stacked high on both sides of the drum riser, dead center, built for pure volume and impact. Lorina joined Wylde up top, and the two locked in immediately, moving in complete unison as they introduced “Name In Blood” from Engines of Destruction, released the morning of the show. Madison already knew it, thanks to heavy local radio play, and the reaction came quick.
Black Label Society kept the momentum relentless, tearing through “Destroy & Conquer,” “A Love Unreal,” and “Heart of Darkness” with no let-up. Wylde and Lorina stayed tightly synced, their dual guitar attack driving everything forward while crowd surfers poured over the barricade. Wylde then dipped into his Ozzy catalog with a shortened “No More Tears,” a track he helped write, and the entire room sang it back, adding another layer to the night’s connection to Osbourne’s legacy.
The tone shifted when Wylde moved to a piano set just off to the left side of the stage for “In This River.” Images of Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell lit up on scrims beside the drum kit, and the room locked in. The song, a setlist staple, landed heavy and intentional as a tribute. That moment carried into “The Blessed Hellride,” with DeServio stepping forward to deliver the low end while Wylde worked the double-neck guitar and Lorina held down rhythm.
The reset didn’t last long. Black Label Society snapped back into full force with “Set You Free” and “Fire It Up,” beach balls bouncing across the venue as Wylde and Lorina climbed onto the grand piano and went head-to-head in a dueling solo that stretched just over three minutes. It built piece by piece, each run pushing harder than the last before dropping straight into “Suicide Messiah.” CO₂ cannons blasted high, the crowd surged, and the balcony leaned in as the entire room moved together.
Then everything pulled back.
The debut of “Ozzy’s Song,” Wylde’s farewell to his longtime collaborator, shifted the energy completely. With Lorina returning to the piano, the slow, moody intro brought The Sylvee down to near silence despite the packed house. Behind them, a curtain draped across the back wall displayed three images of Ozzy. Wylde sang directly to him, not the crowd, repeating, “The skies may cry.” It was stripped down, simple, and heavy with emotion. You could feel it in the room. As the final notes rang out, Wylde turned on his riser, pointed to the sky, then toward Ozzy’s image, before dropping back into a short instrumental jam as the piano was cleared.
Without warning, “Stillborn” hit. The shift snapped the room right back into motion. One of their most recognizable tracks, built on massive riffs and haunting vocals, it landed hard and closed the night on a high.
Check out the Black Label Society concert photo gallery below:
Black Label Society doesn’t overcomplicate what they do. It’s direct, loud, and built on feel. There’s history in it, but it never leans on it. The songs hold up because they’re written to, whether it’s shaking a room like The Sylvee or coming through your speakers on a long drive. Either way, it connects. They owned the room from the first note. Every shift in energy, every turn in the set, every moment hit with intent. By the time “Stillborn” rang out, The Sylvee wasn’t just loud, it was spent, wrung out, and still wanting more. That’s the kind of night that sticks.
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