SPEED X ‘Flat Black’ (Evil Twin Records) Review by Greg Maki Buy now

For years, Black Label Society fans have wanted to hear guitarist Nick Catanese on a studio recording. But why would Zakk Wylde need another player’s fingerprints on his baby? So Nick patiently waited for his opportunity, then seized it, forming Speed X in 2007 with former Queensryche guitarist Mike Stone. Former doubleDrive members Josh Sattler (bass) and Mike Froedge (drums), and singer Jason Fowler, a newcomer out of Atlanta, complete the band’s lineup.

A question to ponder: Did Zakk Wylde take Nick under his wing in the mid-1990s because they play similar styles or has teaming with Zakk—he’s the only guitarist Wylde has ever played with—for close to 15 years and counting influenced Nick’s playing? The answer is undoubtedly yes to both. Someone more schooled in the technicalities of playing guitar than I am can give you a more sophisticated analysis, but there is a crunch and stomp to Zakk’s playing—a forceful, aggressive attitude that refuses to be denied—that is echoed all over Flat Black, the Speed X debut. I’m not at all putting it down as derivative or unimaginative; the songs are distinct and memorable, and ultimately all of this riff-driven hard rock/metal finds its way back to Black Sabbath. But while BLS keeps things dark and ominous, Speed X veers off in a different direction through the catchy hooks of its choruses; see the title track and “On My Side,” on which the plodding, Sabbath-like verses give way to a Scott Weiland-esque chorus.

The Weiland comparison is apt because the best description I can think of for the Speed X sound is BLS meets STP. Sounds like a good recipe to me.

I’ll admit to being a little biased in this review. I’m a longtime BLS fan, and Nick is one of the friendliest, most accommodating people I’ve met in the music business. So I’m rooting for him and Speed X to succeed. And they’ve made it easy to recommend them by recording a disc as good as Flat Black.

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