Did you know that there was a guitar player in Black Label Society that isn’t Zakk Wylde? That makes logistical sense, but we hadn’t thought about it until we got a press release earlier today stating that Nick Catanese has left the band. Catanese had been in the band since 1999, or nearly since the band’s formation in 1998. While he’d been a constant presence in the band, that doesn’t mean that he appeared on many of the band’s albums. Wylde played all the guitars on most of them, with Catanese only playing in full on the last two albums, Shot To Hell and Order of the Black. Here’s the band’s statement:
Black Label Society have amicably parted ways with longtime guitarist Nick Catanese and wish him the very best in his future musical endeavors. A replacement will be officially announced soon.
It makes sense that Catanese would eventually want to leave. He’s been a solid rhythm guitarist, but if you’re playing guitar in a band that has a virtuoso axeman as the frontman of the band, that means you’re always going to be on the sidelines. Catanese not getting to write any music for BLS is one thing, but the fact that he wasn’t even a guest on most of the band’s albums throughout their career is another. The reasons for his departure aren’t stated, but it’s a pretty easy assumption to make that this might have something to do with it.
Meanwhile, the lineup change isn’t slowing Black Label Society down any. They’re still scheduled to release an album in Spring of 2014 on eOne.
