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Soundtrack Listing
Intro: Blitz – New Age
Vince Del Valle: Brian Wright – Glory Hallelujah
Peter Raffin: Captain Beefheart – Zig Zag Wanderer
Ben Skyrzpek: Black Merda – Cynthy Ruth (alt take)
Peter Watkins: The Penetrators – Shopping Bag
Ethan Fitzpatrick: Cat Party – Jigsaw Thoughts
Chet Childress: Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters – Hard Times
Kyle Leeper: The Kinks – Powerman
Adam Alfaro: Japanese Motors – Better Trends
Jason Adams: Rancid – Last One To Die
Chris Troy: Witchcraft – Queen Of Bees
Shuriken Shannon: Public Enemy – Prophets Of Rage
Credits #1: The Lizzies – Baby Black And Blue
Credits #2: Ann Peebles – Somebody’s On Your Case
Credits #3: The Dead 60’s – Riot Radio
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Credit to skatevideosite.com for soundtrack listing.
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Introductory Musings
When Back In Black came out several years ago, it was easily one of my favorite videos in production thus far. Peter Watkins came out of nowhere with a classic part, and Anthony Schultz, Kyle Leeper, Matt Mumford, and Chet Childress all held it down with style for miles and gnarly, gritty footage. The Label’s newest offering features a limited budget, the unfortunate lack-of-steez that arises in any video without Anthony Schultz, no Mumford, and replacement bit players instead of Pat Rakestraw and Chaz Pineda. Their lineup is much longer this time, and the newbies take some viewing to really appreciate. Thankfully though, the whole thing ends up having that kind of rough feel you’ve all grown to expect from Black Label, whether that be due to the sometimes odd filming, sketchy styles, or hometown spots, I’m not for certain. Much like Zoo York’s State of Mind release, this video feels like a downer in spots on the first viewing, but is a solid full length effort worth a look.
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Introduction
Lots of black and white in the very beginning, coupled with a punk song, some gnar bails, and some sick preview hammers make up the intro. Unfortunately it seems to have become a trend to reuse intro footage in the skaters’ actual parts, and Skyzrpek, Alfaro, Leeper, Adams and Watkins all befall this horror. Chet has more street footage in the intro than his actual part, watch out for those clips. Also look out for a monster backside flip from Shuriken Shannon. Typical Black Label intro, basically.
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Vince Del Valle
This guy is new to the ‘game’, and really really damn good. He has moments when he goes the path of Richie Jackson (hippie jump to firecracker), others where he mimics wallride master Jason Adams, and still others when he brings Fred Gall to mind with some of the spots he uses and the tricks he chooses. Vince is a good, raw, and interesting part for sure, showing alot of variety amidst a sick steep bank line and a killer kickflip front lip on that tremendously long downhill curb everyone and their brother tricks into. The song is one of the stronger ones in the vid, good little feel to it, definitely helps you get amped on Del Valle’s skating. I’m not doing screenshots for this since I’m watching it on a PS3 and not my computer, but if I were to screenshot a clip, his second to last clip in the form or a perfect barrier backside feeble grind would be my choice.
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Peter Raffin
Reminiscent of Pat Rakestraw, this guy is a little gangly and at times sketchy. Skating to a song that feels like it’s out of a Black Box video, Raffin throws down some pretty ridiculous maneuvers, but the kind you have to think about to appreciate. This is possibly due to the filming, or maybe his sketch. My mentionable for his part would be the back 180 switch 5050 half cab into that bank from Ben Hatchell’s Fun part. Worth mentioning is that this guy is sick at 5-0s and front shuvs, and he wrecks one particular hubba in this part, and hopefully claims some kind of gnar-record for his noseslide on a tremendous red hubba/rail.
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Ben Skyrzpek
This guy’s style doesn’t seem to really fit Black Label, little too much going on with it in my opinion. Guru Khalsa-esque cap, loud Converse’s, wavy arms, stiff legs, and virtually no speed. Slow song doesn’t help either. However, the guy has pop, and sick nollie fs heels, and he pulls a switch heel fs tailslide early part that seems to be followed exclusively by noteworthy clips for almost a minute. Filming and style again hurt his part, but there’s still some significant clips throughout. A sick curved kickflip crooks is in store, as well as some fire hydrant destruction and some other kickflip to weight-on-the-nose type maneuvers.
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Peter Watkins
The song behind him is unbearable at first, then ends up being the song that haunts your dreams that you secretly enjoy. It’s also a tad louder than the other music, for some reason. Anyways, strong sophomore part from Watkins doesn’t disappoint, look out for a bank to pole rock fakie that’s pretty obviously on the impossible chart. Lots of other rough spots invade his part, and he adds his name to the list of people slaughtering that banked ditch to hill bomb lately. The last half of his part is jawdropping in it’s entirety. Perhaps not as classic overall as his first part, but definitely a step up in terms of his abilities. One of my favorite parts of the video for sure.
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Ethan Fitzpatrick
I don’t know much about this kid, but from the first three near-death clips in his part, I like him. He has an awful lot of style for someone as lanky as him, bringing to mind a Levi Brown/Stefan Janoski mix, somewhere between the two of them. Ethan goes big quite well, yet still pulls out some serious maneuvers on different terrain, notably his switch fs nosebluntslide on some tall-ass ditch. However, most of his part is carcass tossing, to a mostly forgettable song, and it’s unfortunately short. Incredibly solid for it’s short length though.
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Chet Childress
Due to the travel/budget limitations, Chet somehow thought it would be awesome to film a whole part at burnside, minus the opening street clip. No fisheye is used throughout his part either, with only a couple of exceptions early on. Without a fisheye filmer following him, his part seems to take a pretty big hit, and he looks somewhat slow and awkward as compared to other pros of note who skate that park in their parts *cough* Atchley. He still kills it, but it’s a pretty weak Chet part particularly compared to his Nothing But The Truth and Back In Black parts. He recyles his tricks again (blunt back 180s, blunt back disasters, back tails, fs 5-0 reverts, fs 5-0 270s) once more, just on different ramps. Song doesn’t seem to fit him either, but I DO like the black and white theme of his part, and the beginning and ending with the storyline shots. Good idea, just not done to the best it could have been.
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Kyle Leeper
Kyle has gone through a style change somewhere along the line that I don’t really know how to deal with just yet. Slicked back hair, tighter pants, slip-ons…….. what happened to burly, solid Kyle Leeper? The one with cut-offs and slip-ons still pulls some sick footage, but about a third of his part feels like throwaway, or is un-Leeperlike in it’s sketch factor. He also has a bs 360 kickflip over a hip that was done by Bobby Worrest in Get Familiar. Several years ago + independent release use = better than this one, should not have been used. Pat Duffy also has an awkward guest clip in this part. After the Duffy guest appearance and Brandon Biebel’s waist-high nollie nose manny, Leeper returns to form for the most part, and I really like the last half of his part. However, from that opening fastplant fakie all the way until that point, I can’t find much to like. His halfcab noseblunt down the brick curb is sick as hell, watch that segment for sure, and keep an eye on his manual skills. The song is also repetitive, and mediocre, and I wish he hadn’t hand touched on that over-the-pipe powerslide back lipslide. Best trick in his part is a bank to wall clip that should have been his ender. But wasn’t. Although still good in parts, definitely a bummer of a Leeper part. Hopefully my opinion will change as I watch it more, because he DID shit on Richie Jackson’s handrail to bank spot he hippie back 360’d.
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Adam Alfaro
Another standout part of the video, Alfaro owned the curtains part in Black Label’s last offering, with a part I didn’t care for really at all. Back then he reminded me of a goofier Sammy Baca, but this part shows a more Gonz-like style and approach to skating, and Alfaro goes seriously gnarly multiple times. Killer Stalefishes, a cluster of noseblunt pop variations, some gratingly rough tranny clips, and four impossibly smooth wallride clips highlight his part. The song is a feel-good track as well, one of the Label’s better soundtracked parts. I feel, in fact, that this part should have been a serious contender for ender. I won’t drop any particular trick names, but a member on sb-c somewhere has one of his clips as a GIF file in their signature that’s worth a peak for sure.
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Jason Adams
Somehow stepping up from his Bag of Suck part and skating to Rancid, Jason Adams is the owner of my favorite part of the video for sure. His frontside grab from one quarterpipe to the other at Georgetown is brilliant, and The Kid shows off more wallies, boardslides, and hurricanes than you can fathom. A well-done slappy grind segment is fun to watch, and he showcases some serious pop in several clips as well. I do wish his line with the fakie 540 bigspin and hippie jump had been left out though, it’s a bit too sketch and seems to highlight his weaknesses in a way I don’t want to see. He has four super-strong clips to end his part, the last of which was in a mag as a photo with a horrible angle. Great part.
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Chris Troy
Troy has grown up and turned up the variety meter after his bigspin fs board 270 out days several years ago. The song is hard to take at times, but Chris has a truly remarkable part, making me a little surprised he didn’t get ender. a wallride blunt stall bs heelflip out makes the part for me, although he has a switch fs flip right after and a crook bs 180 off a tall ledge that are both amazing. He also has a line I personally could go without seeing, involving a baby carriage, and he has two awkward landings I would have liked to see done better, despite their gnarliness (one clip is on the Rincon handrail). His ender leaves me speechless as to how he even slid with his feet like that, perhaps his entire part will make you ask the same question.
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Shuriken Shannon
Easily taking the title of best style on the team, Shuriken literally oozes style not otherwise seen in Black Label vids. Lots of pop and sick tre flips in his pretty damn cool new pro shoe are the meat and bones of his part, accented by a smooth switch style and a fitting Public Enemy song. In fact, this part wouldn’t have felt out of place in Fully Flared, with its vibe and style, which is what surprises me most about it’s place as ender. Undoubtedly, Shannon lays it down, most obvious with his crook pop over into a pock-marked bank, but as a whole this part doesn’t feel like one from a Black Label video. Not truly a classic last part either, sadly, so the video feels somewhat incomplete.
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Credits
Lots of random stuff, bails, drinking clips, etc. What you expect from the Label, much like their intro. Three songs too, so I’ve yet to watch it and stay interested ’til the very end.
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Outroductory Musings
Somewhat weak parts either compositionally or skating-wise from Skyzrpek, Raffin, Fitzpatrick, and Childress hurt this video and the high expectations I had for it upon its release. However, after a second and third viewing I’ve come to really appreciate alot of each person’s part, and Jason Adams, Adam Alfaro, Vince Del Valle, Chris Troy, Shuriken Shannon, Peter Watkins, and even Leeper’s ending half of his part make this video something special, and Black Label delivers a video in its traditional style to its core following. I would have liked to see more transition skating throughout, since without Pineda and Mumford, Chet was left to protect the tranny front with no ability to travel. Soundtrack also felt weak in spots, but reminds me of east coast videos in the fact that you really end up focusing on the skating without a standout song track, which I like. Apparently well received, check this video out for yourself, if not just for one of the parts I’ve listed. As a whole, a little weak, but part-by-part strong as stone.
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