Plenty of guitar players went through Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Although some were a better fit than others, we can agree that they were all incredible musicians. But the one that we associate the most with The Prince of Darkness himself is Mr. Zakk Wylde.
While we didn’t get the chance to have Zakk on Ozzy’s “Ordinary Man” album, he recorded guitars for the singer’s upcoming solo album, planned for September 2022. In a recent chat with Metal Hammer, Zakk Wylde recalled working on the album, offering:
“It was a blast working on that record, hanging out with Andy [Watt] at The Vatican [Recording Studios].”
Of course, the album also sees guest appearances by the likes of Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, and Eric Clapton. Reflecting on this experience, Zakk explained:
“Just to be playing on a record with Jeff Beck, Lord Iommi, and Eric Clapton – if you’d told me when I was 15 I’d be playing on a record with three of my heroes I would have said forget about it! Oz is singing great too, so hopefully, once he’s had this last surgery we can glue him back together and get him out on the road doing what he loves. That’s the game plan right now.”
Regarding the ratio of ballad-style songs and heavy stuff, Zakk said:
“This new album is a real combination of that slow stuff and heavy numbers too – there’s a bunch of up-tempo stuff in there.”
Elsewhere in the chat, Zakk also discussed writing songs for Black Label Society, offering:
“The Black Label Society soup all starts with a riff, that’s the foundation of the song. The guiding lights for me are Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Cream, and Deep Purple. Those riffs dictate the song – look at something like ‘Smoke on The Water,’ or ‘Paranoid’ – they’re the first thing you hear and they’re what drive the song along. Then there’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ – that riff is probably the very first heavy metal riff ever. That’s my mount riffmore.”
Photo: Egghead06 (Ozzy Farewell 2017), Chicks With Guns Magazine (Cwg.blacklabelsociety.wiltern.nov2010.reed 035 (5221568239))
.jpg){kind=link}