Zakk Wylde: Guitar Boot Camp

Originally published in Guitar World, July 2004

Okay, maggots, fall in and let the supreme sergeant of shred, Zakk
Wylde, show you how to be all you can be with his 100 percent brewtal
guitar boot camp!

Asked to describe Hangover Music Vol. VI (Spitfire), the new acoustic-based album from his group, Black Label Society, Zakk Wylde does something entirely appropriate: he takes a long swig from a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and mulls over the question. “Put it this way,” he finally answers. “With our last album, The Blessed Hellride, you could smell the booze when you listened to it. With Hangover Music, you’ll swear you can see it pouring from the speakers. I think the next BLS album should come with a free six-pack of beer and just get it over with.”

Zakk has often referred to The Blessed Hellride as an album for times when you want to raise hell. Hangover Music, as its title suggests, is the soundtrack for the following morning, when you want to chill out. Then again, offers Zakk, “It’s a road-trip album, too. It’s definitely one of those records you put on if you’re taking a long drive.”

BLS’ sixth release may be largely acoustic, but don’t be fooled—it still rocks. The songwriting is top-notch, and the album’s many mellow moments are nicely counterbalanced by heavy electric guitar–driven sections. Above all, the album offers plenty of the jawdropping lead playing that has been the Wylde man’s calling card for the past 16 years, since he became Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist. “Crazy or High,” the album’s opening track, features a stunning solo, while “Takillya (Estyabon)” is an astonishingly fast—even by Zakk’s ridiculous standards—39-second burst of acoustic shred.

“You could say Hangover Music is Black Label’s equivalent of Guns N’ Roses’ Lies EP or Alice in Chains’ Jar of Flies,” says Zakk. “As much as I love the heavy shit, when the likes of Zeppelin or Alice in Chains throw down on acoustic, it’s awesome. I mean, Jar of Flies has some brilliant songs on it, and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a Les Paul through a wall of Marshalls or strumming an acoustic—if it’s good, it’s good.”

Hangover Music may surprise listeners who are familiar only with Zakk’s skull-crushing electric prowess. But consider this: Zakk released an acoustic-based album several years ago: 1996’s critically acclaimed Book of Shadows. “That album had mostly real somber-type stuff, but this one’s definitely heavier,” he says. “And as far as the singing goes, I’m belting it out a lot more than I did on Book of Shadows. And there are some way heavier guitar parts on it as well as some screaming solos.”

What Hangover Music makes abundantly clear is that, 16 years into his career, Zakk is still on top of his game. Which made us wonder: what are the driving forces and philosophies behind his playing prowess? Remember—Zakk was just 19 and had been playing guitar for less than five years when Ozzy Osbourne chose him as his guitarist; some two years later, he became a superstar when he was introduced to rock audiences on Ozzy’s 1988 album, No Rest for the Wicked. It takes dedication and a tireless work ethic to achieve so much in so little time, and Zakk evidently has these qualities in spades to this day.

Now, in this exclusive Berzerker Boot Camp lesson, Zakk tells the story behind his drive and rise to success, and demonstrates the exercises that help him remain one of the hardest-rocking guitarists of all time.

1) GIVE IT ALL YOU'VE GOT

When I was a kid, I lived for football,” says Zakk. “I was a linebacker, and I loved contact—I loved taking people out. I was so into it that at one point I wanted to go to Penn State because all the great linebackers usually come out of there.

“When I was around 11, I went to a football camp and I met the legendary [ex–Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker] Jack Lambert, who was a huge influence on me when I played ball. I idolized him. In fact, I still do because he’s the real deal; he’s totally devoid of bullshit. I remember him telling us something that remains with me to this day: ‘Anybody can play football, but if you don’t have passion for what you’re doing, then get the hell out of here and go home, because I don’t want you on my team.’

“That’s the bottom line right there—you don’t go out there to get your brains bashed in with the intent of ending the season with a seven-and-nine record. Fuck that! You go out there with the intention of winning the Super Bowl or you shouldn’t fuckin’ bother. I have the same mentality with guitar: you either strive for greatness or you go home, ’cause you’ve gotta give all or nothing.

“I wanna be the very best at what I do, because I love it much. Because of that I’ll try my damnedest to live up to the likes of Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Frank Marino, John McLaughlin—all the great guitar players I look up to.”

So what caused Zakk to shift his focus from football to rock guitar? “I was a huge Black Sabbath and Ozzy fan, and I loved the stuff Tony Iommi and Randy Rhoads were doing on guitar so I decided to start playing. I took lessons from a guy named Leroy Wright. I was, like, 15 at the time, and he was 25, and when I saw him playing it blew me away. When you hear somebody play, it’s exciting, but when I actually saw him play, I thought it was the coolest thing on the planet. I was so intrigued by the whole thing that I just went, ‘That’s what I want to do with my life!’ And to this day I’ve still got the same hard-on. All I’ve got to do is listen to great players and I go, ‘Man, I can get better.’ You can never get tired of that."