In the vast domain of rock guitar, there are few players with a resume or work ethic as impressive as Zakk Wylde’s. The man literally never seems to stop.
From Black Label Society to the recent Pantera Celebration tours, plus Zakk Sabbath; Experience Hendrix; teaching online courses; maintaining a guitar brand (Wylde Audio), a couple of pedal lines (MXR Wylde Audio and Dunlop Wylde Audio), and a line of guitar strings (Dunlop Zakk Wylde String Lab), the man is far beyond relentless.
And we haven’t even mentioned the Berzerkus Festival, nonstop social media, and a coffee brand (Valhalla Java Odinforce Blend, in partnership with Death Wish Coffee)!
Article continues belowWith the release of Black Label Society’s latest album, Engines of Demolition, blazing on the horizon, Wylde took time out of his insane schedule to chat with Guitar World.
Engines of Demolition is the 12th album in Black Label Society’s 25-year history. When you first got the BLS ball rolling, did you think it’d roll for this long – and just keep on growing?
Without a doubt. When we first started doing Black Label, I figured this is the last stop – let’s do this. Then we just kept building it and building it one gig at a time. When we started, it was three people watching us in a bar and grill, and two of them were working behind the bar!
That’s what I always tell kids when they say they want to start a band – view it as your own mom-and-pop store, and then build on it. You might start with a hotdog stand on the corner and then you build it and build it, and it becomes a food truck – and then another one, and then another one and so on.
Then, when you look back on it, it was never work because you were doing what you loved. No matter if you’re all crammed in a van or in a car, you’re doing what you dig doing. That’s the advice I give to younger musicians – just do it! Go for it and be relentless.
I remember seeing BLS on your first tour. You played a hole-in-the-wall bar in Port Jefferson, New York, and you were literally setting up the merch table and moving gear around. You played to fewer than 100 people, but the gig was phenomenal and your passion was palpable.
I think it’s the same for any band that’s starting off, whether it’s Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, or the Beatles. They started off jamming in that little bar in Liverpool, the Cavern Club, and ended up selling out Shea Stadium. It’s just a matter of sticking with it. We all start at pretty much the same spot.
Of course, there are gonna be tough times, regardless of who you are; even the Stones played little gigs to begin with – and look at them now! You’ve just gotta keep putting another brick on the empire, every single day. It’s the same with bodybuilding. Dorian Yates [retired British bodybuilder] didn’t turn into Dorian Yates overnight!
Doom Crew Inc. was released in late 2021, and you’ve been busy since then with Pantera, Zakk Sabbath, Experience Hendrix, and so much more. What drives you to work so hard?
I have a good time with the stuff I’m doing. It’s no different than when we were 15 and starting a band. You practice as if your life depends on it, because it does. [Laughs] You save up lawn-mowing money so you can buy your first Marshall, and you put up fliers to let everybody know you’re playing a keg party. You have fun with it because you’re doing what you love. That’s my drive; do what you want to do. It’s simple.
You’ve got to play what makes you happy because that’s the only way you’re gonna thrive. You’ll only thrive if you’re playing what you love because that’s what creates the passion. Why would you be in a band if you can’t stand the music you’re playing?
I understand the business aspect of it – “If you sounded more like this, it’d be an easier sell.” But to me, the thing that naturally comes out of you is what you should be doing – because you’re not even thinking about it, you’re just doing it. JD [John DeServio, BLS bassist] and I were just talking about when we were playing in Zyris when we were kids.
One night we were playing the Stone Pony [a legendary Asbury Park, New Jersey, club] and they wanted us to do another 10 minutes after we got done with our set.
Guns N’ Roses got signed because they were playing the music they liked playing; people gravitated toward it because they enjoyed it too
We ended up playing Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin, and I remember we were all looking at each other because we were having a blast playing it. I was like, “Why don’t our songs move me like this? This is super-cool shit, but the stuff we’re playing is contrived and not what we love.” That was a moment of clarity.
The band was trying to get signed, so we were playing what was popular at the time. I realized right then that wasn’t the way it really works. Labels don’t sign bands like that; you’ve gotta be true to yourself, not to a trend. A lot of that experience was Business 101 on how not to do it! Guns N’ Roses got signed because they were playing the music they liked playing; people gravitated toward it because they enjoyed it too.
And when there’s a line around the building, that’s when promoters, managers, and labels want to get involved. You’ve got to create your own success and situation, and that’s not really “work.” You can sit on the couch complaining or you could say, “Let’s go do this” and take action.
How would you compare Engines of Demolition to Doom Crew Inc.? Would you say it’s a natural evolution?
Of all the albums Black Label have made, this is one of them! And to be more specific, this is the next one! Let’s put it this way, if Doom Crew Inc. was Tuesday’s album, this one is Wednesday’s. Actually, all joking aside, the writing process on this one was definitely different.
Usually, it’s a bit of an implosion. I get told, “Zakk, you’ve got a month before the guys come out,” so I’ll write every day and get a bunch of cool riffs I’m happy with to work on with the fellas. But on this one, we took our time. We started work on it in late 2022, but there was no point putting it out while the Pantera Celebration was going on because all the focus was on that. So we waited.
In the end, only two or three of the original ideas made it onto the record because I kept on writing and working with the guys. It’s a musical ride through the peaks and valleys of the last four years – hitting some of the highest highs and lowest lows, plus everything in between.
A song that’s obviously going to garner a lot of attention is Ozzy’s Song.
I already had the music and the melody idea sitting around. Then, after Ozzy passed away and we’d laid him to rest [July 2025], I wrote the lyrics. As for the title, originally it had a title that was basically the chorus, but after it was recorded, [my wife] Barb would always say, “Put on the Ozzy song – the one you wrote for him.” That’s why I renamed it Ozzy’s Song. It makes sense; I mean, we’ve always called In This River, ‘Dime’s Song.’”
How different was your guitar setup in the studio compared to your live rig?
It’s the same exact thing; there’s no need to change it. That said, I only use the chorus pedal [MXR Wylde Audio Chorus] in the studio for certain things because double tracking the guitars creates a natural chorus sound anyway.
For certain dive-bomb things, though, I’ll put the chorus pedal on, double it, and it just gets huge sounding. Like at the start of Suicide Messiah, for example.
Are your solos on Engines of Demolition composed, improvised, or a bit of both?
I always sit down and come up with what I like. They’re all composed, unless it’s an outro jam, in which case I’ll invariably improvise. It’s almost like the Saint [Randy] Rhoads school of thought – or Neal Schon, where you have a melody thing and then maybe put the afterburners on near the end. They’re all pieces of music.
When you’re composing a solo, is it something you hear in your head or something you find and like when you’re jamming?
I can hear it in my head, especially when coming up with a melody. I’ll just sit down and work with what I call a homework tape of the backing track I’m soloing over.
As usual, the lead interplay between you and Dario [Lorina, BLS guitarist] is fantastic.
I love that kinda stuff. With Night Ranger you always had Brad [Gillis] and Jeff [Watson] shredding, which I thought was awesome. And then there’s all the other twin-lead guitar bands – whether it was Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman Brothers Band – where the guys would go back and forth and you could always hear who was playing what because they had such distinctive sounds and styles.
There are also certain lead parts where Dario doubles you or plays a harmony.
If I’ve written out something specific, that’s what we’ll do. Otherwise, I’ll just leave gaps and tell him, “Father D., just play whatever you want there.” After all, that’s the whole point – to let him do his own thing.
For Name in Blood, I pretty much had it all written out, so I was like, “Dario, why don’t you double this part and then we’ll do the harmonies at the end? You do the high part and I’ll go low.” Most of the time, though, he’s free to do whatever he wants.
Of the 13 songs on Engines of Demolition, are there any solos that stand out, or are they all your children and you love them all?
I obviously like them all. I’m really happy with the way the one in Ozzy’s Song came out, and I’m also digging the solo in Name in Blood – and it’s pretty lengthy, too. They’re all pieces of music, and like any piece of music it all depends on what mood you’re in at the time.
The upcoming BLS tour with Dark Chapel and Zakk Sabbath opening is unique in that all members will be pulling double-duty; Dario will kick off the show with Dark Chapel; then you, JD, and Jeff Fabb will do a Zakk Sabbath set. Then you’ll take a quick break before all four of you hit the stage together for BLS. That’s some heavy lifting. Looking forward to it?
Yeah. The only thing I’m worried about are the Diana Ross clothing options for the tour; that’s my main concern! Will we have enough makeup and wardrobe cases? If I don’t change my costume in between sets, the audience will think it’s the same guy up there for both bands. They’ll see right through it!
You’ve become renowned for finishing a show and then heading straight to the bus to do a workout. Does double duty with Zakk Sabbath and BLS mean two workouts every show day?
I guess it just means I can eat an extra Reece’s in between sets and then burn it off during the Black Label show before hitting the weights! [Laughs]
You’ve been pretty much nonstop for the past few years. Are you ever gonna take a vacation?
No. I just love doing it. I’ve never been like, “I can’t wait to go home; I don’t wanna do this anymore.” When you’re on the road, that’s the very reason you’re doing it. That’s the reason you had pictures of Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, Saint Randy, and all the guys on your bedroom wall when you were a kid.
When you look at our musician friends – if they’re lifers, then it’s just part of what they do. I’ve got friends who still play at bars purely because they love playing with their buddies; it’s not a financial thing. It’s the same with bands like the Stones; they definitely don’t need the money. They’re still out there doing it because that’s what they love to do.
I saw the Alice Cooper and Judas Priest co-headline tour last year, and during the show it dawned on me that the combined ages of Alice and Rob added up to more than 150 years. Both guys are clearly still doing it purely out of their love for music, not the almighty dollar.
Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. Alice doesn’t need to do it. If he wanted to retire, chill, and play golf, he would. He likes going out on the road and hanging out with the band and crew because they’re his family and they always have a great time. Why wouldn’t you do that?
It’s like when people ask Keith Richards, “When are you ever gonna retire?” And he goes, “Retire from what?!”
I mean, if you enjoy drinking coffee while reading a good book, are you gonna retire from that? Music is the same
I mean, if you enjoy drinking coffee while reading a good book, are you gonna retire from that? Music is the same. For sports, I get it; if you can’t perform at the same level, you say, “I’m done.” But then you move into coaching, managing, commentating, or whatever, like Dana White [CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship].
That way you’re still around the thing you love. It’s like brushing your teeth; it’s something you automatically do every day – except when you’re out with Black Label, of course!
You’ve already offered some guidance, but if you had a couple of sentences of advice to give to someone who’s just starting out, what would they be?
Play the music that moves you. Play what you love. That’s that – it’s the truth. People are always going, “It can’t be that simple,” but it is. Don’t complicate things.
If you enjoy it and it’s moving you, that’s what you should be doing. Why would you be playing anything else? That would be like telling Joe Pass, “You need to be doing more pop stuff.” And he’d just go, “I play what I love!"
- Engines of Demolition is out now via Spinefarm.
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
