Ozzy Osbourne always had a ripping guitarist by his side – Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee and Gus G. among others. But Zakk Wylde, who entered the late Black Sabbath singer’s orbit in 1987, was more than just his guitarist. “It was definitely beyond just us playing in a band together and making music,” he tells Guitar World.
He built his reputation on Ozzy’s 1988 album No Rest for the Wicked, 1991’s No More Tears and 1995’s Ozzmosis. “I was always like, ‘Guys, I worship Sabbath,” he says.“‘Anything I’m gonna write will have Lord Iommi as the base of the soup. It’s in my DNA.”
Wylde grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, and like most players of his vintage, he was deeply impacted by Ozzy’s work with Rhoads and Lee. He grabbed one of the most coveted gigs in the world after Lee left.
“Oz was just the best,” he says. “I have my father, who was a World War II veteran; and then Ozzy, who was almost like an older brother. There was almost a 20-year age gap between us. With our relationship, there was the fun drinking – but if I ever needed advice, I could talk to him.
“There were issues on how to drink and how not to drink; you know, the important factors in life!”
But when the pair got down to business, the results spoke for themselves. “It felt natural with Oz. Very rarely would things turn into a math equation, where you needed a manual to figure out a part. If that starts it’s probably not going to happen.”
Wylde weaved in and out of Ozzy’s world through the ‘90s and early ‘00s, before returning in 2017 for the No More Tours II tour – Ozzy's final jaunt. He stuck around for the Prince of Darkness’ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2024 and was by his side during his final performance on July 5, 2025, in Birmingham, England.
He smiles as he thinks back to those final moments, calling it “business as usual” – although he notes the priority wasn’t playing, but “making sure that Oz was okay.”
“It was definitely pretty amazing. Seeing Oz onstage when Sabbath got done, that’s the last time I saw him.”
Wylde wanted to give Ozzy space backstage on what that hectic day. Like most of us, he knew the 76-year-old was ill, but didn’t expect him to go so soon. He reflects: “I’m blessed and grateful, man. Anything other than that would be selfish.
“And on top of it, to go out with what’s the biggest-grossing charity event of all? That’s unbelievable. He helped a whole lot of people instead of making a profit. My God, what an incredible master. What an incredible life.”
Save for Tony Iommi, your relationship with Ozzy seemed more familial than his other guitarists.
“Yeah, that’s how I’ve always looked at it. Ozzy is the godfather of our oldest son. Whether I was playing with him or not, if Sharon called me and my wife up and said, ‘Guys, can you watch the house while we’re away on a business trip?’ I’d do it. It’s like, ‘If you need me to bring milk and eggs over, I’ll do it.’”
Was your chemistry with Ozzy immediate when you first met?
“It was – with all your friends in your life, lions attract lions, you know? And the hyenas you hang out with, that sorts itself out later! But Ozzy was the easiest-going, warmest guy. He was so easy to get along with.
“You’re always gonna learn along the way. You trust somebody, then you get screwed on a business deal or whatever. And when anything would happen, Oz would be like, ‘Oh, Zakk, I remember with Sabbath, this or that…’ Things about thinking someone was a good guy, and they end up screwing you over.
“All of us live and learn on our own too, but Oz would always be there. He’d poke me in the eye and I’d be like, ‘What was that for?’ He’d say, ‘Life’s tough, that’s why!’ I’d go, ‘Yeah, but I really didn’t need that.’ He’d go, ‘Whatever – go make me a sandwich, and go light on the Coleman’s!’”
My ham sandwiches with Coleman’s are on par with Randy and Jake’s greatness on guitar!
Coming in after Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee, you had big shoes to fill. Why do you think Ozzy chose you?
“Because I went light on the Coleman’s! Forget the guitar playing; the way I made ham sandwiches was amazing… my ham sandwiches with Coleman’s are on par with Randy and Jake’s greatness on guitar!
“But with anything, if it works, and it’s easy, that’s how it should be with bands. And relationships in general. Your wife, your friends, anyone – if they don’t bring you peace, why are you with these people? Who needs to be sticking their hand in a boiling pot of water?
“And musically, if you’re with the wrong people, you’ll know. I think all the people who are in bands love music; when you’re together, it’s because you’re into the same type of stuff.”
What was it like making your first Ozzy album, No Rest for the Wicked?
“Back then it was a different thing than it is now. Later I’d be like, ‘Oz, I’ll just record a bunch of stuff and you do whatever you like.’ It was like me lining up a bunch of beers and saying, ‘This is a stout, this is a pale ale, this is a cider. Tell me which you like.’ And then we’d all get blasted – Oz would be like, ‘Zakky, I like all of them!’
“But back then it was just us in a room jamming. We’d be blasting it out in a room.”
What was the first song you and Ozzy worked on together?
“It was Miracle Man. Oz said, ‘Where do I come in with the vocal?’ I said, ‘Why don’t we just do this riff, and you come in and sing on that?’ Nine out of 10 times, the first thing that came out of his mouth was it. He’d say, ‘Zakk, keep playing that riff,’ and we ended up doing that thing.”
Was that how it was on a song like No More Tears?
“With No More Tears we ended up doing that call and response thing, like War Pigs. It was the vocal then the guitar. It was the first thing that came out of his mouth. Very rarely would he go, ‘Zakk, I don’t like what I’m singing on that – let me come up with something better.’”
A lot of fans hold the No More Tears album in the same regard as Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. How do you view it?
“I appreciate that, brother. All the bands we love made albums that get them to where they are. It’s like a bodybuilder – you can bench 500 pounds, but to get there, you did 250 pounds, 300 pounds, 350 pounds and 400 pounds. Through those lifts and workouts, you got to the 500 club.
“It’s like Led Zeppelin – if they could have made the fourth album right away, they would have! But you need all the other albums to evolve. Blizzard and Diary were done back-to-back, so Randy didn’t have years to come up with more ideas.
The songs were written. Oz would say, ‘Can you just come and play?’ I’d go, ‘Whatever you need me to do’
“With the evolution of No Rest for the Wicked to No More Tears, people ask, ‘Did you do anything different?’ My love for the Allman Brothers, Albert Lee, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was creeping in more, so I was trying to maybe incorporate that in more.”
What guitar techniques would you call out to that end?
“Country-type flatpicking stuff on I Don’t Want to Change the World, and on the solos and stuff. And on Mama, I’m Coming Home, there’s a little country thing at the beginning with the pedal steel. That was definitely creeping in more on No More Tears. No Rest for the Wicked was just straight-up metal and hard rock.”
Did you feel it was a natural process, or something else?
“When people ask if I was intentionally doing anything different, I’m always like, ‘No. You just keep writing and writing and writing, and you end up there.’ I think that’s what makes it awesome: the evolution of things, how they change, and what led it there from one record to the next.”
You and Ozzy remained close after you parted ways in the ‘90s and the ’00s. What kept things close while you were separated?
“We’d always keep in touch. People were always like, ‘Zakk, why doesn’t Ozzy have you writing on all his stuff?’ It’s because the songs would often already be written, and Oz would say, ‘Zakk, can you just come in and play?’ I’d go, ‘Yeah, whatever you need me to do.’
“I remember Oz saying, ‘Zakk has left the nest. He’s his own guy now.’ He was like, ‘I don’t want to be the lead singer of Black Label Society!’ And I told everybody, ‘I completely get it, man.’
“It’s like when Jake was having success with Badlands on his own, and it sounded like Badlands. But if you put Ozzy on that stuff, now it’s an Ozzy record. Jake can’t help but write like Jake. It’s the same with me or anyone else, like Eddie Van Halen or Dime.
“So I completely understood what Ozzy was saying. If anything it’s a compliment – like, ‘Zakk, it doesn’t sound like it’s my band anymore; it’s like I’m in your band.’”
What are your memories of the final show? It has to be sobering knowing that those versions of Mama, I’m Coming Home and Crazy Train are the final versions with Ozzy.
“Yeah. They’re ingrained in my head. With Mama, I’m Coming Home, when we got the acoustic out, I had to be like, ‘Keep the guitar away from the microphone so I can sing,’ because Oz’s voice was having trouble at certain notes.
It was like juggling chainsaws on a skateboard… the most important show ever, but everything’s on the fly!
“I was like, ‘I need to make sure I’m always there so I can double him.’ I was like three feet away from the microphone when I started playing the song. I was like, ‘I gotta get near the microphone,’ so I had to almost stop playing, lift the guitar up and put it over the mic.
“It was like juggling balls or chainsaws while being on a skateboard! It was actually pretty funny – but it was business as usual. It’s supposed to be the most important show ever, but everything’s on the fly!”
When was the last time you spoke with Ozzy?
“Everybody and their mother were in the backstage dressing room and I just wanted to give him a break. I figured we’d see him later on – the next day or whatever. But no. The last text I got from Oz was saying, ‘Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn’t see you.’ He goes, ‘Thanks for everything.’ It was just us talking, saying, ‘I love you, buddy.’ That was it.”
Where would you be if you’d never met or played with Ozzy?
“I always say, to have music be the thing that turns the lights on at the end of the day, instead of some job that you can’t stand, it’s everything. Everything revolves around playing and music.
“If I didn’t have Oz, without a doubt, I’d continue playing… but it’s how Ozzy would say what The Beatles did for him, you know? What he gave me with Sabbath, and then with Randy and Jake, it’s a beacon of light. It gives you purpose. So even if I hadn’t played with him, he gave me purpose to be a musician. And without a doubt, that’ll always be with me.”
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- “I look over at Zakk and he can’t work the fretboard. I’m screaming at him, ‘It’s from liftin’ them weights!’ I didn’t realize he’d taken all the antibiotics in the bottle”: How Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde became metal’s most beloved partnership
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