Robert Sarzo is one hell of a player, as demonstrated in his band Hurricane and his diverse soundtrack work – but his career is often framed as a case of what might have been.

That’s because, in the aftermath of Randy Rhoads’ death in 1982, he was hired and almost immediately fired from Ozzy Osbourne’s band, in favor of Irish gunslinger Bernie Tormé. Sarzo holds no grudges: “For me, it wasn’t a gig to get,” he says.

“They’d just had a tragedy. And Randy was a very close friend of my brother [Ozzy bassist] Rudy. They were all having a difficult time, having lost a bandmate and a good friend. It was a dark moment, and I was in the middle of it.”

He went on to form Hurricane, scored the ‘80s hits I’m On to You and Over the Edge, and he’s remained active, though nomadic, since. “I’m proud of the results I’ve achieved throughout my life,” he says.

“Everything I set out to accomplish, so long as it was within my control, I made happen through discipline and commitment. Every experience, including the difficult ones, has shaped me into the person I am today.”

What inspired you to pick up the guitar?

I lived in Havana, Cuba, until I was 6 years old. Havana was very musical. My aunt Perla once took me to a Christmas party at a casino where she was performing as a singer and flamenco dancer. I fell in love with the stage and lighting – it seemed to be a magical place. My uncle Sergio was a classical pianist and opera singer who performed for us when we visited him.

On September 1, 1961, our family left communist Cuba, abandoning everything we owned for freedom. After a couple of years in Miami as refugees, my parents moved to New Jersey in search of more work.

That’s where I watched The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in NYC, across the Hudson River – and I decided to become a professional guitarist. My parents ordered a Silvertone acoustic guitar from the Spiegel catalog, and my brother Rudy and I shared it. Not having the money for lessons, we figured out how to tune and play it on our own.

After two years in New Jersey my parents moved us back to Miami. When we arrived, all the kids were learning to play musical instruments and every block had a band. The British Invasion had spread all over the country.

I traded some baseball cards for a Harmony guitar and amp and I began jamming with other guitar players. That’s how I learned how to play with a band.

How did you develop your skills?

I could only purchase an album once in a while, but I figured out how to learn songs from vinyl. I’d slow down the turntable; I’d place small rocks in the middle of the record to slow the motor even more for dissecting guitar parts. I learned how to transpose music by slowing down the vinyl, which changes the key of the song.

In 1970 I got a job at a busboy at The Royal Palm Hotel. With that money and a little help from my parents, I purchased my first new Gibson Les Paul sunburst from Ace Music, and an early-1960s Marshall 100-watt Super Bass Plexiglass head with a matching 4x12 cab from a friend.

I started organizing musicians to create bands, and booking the bands for school parties and private events. So I had more money to invest in more musical equipment. My brother Rudy was in some of the bands; we’d share the same responsibilities.

What led to the call from Ozzy and Sharon to become Randy Rhoads’ replacement?

I knew Randy, Ozzy, Sharon, and the band through Rudy. I was living in Paramus, New Jersey, at the time, and whenever they played in the area I’d visit them.

Ozzy and Sharon knew I’d been recording and touring with DL Byron, a signed artist on Arista Records, and that I’d been performing on the arena circuit, supporting Bob Seger and Boomtown Rats and headlining.

So I got a call from my brother, who said, “Ozzy wants to talk to you.” Ozzy told me Randy had died, and asked if I was available and interested in coming to LA to rehearse with the band. I told him I was, then Sharon got on and took my information to book my flight for the next day.

On the flight I had my 1970 Gibson Les Paul and a cassette of a live Blizzard of Ozz show. I had a middle row, all four seats, to myself so I was learning the songs during the flight.

What was the audition like?

I got picked up at LAX by the band – it was my first time in LA – and we went to the Beverly Hills Hotel, where we stayed for the night. Next day, we went to a soundstage rehearsal studio in, I believe, San Bernardino, where we started to rehearse the set. I was playing through a 100-watt Marshall supplied by the studio.

After a week of rehearsals, Ozzy and Sharon told me they wanted me in the band, and started making arrangements to build me a pedalboard from the same guy who’d built Randy’s in England.

Take us through Don Arden hiring Bernie Tormé, which led to you losing the gig.

Either Sharon’s dad Don, or brother David – I don’t remember which – had sent a guitar player from England with all his equipment. He’d already been paid for the tour, so they had to use him.

How did that feel?

From the moment I got the call from Ozzy in New Jersey, to the rehearsal where he officially brought me into the band, I felt a deep sense of validation. Every hour I spent studying Randy’s performances and working to honor that legacy felt worthwhile. Being hired by Ozzy himself was an incredible affirmation that my preparation and dedication had paid off.

At the same time, the experience was a reminder of how unpredictable the music industry can be. Artists may have their own vision – but ultimately, decisions can shift based on management or label priorities.

It was a whirlwind, professionally and emotionally. But I walked away proud of the work I delivered and grateful for the opportunity to stand in that role, even briefly.

Did you speak with Ozzy and Sharon again?

Yes – a few days after leaving LA I reunited with the group for their performance at Madison Square Garden. I joined them at the post-show gathering hosted at Don Arden’s NYC penthouse.

It felt less like a celebration and more like a memorial for Randy. Don Airey sat down at the grand piano and began playing Goodbye to Romance. We all sang along in Randy's memory. Even with our voices filling the room, there was a profound silence in the air – a collective mourning for his absence.

Ozzy asked me to step into his room to speak privately. He apologized sincerely and explained that he’d genuinely wanted me to join the band. Regrettably, that was the last time I ever spoke with Ozzy and Sharon.

How did you move on to form Hurricane?

When I got home I realized that LA offered the perfect combination – Miami-style weather without the humidity, and the driving energy of New York’s music industry. I put my house on the market and relocated my wife and our three-year-old son to Sherman Oaks, which kept me close to Hollywood and the major studios.

I checked out a few established bands that were looking for a guitarist, but none of them captured the sound I was envisioning. So I decided to build my own project from scratch. I began placing ads to recruit like-minded musicians. I already knew I wanted to name the band Hurricane – a nod to my years of living through them in Miami.

My goal was to pair a heavy, powerful guitar sound with strong, melodic vocal harmonies. Bassist Tony Cavazo was the first member to come on board – we were completely musically aligned at the time.

What gear were you using when you recorded Hurricane’s hits I’m On to You and Over the Edge?

On I’m On to You I played one of my Ibanez RG550 guitars through a Marshall 800 with a 100-watt head and 4x12 Celestion speaker cabs. Our producer, Bob Ezrin, brought us the song and we remade it in our style.

With Over the Edge, I recorded all the guitars, acoustic and electric. I used an Alvarez Yairi 12-string and a 6-string. For the heavy tracks I played one of my RG550s through the Marshall 800. I came up with the guitar parts, then it became a band collaboration. We did a lot of pre-production with Bob.

What led to the end of Hurricane?

We spent upwards of 330 days a year together, balancing intense touring schedules with demanding industry pressures. Given our distinct personalities, that level of constant proximity naturally created friction. By the time we began work on our third album, we’d just drifted in different musical directions.

Why did you decide to move into soundtrack work?

I have a deep passion for the recording process and creating music tailored for cinema. My introduction to scoring occurred in 1979 at The Record Plant in New York City, where I recorded for the Allan Moyle punk film Times Square.

Following my time with Hurricane, a producer invited me to compose for his new film, The Collector, written and directed by the legendary Marcus Dunstan. I ultimately created half of the soundtrack cues, which solidified my path forward.

You later worked with Geoff Tate’s version of Queensrÿche with your brother Rudy.

That was an incredible professional milestone. We’d grown up sharing a room and playing in numerous bands together, so our musical synergy was built over a lifetime. That created an effortless chemistry on stage – it made the entire experience feel completely natural.

What are you working on now?

I co-wrote and produced my last Hurricane album, Reconnected, in 2023. I recently worked with Kevin Martin, Rudy, Robin Diaz, producer Danny Saber, and songwriter/label owner Luca Zanna. We recorded a song called Live with No Regrets. I’m also going back into the studio to record a new release for Zanna Records.

I play guitar 24/7, even if I’m on vacation. I travel with my Ciari Ascender professional folding electric guitar and my SparkGo amplifier. I also perform with my band, 80 Proof VuDu.

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The Ozzy Osbourne-Randy Rhoads dynamic duo is the stuff of legends. After Ozzy was ejected from Black Sabbath, his quest to launch a solo career brought together British veterans Bob Daisley, Rainbow’s ex-bassist, and former Uriah Heep drummer, Lee Kerslake.

At the same time, a certain Randy Rhoads, from LA's Quiet Riot, was tired of the internal turmoil within his band, and their seemingly never-ending chase for a US record deal. In October ’79, after he heard that the former Sabbath frontman was auditioning guitar players, he somehow found himself in the Ozzy circus.

“Even though I was fucked up on cocaine and booze, I remember when I first met Randy Rhoads,” Osbourne told Guitar World in 2002.

“I was staying at a hotel called Le Parc on West Knoll off Santa Monica Boulevard [in West Hollywood]. I used to live like an animal then. And Dana Strum from Slaughter says to me, ‘I’ve got this fucking amazing guitar player for you.’

“And I go, ‘Yeah, sure.’ ’Cause at the time, everybody was a fucking Hendrix clone. So it was one in the morning, and I was fucking smashed. Off the wall. And this little guy comes in. He looked like a fucking doll. But even in my stupor, I realized he was great as soon as he started playing the guitar.”

Osbourne fondly recalled working with Rhoads on Goodbye to Romance – the 1980 ballad influenced by the chord progressions of Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

As this song demonstrates, Rhoads drew heavily on his rigorous classical training, favoring European classical modes over pentatonic scales while placing a premium on virtuosity.

“I was a drunken, drugged-out, fucked-up slob,” Ozzy continued. “But Randy was patient with me.”

“Randy said, ‘Maybe if you tried it in this key…’ He worked with me. He had the patience because he was a guitar teacher. And he gave me a lot of confidence. He wouldn’t intimidate me. Because, believe it or not, I’m quite easily intimidated.”

As for the rest of the album, Ozzy confirmed that “it was a writing team,” with Rhoads crafting the riffs, Bob Daisley writing the lyrics, and the Prince of Darkness coming up with vocal melodies. Through their collaboration, the triumvirate created a timeless record that marked a move away from Sabbath’s heavy metal sound.

Another nod to classical music comes by way of Dee, included in the Blizzard album tracklist – an homage to Rhoads’ mother.

“Randy absolutely adored his mother,” Ozzy said. “And one day Randy came to me and said, ‘Do you mind if I do this classical guitar piece for my mum?’ And I said, ‘Fuck, what yer askin’ me for? Go ahead.’”

The band’s hard work paid off, with singles Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley hitting both the US and UK charts. Most importantly, it solidified Ozzy as a bona fide solo act who could stand on his own – with a little help from Rhoads.

Well, today is Ozzy Day, so we thought we'd revisit arguably his biggest track and most sought-after guitar tone, Crazy Train! Although Randy Rhoads had previously played on the Hollywood club scene for several years and recorded two albums with Quiet Riot (released only in Japan), most of the world did not discover the phenomenal young guitarist until after he started working with Ozzy Osbourne in 1980.

Crazy Train, the first single from Osbourne’s debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, introduced Rhoads to millions of new fans, and the guitarist made a great first impression with his blazing technical solos and buzzsaw riffs.

The midrange-heavy tone of Rhoads’ guitar on Crazy Train divides many metal guitar tone aficionados, with detractors arguing that it sounds small and boxy while supporters counter that it fits the track perfectly and brings Rhoads’ playing rightfully front and center in the mix.

I personally agree with the latter, having heard the guitar part absolutely explode from an AM radio with tiny speakers that made Metallica sound like buzzing mosquitoes in comparison. It’s a guitar tone that can make the wrong player sound shrill and obnoxious, but in the hands of the right player (like Rhoads), it can sing like a symphony.

What Randy used in the studio

Rhoads is famous for using a modified Marshall 100-watt head covered in white tolex that he custom-ordered from the Marshall factory, but, as proven by photos taken by Fin Costello of the Blizzard sessions, that amp had not arrived yet when Blizzard of Ozz was recorded.

Instead, Rhoads used a stock mid-'70s Marshall JMP model 1959 Super Lead MKII 100-watt head that was rented for the sessions, driving a pair of 4x12 cabinets loaded with Altec 417-8H speakers.

Rhoads preferred Altec speakers over the standard Celestion speakers because the Altec speakers delivered higher clean headroom and a brighter tone. Rhoads ran the Marshall with only a slight amount of overdrive and relatively flat EQ settings, generating the bulk of his distortion and EQ with his custom pedalboard built by Pete Holmes.

The crucial effects in the pedalboard were an MXR Distortion +, which Rhoads almost always kept on, and an MXR Ten Band Graphic Equalizer, which provided a significant signal and midrange boost centered at 500Hz.

Producer/engineer Max Norman enhanced Rhoads’ rhythm tracks with a subtle chorus effect generated by an AMS DMX 15-80S Digital Delay with different short delay and slight detuning settings for the right and left channels. Rhoads also triple-tracked his solos, with one part panned to the center and the other parts panned hard right and left at lower levels.

Get the sound, cheap!

TONE TIP: Like Rhoads, you’ll want to dial the Marshall to just a slight amount of overdrive and use the Distortion + for grit and grind, with the output at 10 and distortion between 4 and 6. The new MXR Ten Band EQ has gain and volume controls not found on the original, so keep both controls at 0.

Tony Iommi has taken to Instagram to pay tribute to his former bandmate, Ozzy Osbourne, a year after his passing.

After one hell of a retirement gig in Back to the Beginning, Ozzy passed away aged 76, leading to an immense outpouring of love from the rock and metal community. Everyone from Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth to Grace Bowers and Billy Strings paid tribute to the legendary Black Sabbath singer.

A year on from losing a man with whom he conquered the music world, Iommi has shared a heartfelt tribute.

“Well, it’s now a year since Ozzy’s passing, and I still can’t believe that he’s not with us,” he writes. “I watch him on YouTube, and it feels like he’s still here with us. We always stayed in touch, almost every week or so, and we’d usually talk about our ailments and then about what we’d been doing that particular week.

“The fans have been absolutely brilliant, and the love and respect that they have shown for him has just been amazing.

“I’m so glad that we were able to play one final show with the original line-up of Sabbath at the Back To The Beginning show in our home town of Birmingham,” he adds. “There will never be another Ozzy. I miss you, my dear friend.”

In January, Gibson launched a multi-part documentary on the rags-to-riches rise of heavy metal’s progenitors, with Iommi reflecting on what would become Black Sabbath’s “horrible” first jam.

More recently, a story from their final show – relayed by Ozzy’s son, Jack – further underscored the pair’s relationship, which was at the heart of Black Sabbath’s success.

Iommi had called his passing “heartbreaking” in his initial tribute, offering the same sentiment that has been repeated by so many – there will never be another like Ozzy.

It was 2010, a lifetime ago. The New Orleans Saints were Super Bowl champions. Toy Story 3 was the world's highest-grossing movie. Gus G had just joined Ozzy Osbourne's band – and yet the Prince of Darkness was not sure about his choice of electric guitar?

That is where we pick the story up as Gus G looks back on his first Guitar World cover as Ozzy's guitarist.

These were life-changing moments for Gus G. He was officially in the big time, mixing with rock royalty, and yet here he was calling ESP for help because his trademark star-shaped guitars had become a bone of contention.

Where did you get this guitar?

It was made in late 2009 and released in 2010, right around the time this cover shoot took place. Before I played Jackson guitars, I was with ESP for about 12 years. I had signature models out in Japan and Europe, until they released them in America in 2007, I believe. All my models were the star-shaped guitars I’ve been known to play since forever.

When I got the gig with Ozzy, he and Sharon were skeptical about my guitar shape. They felt it looked too weird. I think Ozzy was used to Les Pauls from Zakk Wylde and Randy Rhoads. He kept asking me if I could play a Les Paul for a few tracks.

Of course, I understood – this was as big a change for him as it was for me, so I asked ESP to send me a couple of Eclipse guitars, which I played on my first few Ozzy shows.

Right around that time, Patric Ullaeus, my video-director buddy from Sweden, was doing an abstract-art project called Rock Art. We discussed the idea of making a signature model using a print of one of his paintings. We went through a bunch of designs and ended up with this one. It was a cool project, and it gave it a more personalized look.

Did you modify it? What rig did you use it with?

Not many modifications were done, except for the pickups. Around that time, I was switching from passive to active, and I had just started using Seymour Duncan Blackouts. Rig-wise, I used Blackstar Series One 200 heads and cabs. I always had a fairly simple pedalboard with an overdrive, a Boss DD-3 Delay and a Morley auto-return wah.

How did it make you play? Did it feel right for you?

As much as I loved Eclipse guitars, I always felt my playing was limited on them. Maybe that was because I was so used to playing my Star models that I couldn’t get my right arm properly positioned on the Eclipse. I talked to Ozzy about it after a few gigs, and he eventually said, “You’re the guitar player; play whatever feels comfortable.”

Did you use this Eclipse on any notable recordings or tours?

I think I used it in the studio to track my rhythm guitars on my first solo album, I Am the Fire [2014]. And, of course, on the Ozzy world tours I did in 2010 and 2011.

Although I went back to my star models, I still brought this EC guitar out for the Black Sabbath part of the set. It can be heard on the iTunes Festival Live EP, and there’s video footage from MTV from the London Ozzfest show at the O2.

But here’s a funny story. I had asked for a Custom Shop version of it from the Japanese factory, and I think they got the memo wrong, so instead of printing the artwork on the guitar, they hand-painted the whole guitar, even the back of the neck! [Laughs]

It really is a piece of art, but they definitely went too far with it. Also, that guitar probably weighs 10 kilos. [Laughs]

What do you remember from the Guitar World shoot for this cover?

I brought [the Eclipse] in because I knew Ozzy was a bit uncomfortable with my Star guitars, and since the Guitar World shoot was the first world-exclusive presentation of me as Ozzy’s new guitarist, I didn’t wanna show up and have a moment where he goes, “What the fuck is this?” [Laughs] As for the shoot, that was one of the biggest, craziest rock ’n’ roll experiences of my life. It happened in London with the legendary Ross Halfin.

As I was sitting to get makeup done for the shoot, I could see from the mirror behind me that Ross was shooting someone else right before us. I couldn’t tell who it was because he had his back turned.

When he turned around, I went, “Oh my god! That’s Jimmy Page!” I literally froze. A few moments later, they were done, and I got to meet him, and Jimmy was so nice and such a gentleman. He asked me if I was the new guy. I said, “Yes,” and he wished me the best of luck.

Next thing you know, Ozzy walks in, and you see these two legends just casually shooting the shit. Then Ross goes, “Come on, guys – let’s take a pic.” Ozzy and Jimmy sit there like the rockstars they are, and then Ozzy asks me to get in there, so I end up taking a photo with the gods of rock. [Laughs]

I’ll never forget this. I’m thinking what a big-hearted guy Ozzy was. He didn’t have to do that, but he gave me this amazing moment and memory. I must have looked pretty stupid all along, because Ross shouted at me, “Gus! Stop being dumb!” [Laughs]

Hey, Ross – if you’re reading this – send me that photo, man!

Do you still have the Eclipse?

Yes, along with most of my old ESPs. I don’t really play them anymore; I think my “Les Paul-type guitar” days ended around 10 years ago. I always felt [more] like myself with a star-shaped guitar or a Super Strat-type.

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Following in the footsteps of Randy Rhoads is no easy feat. While now-veteran guitarist Robert Sarzo was hired and immediately fired by Ozzy Osbourne’s team in favor of Irish rocker Bernie Tormé, he holds no grudges.

“For me, it wasn’t a gig to get,” Sarzo tells Guitar World in a new interview.

“They just had a tragedy,” he says. “And Randy [Rhoads] was a very close friend of my brother [Ozzy Osbourne bassist Rudy Sarzo]. They were all having a difficult time, having lost a bandmate and a good friend. It was a dark moment, and I was in the middle of it.”

Sarzo had initially landed the spot after visiting the Ozzy circus a couple of times whenever they were in the New Jersey area. This, coupled with the fact that he was already touring with an artist signed to the prestigious Arista Records, made him an attractive proposition, especially in the face of immense tragedy.

“I got a call from my brother, and he said, ‘Ozzy wants to talk to you.’ And then Ozzy tells me that Randy died and asks if I’m available and interested in coming to Los Angeles to rehearse with the band. I told him I was and would go to L.A.”

And while Sarzo felt “a deep sense of validation” from the moment he got the call to his initial rehearsals, it turned out that, “Either Sharon’s dad [Don Arden] or brother David – I don’t remember which – had sent a guitar player from England with all his equipment. He’d already been paid for the tour, so they had to use him.”

True to his word, Sarzo showed up at a post-show gathering in New York celebrating Rhoads, even after he was fired.

“The atmosphere that evening felt less like a celebration and more like a memorial for Randy Rhoads,” he recalls. “At one point, keyboardist Don Airey sat down at the grand piano in the living room and began playing Goodbye to Romance.

“We all gathered around to sing along in Randy's memory. Even with our voices filling the room, there was a profound, heavy silence hanging in the air – a collective mourning for his absence.”

During the gathering, Ozzy took the time to apologize for his team’s snafu. “He explained that he had genuinely wanted me to join the band,” Sarzo says.

“However, the record company had already finalized arrangements and flown in another guitarist without his knowledge. Regrettably, that evening marked the last time I ever spoke with Ozzy and Sharon.”

Guitar World’s full interview with Robert Sarzo will be published in the coming weeks.

The name Amir Derakh is bound to elicit one of two reactions from guitar fans. Some people will light up with immediate recognition, while others will stare blankly and go, “Who?” As it turns out, the guitarist is quite aware of his niche status in the music world, and he’s OK with it.

“I realized a long time ago that I was a bit different, and I quite like it, to be honest,” he says. “I don’t think I’m that obscure or unknown, but I don’t go out of my way to conform. I couldn’t see being a blues player and that’s all I ever did – no offense to blues players.” He laughs. “I just like doing different things. I get bored easily.”

Derakh’s fanbase is splintered across a wide spectrum of musical styles. There are those who have followed the guitarist since his mid-’80s shred days, when the San Diego native replaced Craig Goldy (who replaced Jake E. Lee) in the glam metal band Rough Cutt. Other fans discovered Derakh in the late ’90s, when his guitar synth skills powered the hit industrial rock band Orgy.

And still others started took to him via his more recent electronic project Julien-K with Orgy vocalist Ryan Shuck or the alternative rock band Dead by Sunrise, which featured Shuck and the late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington.

“Funnily enough, I get fans from my entire span of career,” Derakh says. “I get Rough Cutt fans that come out to my shows, and then there are people who are more into the newer stuff. It’s very gratifying to know that people have embraced my work and have followed me through all of these projects.

“Obviously, I realize that what I’m doing now might not be for everybody, because some of the stuff is completely electronic – there’s no guitar at all. But there is some overlap, and it’s cool.”

Let’s go back to when you started on guitar. Who got you interested in playing?

The truth is, I didn’t want to play guitar initially. I wanted to play synthesizers. They had become a thing when I was in my mid-teens. My older cousin had a job, so he bought a Moog and started learning how to play keyboards. He kind of stole the idea from me, and I thought, “What the heck am I gonna do?”

I liked the guitar, and I loved bands like Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest – all the heavy metal bands of the time – so I thought I’d pick up the guitar. I got an Ibanez Iceman and started playing.

Did you take to the guitar pretty easily?

At first, it was total failure. A friend tried to teach me how to play, but he quit on me because he said I didn’t have what it took. But then I started taking binoculars to concerts, and I’d focus on what the guitarists’ hands were doing.

That’s how I taught myself. I could figure out the chords pretty easily, and then I focused on learning how to play leads. I started following players like Jeff Beck and Allan Holdsworth. Oh, and Alex Lifeson was a big influence.

You quickly became part of the San Diego music scene. It became kind of a thing. Bands and guitarists would get known around town, and then they’d split for L.A.

Yeah. I was one of the last people who came out of that whole thing. Jake E. Lee had already left San Diego. I kind of knew Warren DeMartini, but he was pretty much heading for L.A. at the time. They were a little older than me. San Diego became this hotbed for guitarists – I don’t know why. Craig Goldy was another one.

How soon after you moved to L.A. did you join Rough Cutt?

[Laughs] They came to San Diego and found me. A couple members had already left – Craig Goldy split to join Giuffria, and Jake left for Ozzy. The band decided to look around San Diego to see who else was around. They met with a bunch of great players, but nobody wanted to leave. They had families or whatever.

Finally, [bassist] Matt Thorr and [drummer] Dave Alford went to this music store, Guitar Trader, and said they were going back to L.A. because they were shit out of luck. Everybody in the store said, “You gotta check out Amir.”

Matt and Dave came by my house. I plugged into a little Super Champ, played one of their songs, and they went wild. They were like, “Can you get your gear and come to L.A. tonight?” It all happened really fast.

This was right in the middle of the Spandex-and-Aqua Net hair metal thing. You didn’t quite go for that all the way.

Not really. I think I’ve always wanted to be an individualist. I changed my look and my hair style a lot. There was just something driving me to be a little different. Musically, too, I didn’t fit in with other guys on the scene.

A lot of the guitarists from the ’80s had this shrill, screechy tone, but I always liked darker sounds. I like darker music, darker scales. My lead solos had a warmer, fuller sound. I think it was more melodic.

Do you think that was because of your interest in synths and their warm, atmospheric sounds?

Maybe. It’s funny, because I was actually using a guitar synth in Rough Cutt, but I had to keep it undercover because it wasn’t considered cool. My band was afraid to say anything about it. But early guitar synths were featured on Rough Cutt records.

What was your first guitar synth?

It was a Roland GR-700. Grover Jackson gave it to me. I was already working with Jackson and Charvel. Grover had gone to Japan and came back with the Roland. He knew I was into synths, and he thought, “There’s only one person who might know what to do with this.”

And did you?

Yeah. It was cool. I think a lot of people were using it wrong. They treated it like a keyboard, but it didn’t deliver good keyboard sounds. It tracked poorly and sounded pretty cheesy. I thought, “It’s a guitar, so I’ll treat it like a guitar.”

I plugged it into a guitar amp. It gave me a lot of cool added sounds. We downplayed it on Rough Cutt records, but I brought it back with Orgy. I hadn’t played it in years, and I thought, “I’m going to really make my mark with this.”

Rough Cutt was bouncing around for a while trying to get a deal. Once you joined, Warner Bros. signed the group.

That happened within a few months. We had problems, though: the A&R guy who signed us said that he was going to get Ted Templeman to produce us. We waited and waited for a long time, but Ted was too busy to get to us. Then the A&R guy left and completely abandoned us.

After Jake E. Lee left Ozzy, you auditioned to replace him.

I did. I think [bassist] Phil Soussan and [drummer] Randy Castillo championed me, so I was fast-tracked and avoided a lot of the B.S. They had already gone through a lot of guitar players, but there were only a few they liked. One of them was this kid, Zakk Wylde.

Oh yeah, I’ve heard of him. What songs did you play at your audition?

We did a few of the hits, pretty much what everybody knows – Crazy Train, Bark at the Moon, Shot in the Dark, Over the Mountain. I’m not a finger-tapper, so I thought, “I’ll do that stuff, but I’ll do it with one hand.” Ozzy was really impressed with my playing.

He did all the Ozzy stuff you’d think he would do – he got down on his knees and kind of performed. I was like, “Oh, my God. This is so weird.” But it was also a dream come true. I was a huge Randy Rhoads fan. I got my ear pierced when Randy died. I got a guitar like him. So to be playing with Ozzy, it was unreal.

On the other hand, there was something telling me that it wasn’t right for me. I remember they asked me to do a guitar solo on the spot – you know, an unaccompanied solo. I was like, “Yeah, I’m not really prepared for that.” I wanted to put something together and not rip off a bunch of stuff.

How were you told that you didn’t get the gig?

I can’t remember what they said; it was Ozzy and Sharon. It was kind of like, “Ozzy really likes you…” I pretty much knew that Zakk had the gig. I saw him at the Rainbow, and I said, “You’re going to get it.” He was like, “No, no, no…”

There were probably a couple of reasons why I didn’t get it. One, I was connected to Wendy Dio [who managed Rough Cutt], so they didn’t want to deal with that whole thing. Two, I wasn’t completely unknown. They preferred people who were new.

You and singer Ryan Shuck formed Orgy, and you achieved a fair amount of success. Your biggest hit was a dark electronic cover of New Order’s Blue Monday. Did you ever hear from the New Order guys?

Not directly, but I heard from a friend who had a friend that was playing with New Order, and as it was told to me, somebody in the band has a daughter, and she told Peter Hook in rehearsal one day, “I like Orgy’s version of Blue Monday better than yours.” I’m told they all laughed.

You and Ryan then formed Julien-K, and the two of you hooked up with Chester Bennington for Dead by Sunrise. What was it like working with Chester?

We were great friends and had been since the recording of the first Linkin Park album. Getting to create a project together was a dream for all of us. He had a one-of-a-kind voice and was very dedicated to his craft – always willing and able to go the extra mile. I feel lucky to have had him in my life. I miss him terribly.

Had he not passed, do you think the band would have continued?

Yes. He had talked with us about doing more DBS in the future.

Do you feel as if your post-Rough Cutt work has been a truer representation of your sonic style?

I do. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to be in Orgy – I was having a lot of success as a producer, engineer and programmer. I was talked into it, though, and I said, “Well, I’m going to play guitar synths.” Since then, it’s just a continuation of that vision. In Julien-K, I get to play keyboards, but I do play guitar. I’ve been playing a baritone guitar for the past 20 years. I get a darker sound with it.

I get to engage in a lot of different things with Julien-K. The middle of our set is completely electronic, and I play sounds that I created for the record on an iPad. I use a bullhorn that has a laser and a light on it, and I have my whole getup – it’s this different character that comes out.

All of that owes to my years of DJing in the club and techno scene. I got to do all of that incognito. Doing that stuff really allowed me to up my electronic abilities.

Rough Cutt have gotten back together sporadically over the past few years. The band’s latest record, 2021’s 3, was pretty solid. Was that a one-time deal?

Pretty much. We’ve had a very interesting relationship over the years. It was cool to go back and feel like the chemistry was still there. Everything sounded like it did before, even when we wrote some songs. But at this point, yeah, we’re kind of done. We’re grown-ups, and we all do a lot of different things. I was just like, “I can’t do this full time.”

Is there a specific non-synth guitar you rely on these days?

Absolutely. It’s the Yamaha signature guitar that I designed when I was in Orgy. It’s a baritone, but it’s not a super-long scale baritone, so it’s easy to play. Everything about this guitar is custom, including the pickup that I wound with Larry DiMarzio.

It’s been my workhorse for so many years. It’s an amazing guitar, but there’s not many of them. I think there are 75 models in the world.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

In conversation, 70-year-old guitar hero Michael Schenker overflows with excitement like he’s 20, answering questions with effusive run-on sentences, making sure he expels every uncensored, elliptical thought that glides past his tongue.

This makes for lengthy yet revealing interviews. Each comment is a puzzle piece that helps reveal the full picture of his unorthodox approach to music and business. In short, the message is fairly straightforward: Enthusiasm, self-belief and impulsiveness are the keys to happiness. And he’s got plenty to be happy about.

Late last year, Schenker released Don’t Sell Your Soul, the 13th studio album of originals by his band, Michael Schenker Group (MSG). It’s a grand return to rip-rockin’ form and the second release in a three-album series. The first part of the package, My Years with UFO, came out in June 2024 and featured re-recorded, star-studded versions of 11 tracks Schenker wrote between 1972 and 1978 during his years with British powerhouse rockers UFO.

Schenker decided to record the album not just to play old favorites with Slash, Dee Snider, Roger Glover, Stephen Pearcy, Axl Rose and others. He created it as a history lesson for fans.

“Many people think I was born musically in the ’80s, because when you click ‘Michael Schenker’ on the internet, all you see is ‘Michael Schenker Group’; there’s nothing there about UFO or Scorpions,” Schenker says.

“With My Years with UFO, I wanted to show the songs I created in my developing years from age 17 to 23, because every year I improved my guitar playing and songwriting in some way. So the record reminds me of that and educates all the people who didn’t know where I came from.”

A refresher: Schenker left UFO in 1978 after growing friction between him and vocalist Phil Mogg ended with the guitarist getting sucker-punched – after telling Mogg he’d leave the band if he was ever hit. Schenker’s first offering with Michael Schenker Band was 1980’s self-titled album, and over the next four years (their most prolific era), MSG released three more studio records and two live albums.

Don’t Sell Your Soul revisits the driving and highly melodic style Schenker last showcased on 2022’s Universal and reflects the guitarist’s songwriting MO – “freedom of expression” – a technique that prioritizes spontaneity over premeditation, authenticity over trend, and instinct over theory.

“I’ve never known about anything technical,” Schenker says. “When I put a musical sketch together for a song, I can’t say if it’s major or minor. People say I switch between the two, but I don’t know. Maybe I play parts of scales, but I don’t know the names of them or the modes or whatever. I just don’t care about that stuff.”

While Schenker was working on Don’t Sell Your Soul, he was writing more experimental and atmospheric songs for Freedom of Expression, the third album of his trilogy.

Originally, that album was going to be instrumental, but when producer and singer Michael Voss impulsively added vocals one night, then played them for Schenker, the guitarist liked the way they complemented the song, and the direction of the album abruptly changed. Suddenly, Voss was singing across the tracks.

“I’ve always believed in doing exactly what I feel like,” Schenker says. “That’s freedom of expression. If I did something just because it was what people expected, or if I stopped what I was doing because I was blinded by fame and money, that would be selling my soul.”

Reflecting over the past 50 years, Schenker admits there were times he easily could have hopped the money wagon for a quick cash grab. When Uli Jon Roth quit Scorpions in 1978, Schenker returned to the band (of which he was a member between 1972 and 1974) to work with them on Lovedrive, but he didn’t stay.

After Randy Rhoads died, Schenker was the first guitarist Ozzy Osbourne approached, but he decided to pursue his own vision instead of following the Prince of Darkness.

“With Scorpions, I helped them out as a gesture to my brother [Rudolf],” Schenker says. “They were lost; they couldn’t do an album, so I worked with them as a jump-starter. And when Ozzy approached me, there was an inner warning light that said, ‘Don’t do that because you have just left UFO and Scorpions.’

“I had time to digest my situation and the message was clear to me. I wanted to carry on doing my thing and purely self-express, and not run after a trend, which Scorpions and UFO had been trying to do since I left.”

As for Don’t Sell Your Soul, the songs are rooted in the propulsive, driving riffs and neo-classical-tinged leads of classic MSG (Schenker used his old black Gibson Flying V for most takes), but with some production twists that make the songs more modern-sounding.

If nothing else, Don’t Sell Your Soul is an affirmation that Schenker continues to follow his instincts, whether that means foot-stomping anthems, heartstring-tugging love songs or rhythmically off-kilter cuts that defy dancing.

Between musings about the power of music and the best ways to achieve peace of mind, Schenker talked about each song on Don’t Sell Your Soul and explained how plugging in for another MSG album is like putting on a favorite pair of shoes.

1. Don’t Sell Your Soul

I wrote that in my head before I even picked up the guitar. I was humming a part and imagined a guitar to it, which is a rare way for me to work. I was on tour and I was driving, and I had time to contemplate things.

When I eventually picked up a guitar, the song kept progressing step by step, and it kept me going. I used a wah in it, and I haven’t used a wah-wah for a long time.

For some reason, I wanted to hear that sound, and I used it in some other songs, too. Michael Voss wanted to put delay and other effects on it, but I said, “Nah, I want to hear that rough sound,” so I kept it dry on purpose. It’s a very personal song about my story, which is why I wrote the lyrics, which I also rarely do.

2. Danger Zone

I collect gold pieces. I bump into them as I play guitar and when I’ve found one, I put it aside. For Danger Zone, I went back to one of these pieces of gold and used it to start the song. That inspired me to write the bridge and chorus parts.

It’s interesting because when I write riffs, I don’t know what songs they’re for. And then I start randomly putting them together. I don’t even look for the best piece of gold, I just start playing something in my collection, and if it works I use it. If it doesn’t, I reach for something else.

3. Eye of the Storm

I put together a sketch for the song, but then after Bodo [Schopf] put down his drums, there was more feel to it. I wasn’t sure if I still wanted to use the guitar parts I had put down. The next time I came into the studio, Michael Voss played the track back for me so I could hear how it sounded and evaluate it.

He had already worked on it, and the way he put it together sounded very unique, so I didn’t feel like I needed to do anything to it anymore. It didn’t stick out as a lead guitar song. It was more atmospheric and interesting. I said, “I think what I did yesterday is perfect.”

4. Janie the Fox

It’s a spooky song right from the beginning because it’s different. I think I was inspired by doing the acoustic instrumentals we started out with for Freedom of Expression. But I mixed together cleaner sounds with a distorted riff I had written, and that’s where the atmosphere comes from.

Michael took advantage of that, and then one night after I left the studio, he had a spiritual experience. He was working on the vocals and when he looked outside of his big glass window, there was a fox looking in. Michael looked at the fox, and the fox looked at Michael – right into his eyes.

He explained later that he felt like he was completely in tune with nature, so he wrote the lyrics and vocals. And that created a contrast because the beginning is more wild and spooky, and in the chorus he sings so melodiously and it’s beautiful.

5. I Can’t Stand Waiting

I put down a riff I had from my pieces of gold. I did verse, bridge, chorus. And then Michael did something with it, and when I came in the next day, he played me what he had. It was great, but it was catchier than what I did because Michael is a trendy guy.

It’s only me who does pure self-expression. When I put my music down, there’s a sketch. And then when all these people join in, they’re coming from a different world.

6. Sign of the Times

That was a fun song. I did this kind of palm-muted arpeggio that’s just part of what I do. I’ve used it for a long time to figure out how to use strings in different ways. And that goes along with the vocals and becomes a big part of the song.

7. The Chosen

When I did it, the fast part in the end came out of nowhere. It’s quite a spooky song. You have all these clean guitars in the background, and there’s off-time parts that just aren’t resolving.

While I was doing it, I had this vision of those Tom and Jerry cartoons where the cat is chasing the mouse. I thought it would be great to create this vision of somebody being chased and running away.

8. It’s You

That’s the only other song I wrote in my head and didn’t have a guitar when I came up with it. I can’t even describe what I did to make the feeling that’s in the song, where it’s maybe sad, but happy. It was just a feeling that comes out in the riffs.

There’s a story in between the riffs, and I’m playing along with it, I guess, and naturally capturing the feeling of it. I think the rock riff I played makes it more upbeat, but I didn’t think about doing that. It happened on its own.

9. Six String Shotgun

I put a musical sketch together that was instrumental. There was nothing particularly special about it. Then, [guest vocalist] Robin McAuley [McAuley Schenker Group] wrote the lyrics.

He told me it was called Six String Shotgun, and I thought maybe it was about someone shooting somebody. But maybe that’s ironic. There’s a reason Robin wrote those lyrics. I don’t have anything to do with that part, and sometimes the music has nothing to do with the music.

10. Flesh and Bone

It has a very hard-rock sound – not to balance a slow song or anything; I was just self-expressing. I wouldn’t express something I don’t want to do. So, obviously, everything I want to do is put on a recording because that’s what I want to work on and hear and let other people hear.

11. Surrender

There’s a gallop in that song. It’s funny because I once read one of the guys in Iron Maiden say they invented the gallop. First of all, the gallop was already there if you look at TV shows like Bonanza.

Also, the gallop was done a long time ago in rock; I played it in [UFO on] Lights Out. It’s just something I’ve always liked to do. It has this adventurous kind of sound that works well sometimes. It’s in my blood, and it’s the beat that never resolves, so you can’t really dance to it.

• Don't Sell Your Soul is out now via earMUSIC.
• Michael Schenker Group’s six-disc box set, Live & Ready: 1980–1984 is out now.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Throughout his playing with Ozzy Osbourne and his own band Badlands, Jake E. Lee created stunning riffs and solos that combined melodic blues-rock licks with fast shredding. But there is one technique that really made him stand out: his fretting hand versatility, which included using his thumb to achieve otherwise impossible stretches with fingers alone.

Using the thumb to play low notes was popularized in the late 1960s by Jimi Hendrix and a decade later by jazzer Pat Metheny, to name two guitar icons. But incorporating the thumb over the fretboard in conjunction with the fretting hand fingers for high strings is a much rarer technique. Using large note intervals and making difficult stretches possible are just two of the applications for this barrier-pushing technique.

The following four examples are inspired by Jake E. Lee’s playing with Ozzy during the mid ’80s. They can be used to increase your fretting hand stretching and stamina, as well as introducing the “thumb over the neck” fretting technique. All are in the key of E minor and make use of the E natural minor scale (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D) with some occasional chromatic passing tones.

These examples should be approached slowly and for short periods at a time. Angle the guitar neck upwards, and place the thumb in line with the second finger. For ideal posture, maintain relaxed and level shoulders to attain these stretches and avoid injury.

MatchMySound: play-along enhancements

For this lesson, we've partnered with MatchMySound, to offer the ability to record yourself and see how close you are. MatchMySound is a great tool to help track your progress.

Click on the word 'options' (lower left, below the tab/notation) to select from 'demo audio track' (just guitar), 'backing track' (just the backing), 'full audio' (backing and real guitar audio) and 'metronome' (just a click to play along to).

Below that, select 'options' for how you can record your performance.

At the upper right, the magnifying glass images let you alter the playback speed for learning and pushing your playing onwards.

Follow the cursor to keep up with the tab/notation accurately on screen.

Lastly, to view the music better by filling your desktop/tablet/phone screen, click on the square brackets at the top right.

The Four Jake E. Lee Examples

Example 1: six-note legato sequence

This starts with a classic six-note legato sequence popular with '80s and '90s shredders. It is phrased in triplets at three notes per click and introduces increasingly larger stretches to avoid a predictable scalar sound and provide a work out for all four fretting hand fingers.

If you are new to this technique, break the exercise down into four separate exercises based on what's played for each bar. After you've built some precision and stamina, aim to double your speed with six notes per click instead of three.

Example 2: two note extended pentatonics

Your second example uses a two note extended pentatonic approach, with stretches that decrease in size and have a distinct feeling of moving inward and relaxing, while also exercising all four fingers.

Pay attention to the notes on the second (B) string as they'e all picked as well as any notes that are played in multiple positions. Also watch where your fretting hand thumb sits on the back of the neck: keep it in line with your second finger for good hand posture.

Example 3: Using the thumb to fret higher strings

Here you are introduced to fretting with the thumb over the neck. Each bar uses a finer rhythmic subdivision so you can become comfortable with the technique. Aim to use the fleshy area adjacent to the outer side of your thumb.

If you've never used this technique before, be mindful that this will be uncomfortable at first as you get used to the posture and develop new thumb calluses. That said, you should notice how easy it is to play stretches over 7 frets (or more!) using this technique. Once you're comfortable with this, experiment with your own ideas.

Example 4: all three techniques used together

To finish, here's a short solo study that utilizes each of the three previous exercises. Choose a combination of techniques and approaches that suits you the best.

Jake E. Lee in action!

Jake's thumb on the fretboard technique

This shows Jake playing the solo for Ozzy's Suicide Solution. Using his thumb on a lower fret, he varies which fingers are used on the higher frets.

Jake uses his thumb here for chordal playing with a clean tone. This demonstrates how versatile (and freeing) thumb fretting can be.

Before landing gigs with Lizzy Borden, David Lee Roth and Ozzy Osbourne, Joe Holmes kicked the student stage of his guitar journey off in style, learning under the late, great Randy Rhoads.

Since then Holmes – who has a new, self-titled solo record afoot – hasn’t stopped learning. “Every situation prepared me for the next,” he tells Guitar World. “From Randy to Dave to Ozzy.”

He adds: “All my collective experience has contributed to this album. From my sound, style and songwriting to the creative partnerships and touring experience, it all had an impact.”

You were a pupil of Randy Rhoads early on. How did that shape you?

Randy was and is my biggest influence as a guitar player. He was the perfect teacher for me. It was such a great time in my life going to lessons with my dad and spending time with Randy.

He was so patient – he made sure I understood what he was teaching me before I left every lesson. He put things in terms I could understand and that have stuck with me to this day. His love for music, guitar playing and learning was contagious.

What was the local scene like as you were coming up, and what led to you joining Lizzy Borden?

It was a really exciting time with lots of great music and guitar players. I’d been in a band with Lizzy and his brother Joey for a short time before they formed Lizzy Borden. We played one club show together but then went on to other projects.

Gene Allen, the guitar player in Lizzy Borden, was a friend of mine. He borrowed one of my Jose Arredondo amps to record one of the albums. Gene told me Max Norman was producing their next record, Visual Eyes, and asked if I was interested in joining the band.

Max worked on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, two of my favorite albums with Ozzy and Randy, so I jumped at the opportunity. We had a great time recording at the Longview Farm in Boston and then touring Japan, and a few shows in Europe and the States.

What gear were you using back then?

I’ve used the same gear since my late teens. I was fortunate to have met Jose Arredondo then. He became a huge influence and collaborator on developing my sound. Jose – who worked with Eddie Van Halen on his gear – gave me a rock-solid foundation for my musical identity.

That paved the way for my first big opportunity, touring with David Lee Roth on the Little Ain’t Enough tour. To step into Eddie Van Halen’s shoes to play alongside Dave was an incredible experience. Eddie was another huge influence.

Was it tough coming in after Jason Becker, given the circumstances?

Yeah, it was tough. I did meet Jason and had a chance to talk with him a bit at my audition. Learning songs like Show Time, A Little Ain’t Enough and Time to Tell the Truth really challenged me and showed what a versatile player he is.

Of course, I’d have preferred it to be under different circumstances and to have allowed Jason to do the tour. But Dave is the consummate professional. He gave me a new appreciation and love for the blues, and opened me up to different styles of playing.

What was your Ozzy Osbourne audition like?

It was great! I brought my Jose-modified Marshall head, two cabinets and my Fender Strat. It felt very natural, having been brought up on Randy’s playing. I auditioned on about four or five songs, then Ozzy shook my hand and said, “Welcome aboard.”

Ozzy was very kind and approachable. He really put me at ease. Ultimately, being a student of Randy’s technique and being familiar with Jake and Zakk’s playing made it a natural fit.

Though Zakk Wylde played on the Ozzmosis record, you were in the Perry Mason music video. What was that experience like?

It was an exciting time! Being new to his touring band, it was a great experience to get familiar with the video production process. Later there was a live video of our performance of Perry Mason. It’s a great song – really fun to play.

Ozzy often said you played just like Randy. That must have been gratifying.

I’m so grateful for the time I had with Ozzy. One of the best compliments and memories that I have is from my audition. He didn’t know I’d been a student of Randy’s. He stood right in front of me while I played and afterward told me that my approach and style reminded him of Randy.

What led to your leaving Ozzy before the Down to Earth album was recorded – even though it features several songs you co-wrote?

You’d have to ask them. There were several people writing for the record. Ozzy and Zakk had great chemistry and a long history together, so the fact that he came back to do the record was fine with me. Zakk and I are great friends.

Do you have any regrets about how things ended with Ozzy?

Of course – I would have loved to have spent more time with him. He was such an influential person in my life and in my career. I thought about him a lot as I was writing and working on my new album, and I dedicated it to Ozzy’s memory. I would have loved the opportunity to talk with him before he passed.

After Ozzy you recorded your album, Farmikos.

Farmikos was my first solo record. It’s the second project I worked on with my Ozzy touring bandmate Robert Trujillo, and my longtime friend and writing partner Brent Hoffort. I was introduced to my singer, Robbie Locke, who gave a great vocal performance – he’s featured again on this next album. Robbie also contributed to songwriting on the Farmikos record.

You’ve simply titled your new solo album Joe Holmes.

I’ve got Robert Trujillo, Mike Bordin and Robbie, with all songs written by Brent and me. Another significant thing about this record is the relationship I’ve built with my friend Rich Mouser, who co-produced and engineered my records. Sadly, after we completed the album, Rich’s studio burned down in the Altadena fires in 2025. He’s in the process of rebuilding.

Which song from Joe Holmes best showcases the player and songwriter you are today?

The Deadfall. It’s a song I could have done with Ozzy. It really has Randy’s influence from the alternate and double-picking techniques, phrasing, and doubling the acoustic and electric guitars. Also, Cross Eyed Stare because the timing is in 11!

Have had to compensate for anything as you’ve gotten older?

No – I’m a perpetual student of music. I continue to expand my interest and love of music to other genres. I’ve been buying lots of jazz and blues on vinyl. I still play every day. I’m surrounded by music 24/7.

How do you hope to be remembered?

As a player who truly loves and is dedicated to his instrument and to music. I hope my journey might inspire someone else, whether they’re just coming up or have been playing for a while. Anything is possible if you’re committed. Enjoy the ride!

• Joe Holmes is available to preorder now.

Amir Derakh may not be a household name, but the synth-guitar master isn’t as niche as he initially seems.

He replaced Craig Goldy (who replaced Jake E. Lee) in glam metal band Rough Cutt, lent his guitar synth chops to industrial rock band Orgy, and even backed Chester Bennington from Linkin Park.

The guitarist also nearly became Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist, only to lose out to a certain Zakk Wylde…

“I think [bassist] Phil Soussan and [drummer] Randy Castillo championed me, so I was fast-tracked and avoided a lot of the B.S,” Derakh tells Guitar World when looking back on the audition process.

“They had already gone through a lot of guitar players, but there were only a few they liked. One of them was this kid, Zakk Wylde.”

During what must have been a very nerve-wracking audition, Derakh was asked to play “a few of the hits, pretty much what everybody knows – Crazy Train, Bark at the Moon, Shot in the Dark, Over the Mountain. I’m not a finger-tapper, so I thought, ‘I’ll do that stuff, but I’ll do it with one hand.’ Ozzy was really impressed with my playing.”

Derakh goes on to say that the whole thing felt quite surreal – especially since he was a huge Randy Rhoads fan. “I got my ear pierced when Randy died. I got a guitar like him. So to be playing with Ozzy, it was unreal.”

However, he also admits his gut feeling was telling him that “it wasn’t right for me. I remember they asked me to do a guitar solo on the spot – you know, an unaccompanied solo. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not really prepared for that.’”

So how did Ozzy and co. break the news? “It was kind of like, ‘Ozzy really likes you…’ I pretty much knew that Zakk had the gig. I saw him at the Rainbow [in West Hollywood, California], and I said, ‘You’re going to get it.’ He was like, ‘No, no, no…’”

Derakh points to a couple of reasons why he didn’t land the gig, despite ticking most of the boxes. “One, I was connected to Wendy Dio [who managed Rough Cutt], so they didn’t want to deal with that whole thing. Two, I wasn’t completely unknown. They preferred people who were new,” he says matter-of-factly.

For more from Derakh, plus new interviews with Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Gus G, pick up issue 605 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

In more Ozzy-related news, it seems like a biopic is well and truly happening – at least according to his son, Jack Osbourne.

Regardless of misinformation, Bob Daisley played bass on, wrote the lyrics for, and was bandleader during the recording of Ozzy’s first two post-Sabbath solo albums, 1980’s The Blizzard of Ozz, and 1981’s Diary of a Madman.

Though his role as an “official member” of Ozzy’s band changed, his role didn’t. During the sessions for 1983’s Bark at the Moon, 1986’s The Ultimate Sin, 1988’s No Rest for the Wicked and 1991’s No More Tears, – aka the Prince of Darkness’ golden era – Daisley was pivotal.

But things didn’t remain the same between the leading musicians. “It felt like I was working for Blizzard of Ozz, the band I’d helped form,” Daisley says. “The dynamic had changed considerably.” Hit songs and setlist staples like Bark at the Moon, The Ultimate Sin, Magic Man and Mama, I’m Comin’ Home simply wouldn’t be the same without Daisley’s lyrics and basslines.

His writing and experience was integral for young guitarist Jake E. Lee, who replaced the deceased Randy Rhoads; and for Zakk Wylde, who joined after Lee was fired in 1987. Sadly, after No More Tears, a record that some fans believe exceeds the greatness of the Randy Rhoads era, Daisley and Ozzy’s partnership ended.

“As for No More Tears being ‘better’ than our first two Blizzard of Ozz albums with Randy – no way,” Daisley says. “No More Tears wouldn’t exist without our first albums. They were the foundation.”

After Diary of a Madman and prior to Bark at the Moon there was an issue with credits, right?

Just ask me what I thought of Rudy Sarzo being credited on Diary of a Madman! That was a travesty, a true crime against Lee Kerslake and me. I’d worked hard on that album – as I do with every album that I’ve been involved with – with the playing and writing aspects and the production.

To see all my hard work credited to someone who’d had nothing to do with any of it was heartbreaking; the same goes for Lee. I remember the day Lee and I saw the album and those erroneous credits for the first time. It was like a punch in the solar plexus. I would love to see proper accreditation on that album before I take the long dirt nap.

What was your role with Ozzy by the time of Bark at the Moon?

My role was always the same – co-write music, write all lyrics, arrange the songs, and inspire in general. Bark at the Moon was no different. When Ozzy and Sharon kept on at me, trying to get me to agree to replacing Lee with Tommy Aldridge during the 1980 UK tour, then again in 1981, I would never agree.

They asked time and time again. But it wasn’t out of blind loyalty to Lee that I wouldn’t agree; I just knew it was wrong because the chemistry was perfect and the formula was working well. Eventually they got rid of both of us and then, six weeks later, asked me back to do another album with Randy, Ozzy and Tommy. It was to be written and recorded in 1982, which I agreed to.

Then, in March of ’82, Randy was killed, and that album was put on the back burner. I was in Uriah Heep at the time with Lee, Micky Box, John Sinclair, and Pete Goalby, so my contributions and performances on the planned third album would have been as a ‘session’ player.

What led to your working with Jake E. Lee in a songwriting capacity?

When the time came to do that third album, Bark at the Moon, Ozzy asked me to play at the US Festival just before we were to commence the writing and rehearsals. That was my first encounter with Jake – an impressive guitarist whom I had no doubts about as far as his abilities.

The shoes Randy had left behind were not easy to fill. But Jake did an admirable job and made those songs his, and retained the essence of Randy at the same time. After the US Festival, we all flew to New York and began writing for the album, which went very well.

One day Ozzy came into the studio and watched as Jake and I were putting ideas together, and he just blurted out, “I’d forgotten how much you had to do with the writing.” I said nothing; how quickly his “convenient amnesia” had kicked in.

What was Ozzy’s state of mind as far as his substance abuse and emotional state after Randy passed?

Ozzy was a bit messed up on booze and drugs, but Sharon kept an eye on him; so he was mostly kept under control, to a point. The loss of Randy was felt by us all. But I wasn’t there when the plane crashed, so I’m not an eyewitness – thankfully.

Why do you think Ozzy chose Jake to replace Randy?

Jake was a good replacement for Randy. I mean, no one could really replace him, but Jake was a good guitarist, and he could come up with good song ideas and riffs. He certainly fit the bill.

Tell us about playing bass on Bark at the Moon and Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebel.

I played on all of the album. I co-wrote the whole album, including extra tracks such as Slow Down and Spiders.

Which songs would you call out?

On So Tired, I used a Fender Hybrid bass, – a rare 1966 slab body that was non-contoured, with the split Precision pickup. On Spiders, I used a Guild fretless bass through the same rig [an Ampeg SVT with an 8x10 cab]. Tommy Aldridge came up with the initial drum pattern that inspired Spiders.

He wasn’t credited, was he?

I would have given him a writing credit, but no one got a writing credit on that album – all songs were credited to Ozzy for reasons that I won’t go into here. But during an interview with International Musician magazine, Ozzy was asked how he, as a non-musician and non-lyricist, achieved such a miracle. His answer was, ‘With one finger on a piano.’ Oh dear!

What were your thoughts about Jake not being paid properly for Bark at the Moon, let alone no one being credited?

I didn’t get involved in other people’s business affairs; my own were complicated enough! But considering how much Jake and I had done, how we were treated was unfair, disrespectful, and unforgivable; I’ll say that much.

Ozzy had you help with songwriting again for The Ultimate Sin, but you didn’t play bass. Why is that?

Jake and I put the music together in Palm Springs while Ozzy was in the Betty Ford Clinic; so yes, I wrote all of the basslines while we were co-writing the music. After we’d demoed four of the songs in London, Ozzy and I had a clash because he hadn’t been turning up to rehearsals.

When we had to record those four songs in just two days, he began drinking and smoking pot and wanting to change parts. I told him that he should have come to rehearsals and that it was too late to start changing things now.

The next day I got the phone call – I was out. Then a couple of weeks later, he phoned and asked me to write the lyrics for the whole album. Because I’d already put so much into it, I agreed. I wrote the lyrics at home in the garden and took them to Ozzy in London.

What did you think of Phil Soussan’s playing, and how different would the album have been with you on bass?

Phil’s playing was okay; a sort of simplified version of what I’d done. As for me being there, of course it would have made a difference; I was an integral part of what the Ozzy sound and direction. Ozzy and I were the nucleus, and Jake and I were the machine behind it.

Why do you think Ozzy let Jake go?

I don’t know the full circumstances; I wasn’t working with Ozzy then. But the band wasn’t as good as it could have been rhythm-section-wise. Jake and Ozzy had had their issues, but I can’t be accurate or definite about a situation I didn’t experience.

What did you think of Zakk Wylde?

He was only 20 or 21 when he joined, but he was already a good writer; well, he and I wrote well together. He was a bit young and green, but he soon matured!

You played bass again on No Rest for the Wicked. What was making that album like?

I had fun writing the lyrics and co-writing music or that album. Particularly Miracle Man – which was about Jimmy Swaggart – and Demon Alcohol. I really liked what I did on fretless bass, and lyric-wise on The Liar. I thought John Sinclair did a great job on keyboards; he and I always had a great laugh together.

Did your overall rig change much for No Rest for the Wicked and the album that came next, No More Tears?

No. I used an Ampeg SVT and an 8x10 cab again. Nowadays I use Markbass amps – they’re brilliant! The bass that I used for most of No More Tears was a 1955 Fender Precision, including the title track.

Zakk seemed to come into his own on No More Tears. Where was your relationship with Ozzy and Zakk at by then?

I was called in at the last minute to record that album. Michael Inez had been on bass up until then. I was meant to be writing lyrics as well, but after we finished recording I got my marching orders. There were no problems or issues – just a change of plan, I guess.

It was during the recording of that album in early 1991 at A&M Studios in Hollywood that Ozzy told me, “You were right, you know, about Lee Kerslake,” which I wasn’t expecting and which I didn’t even comment on. It was 12 years too late.

Was there any friction with Mike Inez?

I have to say Michael Inez was a true gentleman about me playing on the album. He’d sometimes pop into the studio and watch me record, and he was always pleasant, complimentary and respectful – a nice chap.

What do you remember about putting together No More Tears, Mama, I’m Coming Home and Hellraiser?

No More Tears was finished writing-wise in the studio, although the basics had been established before that, before I’d come in. The opening bass riff was Michael Inez’s, although I turned it around by changing where the “one” fell, musically speaking.

I used a fretless bass on Mama I’m Coming Home and I think that it was ideal for a song like that; it helped to give it its mood and emotion. Hellraiser always brings back memories of having a laugh with John Sinclair in the car on the way to the studio. He and I used to sing the chorus together in an exaggerated French accent for a laugh, “hell razzairrr!”

How do you view your role within all Ozzy’s “best” albums, and that, debatably, his music’s quality declined after you stopped working with him?

As I’ve already said, Ozzy and I were the nucleus of that music, regardless of which guitarist was involved. None of it would have happened if The Blizzard of Ozz hadn’t happened. Obviously it was meant to happen – it was fated, destined – and I’m glad and honored to have been a part of it. When Ozzy’s and my relationship ended, that music ended; it was never the same again.

Long before Gus G replaced Zakk Wylde in Ozzy Osbourne’s band, the Greek shredder was playing star-shaped guitars. But its pointed silhouette was almost too much for the Prince of Darkness.

Having made his name in the power metal band, Firewind, Gus G helped Ozzy reinvent his sound on 2010’s Scream, when he was brought in as Zakk Wylde's replacement. But speaking in the new issue of Guitar World, Gus G says Ozzy pushed for him to switch up his instrument.

“All my models were the star-shaped guitars I've been known to play since forever,” he tells GW of his signature guitars, which have been made by both ESP and Jackson over the years.

“When I got the gig with Ozzy, he and Sharon were skeptical about my guitar shape. They felt it looked too weird. I think Ozzy was used to Les Pauls from Zakk Wylde and Randy Rhoads. He kept asking me if I could play a Les Paul for a few tracks.”

That’s not to say pointed guitars have been completely absent from Ozzy's stages in the past. Rhoads was also famous for his iconic Jackson Concorde, brought to life shortly before his passing. But that didn’t stop Ozzy’s reluctance.

“Of course, I understood – this was as big a change for him as it was for me,” Gus G relents. “So I asked ESP [to whom he was signed at the time] to send me a couple of Eclipse guitars, which I played on my first few Ozzy shows.”

Gus G was a fan of the single cut, but wasn’t completely sold by them, either. Push came to shove, and he knew he had to go back to what he knew best.

“I always felt my playing was limited on them,” he admits. “Maybe that was because I was so used to playing my Star models that I couldn't get my right arm properly positioned on the Eclipse.

“I talked to Ozzy about it after a few gigs, and he eventually said, ‘You're the guitar player; play whatever feels comfortable.’”

It’s a slightly surprising concession of ground from Ozzy, who Wylde says had some strict gear rules in the band, including the outlawing of one classic pedal.

In related news, Gus G has opened up on missing out on Back to the Beginning, and Jake E. Lee has recalled his greatest gear bargain, which he got while touring the UK with Ozzy.

The new issue of Guitar World is available now, and features a cover story on Rush, as the prog giants ready their hotly anticipated return to the stage.

Print and digital copies can be ordered from Magazines Direct.

Jack Osbourne has shared new updates about the rumored, long-awaited biopic on Ozzy Osbourne.

During a YouTube livestream on May 12, Ozzy’s son confirmed that the movie is well on its way to becoming a reality.

“I can tell you this: we are moving ahead,” he teased [transcribed by Blabbermouth]. “I was on calls today about it. The script is right there. We are good. This movie will absolutely happen.”

Osbourne goes on to say that realistically, “it probably won't come out until ’28”, but left the door open for an earlier release date.

“We're full steam ahead,” he continues. “We're about to start going out and getting a director attached. So, fingers crossed. I'm really excited. It's very much been a labor of love, of course… I'm excited for everyone to see this film.”

Plans for an Ozzy Osbourne biopic have been in place since 2021, with Oscar nominee Lee Hall, who wrote the script for Elton John’s Rocketman, attached to write the script. Sony Pictures and Polygram Entertainment are also confirmed to be involved.

Earlier this year, the younger Osbourne continued spilling the tea on whether we can expect a Hollywood version of Black Sabbath and the sorely missed Randy Rhoads on Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast .

“Initially, it was gonna go from my dad as a young man to kind of the mid-’90s, but we’re shrinking it down,” he revealed.

“We’re doing a rewrite right now. In my perfect vision of it, it would be kind of the tail end of Sabbath, him going solo. [Because] you gotta have the love story. And that’s kind of the main focus of the film, and all the craziness that happened in the early ’80s and Randy’s [Rhoads] tragic death. But, yeah, it’s an origin story.”

And while the supporting cast hasn’t been picked yet, Jack Osbourne did reveal that a “phenomenal actor” has been chosen to play his dad, though he declined to name the performer.

In more recent news, Joe Holmes – the Prince of Darkness' guitarist between 1995 and 2001 – spoke about how he landed the coveted Ozzy gig.

Joe Holmes has looked back on his Ozzy Osbourne audition, recalling how the influence of his mentor and guitar teacher set him up perfectly for the gig.

Things were different in the ‘90s. Job applications were not so finessed. There was no ChatGPT to help punch up your resumé. Ask Holmes, the former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist.

Holmes had applied for the most exalted professional position any rock-metal maniac with an electric guitar could hold, playing guitar for the Double O, the Prince of Darkness, the man who gave metal a voice.

Presumably, Holmes had sent Team Osbourne a recent photo, maybe a sizzle reel and a copy of Lizzy Borden’s Visual Lies for reference.

But he left out one crucial detail, perhaps one tidbit from his bio that would have opened the door to him; his guitar teacher was none other than Randy Rhoads, the guitarist who lit the blue touch paper on Ozzy’s solo career and got him back in the game.

Luckily, Holmes got the audition anyway, he got the job, and his new boss paid him the ultimate compliment. In a new interview with Guitar World, Holmes says he will never forget it.

“One of the best compliments and memories that I have with Ozzy was from my audition,” recalls Holmes. “Before I came in, he didn’t know that I had been a student of Randy’s. He stood right in front of me while I played and afterward told me that my approach and style reminded him of Randy.”

Ironically, having an approach and a style that was like Rhoads was one of the reasons his predecessor, Zakk Wylde, had got the gig in ’87. But Rhoads’ schooling had prepared Holmes well. It didn’t hurt that he was well-versed in Jake E. Lee’s style, too.

Holmes turned up fully strapped for the audition, a Fender Stratocaster in hand, a Marshall amp modded by the late hot-rodding guru Jose Arredondo, and a couple of speaker cabinets to blow some air around the room.

“It was great,” he says. “It felt very natural, having been brought up by Randy’s playing. I auditioned on about four or five songs, then Ozzy shook my hand and said, ‘Welcome aboard.’

“Ozzy was very kind and approachable. He really put me at ease. Ultimately, being a student of Randy’s technique and being familiar with Jake and Zakk’s playing made it a natural fit.”

Holmes was hardly an unknown. He had toured with David Lee Roth in 1991, replacing Jason Becker following his ALS diagnosis. Assuming a role that shred kingpin Becker had held, playing Eddie Van Halen’s riffs and solos as DLR aired some of his Van Halen catalog, this was no easy gig.

That gave Holmes vital experience of working with an A-list vocalist. But he leaves all the credit to his teacher, the player who had been his guiding star growing up.

“Randy was and is my biggest influence as a guitar player,” says Holmes. “He was the perfect teacher for me at a very impressionable age growing up. It was such a great time in my life going to lessons with my dad and spending time with Randy.”

Holmes recalls Rhoads as having the most important gift any guitar teacher can have.

“He was so patient and made sure I understood what he was teaching me before I left every lesson,” says Holmes. “He put things in terms I could understand and that have stuck with me to this day. His love for music, guitar playing, and learning was contagious.”

As for Ozzy, Holmes describes the late Black Sabbath frontman and all-round metal icon as a “great guy and a humble person”.

“I’m so grateful for the time I had with him,” says Holmes.

The full interview with Joe Holmes will be published in the coming weeks.

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)!

With 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.

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. 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.

Michael Schenker has opened up on why he turned down Ozzy Osbourne, after the Prince of Darkness earmarked him as a potential Randy Rhoads replacement.

After Rhoads’ tragic death in 1982, Ozzy began reaching out to electric guitar players to find a suitable successor. The likes of Richie Ranno and Vito Bratta were asked to audition, and Brad Gillis and Bernie Tormé both briefly held down the role before Jake E. Lee was eventually appointed.

But before Lee was brought aboard The Good Ship Ozzy, Michael Schenker was mooted for the position. However, as the Scorpions legend explains in the new issue of Guitar World, the opportunity wasn’t the right one for him.

At the time, Schenker was coming off the back of stints in UFO and Scorpions, and was a few years into his solo career with the Michael Schenker Group. Joining another high-profile band just wasn’t on the cards for him.

“With Scorpions, I helped them out as a gesture to my brother [Rudolf],” Schenker says. “They were lost; they couldn’t do an album, so I worked with them as a jump-starter.

“And when Ozzy approached me, there was an inner warning light that said, ‘Don’t do that because you have just left UFO and Scorpions.’

“I had time to digest my situation and the message was clear to me. I wanted to carry on doing my thing and purely self-express, and not run after a trend, which Scorpions and UFO had been trying to do since I left.”

“I’ve always believed in doing exactly what I feel like,” Schenker adds. “That’s freedom of expression. If I did something just because it was what people expected, or if I stopped what I was doing because I was blinded by fame and money, that would be selling my soul.”

Schenker isn’t the only high-profile guitar star to have been linked with the coveted Ozzy spot. Over the years, the likes of Marty Friedman and Nuno Bettencourt were also close to joining the band.

Head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World, which features interviews with Randy Bachman, Jerry Cantrell, Jimmy James and more.

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G has opened up on missing out on the chance to feature in Ozzy’s blockbuster send-off, Back to the Beginning.

The guitarist had earned a place in Ozzy’s band for his shred-laden work with power metal outfit Firewind, and played on 2010’s Scream. But, unlike his fellow Ozzy alumni, Zakk Wylde and Jake E. Lee, Gus G was a notable absentee at the Prince of Darkness' farewell show last summer.

“I wasn't asked,” Gus G tells the Signals From Mars podcast (via Blabbermouth) of his absence. “Of course, I would've loved to be there. Who wouldn't?

“I really wanted to see Ozzy one last time, to give him one last hug. But at the same time, I realized that probably I wasn't really needed there,” he expands. “There were so many people there. So this is one factor. It didn't really bother me in that sense. My mindset was more like a fan.

“When I saw the press release, I was like, ‘Oh, cool. Ozzy's finally doing his last show,’ because I know how much he really wanted to get back on stage. He finally decided he is gonna do this, and he's gonna go out in the biggest way possible.”

Gus G, who is set to release his latest solo album, Steel Burner, this week, says the fan in him was “really excited” for the show, but felt “bittersweet” about his lack of involvement. However, there was another factor that might have forced his hand all the same.

“I had my kid the day before the show in Birmingham,” he explains. “We were expecting my first baby. I think it was one of those situations where I came to the realization, ‘Well, this is really not meant to happen for me. I have really something much more important that I should be attending.’”

Gus G says he was starstruck when he first met Ozzy and has named the player he found hardest to emulate during his time in the band. He's since turned down opportunities to join two massive metal bands, instead opting to forge his own path.

While Ozzy has also recorded with Steve Vai, Joe Bonamassa, and Andrew Watt, Gus G was only the fourth full-time guitarist in the singer’s charge – after Randy Rhoads, Lee, and Wylde – but was a notable absentee from Back to the Beginning, which also saw the Heavy Metal Yardbirds pay tribute to the Prince of Darkness.

A campaign to memorialize Randy Rhoads with a statue at Stough Canyon Park in Burbank, California, has been launched.

The virtuoso shot to fame when he helped launched Ozzy Osbourne's solo career with two landmark albums, Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981), masterminding some of the greatest guitar riffs and solos of all time.

A virtuoso whose skills were often pitted against Eddie Van Halen, and who's widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Rhoads' life was cut tragically short after a plane crash in 1982, while he was aged just 25.

As such, Bill Lonero, a lifelong musician and Randy Rhoads fan, has launched The Randy Rhoads Memorial Project, which is planning to erect a statue in Rhoads' honor in his hometown of Burbank.

Support for the statue is gaining traction through a global petition. Lonero decided to kickstart the campaign after a conversation with Randy's sister, Kathy Rhoads D’Argenzio, who has given it her backing.

Burbank Park was a key part of Rhoads' roots, with the project set to be funded through community support, donations, and fundraising initiatives. At this moment, the project is working to gather support and funds while preparing for approvals.

The memorial, Lonero says, aims to create a lasting tribute that reflects Rhoads' global impact and deep connection to the Los Angeles music scene. It has been described by the official Rhoads tribute website as “a growing global movement to ensure his legacy is never forgotten”.

The campaign also has the backing of former Ozzy bassist, Bob Daisley, esteemed music photographer Neil Zlozower, and original Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni.

“Randy Rhoads is widely regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in rock history,” Lonero states. “His groundbreaking work with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot reshaped heavy metal, inspired generations of musicians around the world, and set new standards for guitar performance and composition.”

“Randy was a special person and musician,” Daisley concurs. “May his likeness be immortalized in this Burbank statue.”

Supporters can head over to Change to sign the petition, and are encouraged to share the campaign with friends. More information can be found at the Randy Rhoads Memorial Project website.

Rhoads’ legacy has already been honored in a variety of ways, including the MXR Rhoads Distortion+, which was created after MXR’s pedal gurus were granted access to the guitarist’s famed “chip pan” pedalboard.

This month in Bought & Sold it is the turn of former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E Lee to check in and discuss a life in guitars.

Not necessarily the signature guitars that Charvel has dutifully kept in production, but the instruments Lee started on, regretted selling, and bought while half-cut browsing the internet because, like the rest of us, he just can't get enough of this instrument.

What was the first serious guitar that you bought with your own money?

Ah, that’s easy: it was a 1967 SG Standard. Before that, I had a retail-store guitar and a couple of cheap ones, but I wanted an SG, mainly because Tony Iommi played one.

And so I got a newspaper [round] and worked for six months to come up with half the money for the SG, which cost $300; my parents chipped in the other $150. I love SGs. To this day, I have more SGs in my collection than any other guitar.

What was the last guitar you bought and why?

The very last guitar I bought was an Ovation Breadwinner. I remember the ads for them in the 70s and I always thought they looked cool. I always wanted one, and it had to be the white one. One day – because I am a terrible Reverb addict – I had a couple of drinks and started thinking, ‘I wonder if they have an Ovation Breadwinner…’ [Laughs]

I also bought a Yungblud [Epiphone] SG [Junior]. It’s good, but I had it refretted because it had these skinny frets and I like jumbos. I prefer aluminum bridges, too, especially when it’s a one-piece tailpiece like that, because aluminum sings a bit more.

But I can’t swap it with the Yungblud SG because they use a tailpiece that’s slanted and cut specifically to that guitar. But it’s a really good guitar, especially for the price.”

What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve ever had when buying guitars?

As far as guitars, there’s no incredible bargains. But amps… I was touring with Ozzy in England, probably for Bark At The Moon. I used to go into every mom-and-pop shop and see what they had. One day, we were in Northern England and I went into this one shop and an older gentleman in his 60s was behind the counter.

I see this old Marshall with the plexiglass logo, covered in dust. I said to the guy, ‘How’s that Marshall? Where is it from?’ He says, ‘I don’t know… it’s been here for the last 20 or 25 years.’ I was like, ‘What? Does it work?’

It was a 45 with the cream back panel and the gold, square plexiglass logo on the front. He picked it up, dusted it off and even though it had been sitting there for years and years, it was brand fucking new. Not a scratch. He said it had been there since maybe ’64 or ’65, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He said, ‘No. Why? Do you want it?’ I said, ‘I’ll take the chance if it’s cheap enough,’ and I got it for around £60 [approx. $80].

For that amount of money, even if it didn’t work, I’d have figured it out – but it worked. I went to soundcheck, plugged it in and it wasn’t the kind of sound I was looking for with Ozzy – really creamy and sweet and smooth and compressed, with a little sag. That was my greatest find. But I think it went the way of the first SG in the early 90s… I sold it.

What’s the strongest case of buyer’s remorse you’ve had after buying gear?

About 20 years ago, I was in a local guitar shop, looking to see what they had, and there was nothing new but this ’67 Telecaster. And I don’t like Telecasters. I don’t like the way they sound. I don’t like the way they look. I have no fondness for Telecasters at all.

But I picked this one up anyway and it felt really good, so I plugged it in. It sounded really good and I had a connection with it. But I put it back down and said, ‘I don’t really like Teles… I don’t even know why I picked it up.’

Two days later, I went back in there because I couldn’t quit thinking about it and it just felt right, but they’d sold it already. So that’s a different kind of buyer’s remorse, right? Maybe we’d call that no-buyer’s remorse [laughs]. I still think about that Tele every once in a while… there was just a connection there. I really wish I’d bought it.

Have you ever sold a guitar that you intensely regret letting go?

How long have you got?! I had a ’56 Les Paul Junior and a ’67 ES-335 that I wish I’d held on to. I wish I still had my original SG that I sold in the 90s, too. The list is too long and too sad.

What’s your best buying tip for anyone looking for their ultimate guitar?

Play it, don’t just hope for the best. With older guitars, there are some that are really special and some that are just okay – you have to play those first. But I’ve bought new guitars online, like an Eastwood Messenger like [the Musicraft model] Mark Farner used to play with Grand Funk Railroad. If it’s a new guitar, the quality is gonna be pretty standard.

Going back to that Tele I mentioned before, I never would have thought about buying that guitar – and I should have bought that guitar – if I hadn’t tried it. That’s why you need to try a guitar. Sometimes you get a connection where you just feel it, like it’s the right one. And sometimes you’ll pick up a guitar that you’re sure will be the right one and it’s not there.

If forced to make a choice, would you rather buy a really good guitar and a cheap amp, or a cheap guitar and a top-notch amp?

Oh, no! Not this question. I’d rather have a good amp. The shitty amp will make any guitar sound shitty, but a good amp will make almost any guitar sound good. I have some really cheap guitars that I love, where the action is high and [they’re] kinda funky-sounding. But I don’t have any amps that are shitty. The amp is more important.

If you could only use humbuckers or single coil pickups for the rest of your career, which would it be, and why?

Single coils because that would entail the P-90, which is my favourite pickup. Humbuckers are great, but, to me, the P-90s were always the best of both worlds. They have that articulation, attack and aggressiveness that single coils have, but they’re also kind of smooth and beefy-sounding, like humbuckers.

I’ve always loved P-90s. I couldn’t play them back in the day because they didn’t make humbucking P-90s, so you’d have to deal with all that noise that comes with them, and at the volume I played at, it just was untenable. But these days, I’m actually experimenting with P-90s.

Jake's go-to rig

The amp would be my Friedman JEL-50. Friedman’s are great. They’re the closest thing out there to a good, old Marshall, right? And the Friedman cabinet would be loaded with two 60-watt Creambacks, and I’d have another cabinet with 25-watt Greenbacks. The guitars for live would be what I’m most comfortable with, my Charvel Jake E Lee Pro-Mod [So-Cal Style 1 HSS HT RW] guitar.

For pedals, God, it sounds like I’m saying all Jake E Lee shit, but I’d need my Friedman [IR-J] Jake E Lee boost. I’d want to have an MXR Stereo Chorus, the yellow box – I like that mostly because it has a bass and treble adjustment.

When you hit a chorus pedal, it almost always changes your tone on the bottom- and top-end, but this has adjustments to make sure you keep your core sound and tone, just with chorus. And you can even boost it! For a wah, I’d go with the John Petrucci [Dunlop Crybaby] model, and I’d also have an MXR Carbon Copy, which is standard because it’s simple.

I might also have a Strymon El Capistan reverb and echo, which is basically an Echoplex with added reverb. And the last thing is, I have this Pete Cornish pedal that I love, but it’s too expensive to tour with, so I’d want my DeJayce Ultra Gain for boost and distortion. It’s made by Dannyjoe Carter here in Vegas and it’s one of the best distortion/boost pedals I’ve ever played. When I plugged it into my Pignose amp, it sounded like a Marshall stack!

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Regardless of the disputes that took place throughout the decades, the fact remains that Bob Daisley played bass and was a solid contributor to Ozzy Osbourne's first two post-Sabbath albums.

Indeed, 1980’s The Blizzard of Ozz, and 1981’s Diary of a Madman would be the records that would define the rest of Ozzy's solo career.

However, to this day, Daisley says he feels cheated out of the credits and royalties he truly deserves for his contributions, even though he continued to return to the Osbourne camp throughout the ’80s and up until 1991’s No More Tears.

In 2016, the long-standing history of legal battles culminated in a lawsuit against Osbourne and Blizzard Music Limited, alleging that they withheld over $2 million in unpaid royalties from the song Crazy Train alone – a claim that Osbourne and his team refuted. Daisley's case was later dismissed.

“Just ask me what I thought of Rudy Sarzo being credited on Diary of a Madman!” Daisley asserts in a new interview with Bass Player.

“That was a travesty, a true crime against [drummer] Lee Kerslake and me. I’d worked hard on that album – as I do with every album that I’ve been involved with – both with the playing/writing aspects and the production.

“And then, to see all my hard work get credited to someone who’d had nothing to do with any of it was heartbreaking, and the same goes for Lee [who, like Daisley, was also fired before the second album was released].

“I remember the day that Lee and I saw that album and those erroneous credits for the first time; it was like a punch in the solar plexus,” he remembers vividly.

Daisley’s final wish? “I would love to see proper accreditation on that album before I take the long dirt nap,” he concludes.

Bass Player’s career retrospective with Bob Daisley will be published in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, another Ozzy collaborator, Jake E. Lee, recently looked back on his battle to make The Prince of Darkness’ The Ultimate Sin.

Jake E. Lee’s Charvel signature guitar has been revived, with the Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT RW taking key inspiration from his infamous Ozzy Osbourne-era electric guitar.

Following the tragic death of Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee brought stability to the Prince of Darkness’ band, producing two albums – Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin – during a five-year spell in the group.

Much of that period was defined by his Blue Burst Charvel Superstrat, and after a triumphant return to Ozzy’s side at Back to the Beginning, the guitar has been reprised, colorway and all.

Unsurprisingly, it’s well-spec'd, with an alder body carved in the San Dimas shape that Lee was one of the earliest supporters of. There's also a bolt-on maple neck and 12-16” compound radius rosewood fingerboard, capped with 22 medium jumbo frets and white dot inlays.

There’s an interesting, all-powerful pickup combination: a Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker pairs with a DiMarzio SDS-1 middle and neck slanted single-coils for an HSS configuration.

The slanted pups, he says, is a result of Jimi Hendrix, who's leftpaw playing on right-handed guitars meant the pickups were angled in a unique way. So, expect this sleek beast to be capable of “expressive playing” aplenty as it “covers every corner of Jake’s dynamic playing style.”

While whammy bar enthusiasts might decry its Charvel hardtail bridge, it’s in place at Lee’s request to be able to withstand his vibrato style, bolster sustain, and keep its tuning in check.

In a launch video, Lee tells Charvel he’d dreamed of owning a Strat for ages before he had enough dough to buy one. He’d always imagined having one with a whammy before, but after trying eight or nine different models out, he found the hardtail model “sounded better.”

Yet of all the specs, the one that’s perhaps most exciting is the return of the Blue Burst finish that colorized his Ozzy days. As Charvel says, “its return on this signature is a bold, unmistakable nod to the era that defined his legacy.”

In the early ‘80s, after taking his Sunburst Strat to Hollywood, Lee's friend, who worked at Charvel, offered him a respray for his birthday, resulting in what he calls a “lavender sheen”. He played that for much of the Bark at the Moon era, alongside a model originally made for Allan Holdsworth.

As Lee puts, it, “They were sending me leftovers that other people hadn’t picked up. After Ultimate Sin, I felt I should have something a bit more personalized.”

The Blue Burst arrived ahead of The Ultimate Sin tour, and was actually green at first. But he soon realized it looked ugly under stage lights.

“Everything about the Strat is so beautifully designed and perfect,” says Lee. “It is the quintessential electric guitar, and this is my home base.”

The Charvel Jake E. Lee Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT RW is available now for $1,399.99/£1,399/€1,649.

See Charvel for more.

Meanwhile, Lee has spoken to Guitar World about his battle with Ozzy to make The Ultimate Sin a more eclectic record, and has stood by it, regardless of what the critics may say.

Before he joined Badlands with Jake E. Lee, bassist Greg Chaisson auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne’s band – and it was one of the most gruelling audition processes he'd ever gone through.

Original Ozzy bass guitar player Bob Daisley played on 1980's Blizzard of Ozz, but was replaced in 1981 by Rudy Sarzo, who originally declined the gig. Several years later, the bass position opened up once again as Ozzy set to work on what would be his fourth album. Chaisson threw his hat into the ring for the gig.

“Yes, I auditioned for Ozzy for The Ultimate Sin record,” he tells Bass Player. “Ozzy didn’t think I had the right look for MTV. He was probably correct. I do know he liked my bass playing; he told me I was the best of everyone who auditioned.”

But, as Testament virtuoso Alex Skolnick learned, having the right look for Ozzy's band was a vital prerequisite. It wasn’t about talent alone.

As Chaisson remembers, the auditions took place just outside of Inverness, Scotland, at an old manor that featured “a real recording studio in a building outback.” And it was exhaustive.

“When I got there, we didn’t play any of the existing material from either Sabbath or any of Ozzy’s solo stuff,” Chaisson explains. “They had all the songs written, except Shot in the Dark. [Eventual bass player] Phil Soussan brought that song in with him.

“I was there for 21 days and recorded almost every day or night,” he goes on. “I honestly don’t know if anything I recorded ended up on the record, but I do know they liked the bass lines I came up with.”

Chaisson understands why he didn’t get the gig. But the nature of the rejection still irked him.

“If they said I wasn’t good enough, I could go home, practice, and get better,” he reasons.

“But there’s nothing I could do about my image or lack thereof at the time. It would’ve been a great gig, but it was such a trip just to be up there auditioning. Jake E. Lee and I became really good friends while I was there and have maintained that friendship ever since.”

When Lee's relationship with Ozzy deteriorated, paving the way for Zakk Wylde to enter the fray, Lee and Chaisson joined forces under the Badlands banner.

Guitar World's interview with Greg Chaisson will be published in full in the near future.

When Jake E. Lee was hired by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne in 1982, he was a young gun with no experience and huge chops. The former led to a lack of songwriting and publishing on his first record with Ozzy, 1983’s Bark at the Moon.

Lee wasn’t happy, and he wasn’t going to allow a sequel to unfold during Ozzy’s next record, 1986’s The Ultimate Sin.

“They realized they got away with something on Bark at the Moon,” Lee says. “They knew it was something that would never happen again.”

At the time, Ozzy was fresh out of rehab, and Lee, who had been waiting in the wings, was in possession of a rippin’ demo that he and bassist Bob Daisley had put together. Ozzy wanted the songs. Lee wanted a fair contract.

“I told him, ‘I’m not doing anything until I get a contract,’ and so, that came pretty quickly,” Lee says.

What didn’t come quickly was a relationship with producer Ron Nevison, who demanded Lee be in the studio early, record in the cold and use monotone guitar sounds. But Lee had a vision and wasn’t going to bend.

“I wanted to hear the guitar like an orchestra,” he says. “Kind of like having violins on top, cellos on bottom and then having moving and melodic parts,” he says. “It was about more than basic chords and one guitar sound. That wasn’t my vision.”

In the end – and with Ozzy and Sharon’s blessing – Lee got to make a record he was proud of. The Ultimate Sin went on to be a hit, though its synth-heavy production alienated diehards and pissed off heavy metal journalists.

By 1987, after the tour for The Ultimate Sin ended, Lee, who had become increasingly independent, bored and free-thinking, was fired by Sharon and Ozzy, putting an end to a tumultuous five-year, two-album tenure. In short, the guitarist couldn’t be tamed.

“I like that viewpoint,” Lee says with a laugh. “Keep going! But I remember we had a big band dinner, and Ozzy raised his glass and said, ‘This is a toast to Jake E. Lee, who practically produced this record and was a very important part of making it.’ Maybe he felt like my part was getting bigger than a band member should be.

“I don’t know; a lot of things came with that. We were writing for the next record; I was pushing boundaries and getting rejected. I was bored with the restrictions. I’m sure Ozzy didn’t like that. But as far as The Ultimate Sin, I stand by it.”

The story goes that while Ozzy was in rehab, you wrote a lot of music that would end up on The Ultimate Sin.

Yeah. While he was in rehab, I had one of those four-track cassette recorders, which were high-tech at the time. [Laughs] I had a Simmons drum machine and a bass that Charvel gave me, and I’d sit there and make my own demos. That’s when I came up with everything that’s on The Ultimate Sin, except for Shot in the Dark.

And then Bob Daisley assisted the with lyrics, right?

Yes. Bob and I got together, and he put his stamp on everything, which means he made everything a little better. [Laughs] He’d add parts or ask, “Why are you doing this part here? You don’t need that,” kind of like an editor – but he would also contribute stuff.

Did Ozzy like what you’d put together?

I gave him the tapes, which were probably 14 or 15 songs, and he liked most of them. There were a few rejects, where I’d tried to push things a little more prog at some points. I was trying to push the envelope and was honestly getting a little bored with having this hard rock, heavy metal limitation.

You weren’t appropriately credited for your songwriting on Bark at the Moon, and it’s known that you refused to move forward with The Ultimate Sin until you were presented with a fair contract. Was that something that lingered over the sessions?

No. It was something that lingered over the Bark at the Moon sessions. When those were done, I became unhappy, so with The Ultimate Sin, before I gave him my demos, I said, “I want a contract that says exactly what I’m gonna get out of this record. I need songwriting credit. I want the publishing I deserve.”

How did Ozzy take that?

Really, that was it. It’s not like I wanted points off the record; I just wanted songwriting and publishing. I said, “Give me a contract that says that, and we can move forward.” There weren’t any problems.

Another layer of confusion came by way of the bass. Bob Daisley assisted with songwriting and the bass parts. But then Greg Chaisson was hired and fired, giving way to Phil Soussan. The belief is that Bob wrote the bass parts and Phil played a version of those, but Greg has claimed otherwise.

Bob and I had demoed the songs, and Bob’s basslines were on there. Greg was only there for maybe two days, and to be honest, I don’t think we auditioned anyone else. And he didn’t hear any of the new material; it was all older Ozzy stuff. You’re not gonna give someone you’re auditioning a copy of a new album. And you’re not gonna say, “You’re not hired, give me the tape back…” [Laughs]

So Greg didn’t write any basslines for The Ultimate Sin. But then Phil got the job, and he basically took Bob’s parts and simplified them. Bob does some really cool stuff on bass, and I would say Soussan simplified them. That would be the nicest way I could say it. He took the basic bass parts from Bob and kept them simple.

For your part, a song like Never has some pretty inventive rhythm playing that was unique and less primitive for the time.

Artistically, I felt more orchestral. I approached it by building things with moving parts for the rhythms, rather than just playing power chords. I looked at it more like jazz guitar, with weird shit where I’d play a progression of chords and then look for a melody within them to put on top, bottom, or maybe in the middle of the chord so that it was moving.

The rhythms made your playing unique, but the leads soar, too.

A lot of players didn’t focus on rhythm guitar and would say, “Where’s the lead? Okay, here it is,” and then only shine on the lead. For me, rhythm was always the most important part. But for the solos, I would try to take it somewhere else. You’ve established a verse, bridge and chorus, and I would then like to go somewhere else for the solos.

What was the key to your tone on tracks like Shot in the Dark, The Ultimate Sin and Lightning Strikes?

I did everything on the white Charvel, my main guitar. I’d play all the basic rhythms and solos on that, then I’d double it with the blue burst or the purple burst to give it a different sonic stamp.

For amps, I had a ’69 100-watt Marshall Plexi and an early aluminum-faced one from ’70 or ’71, which was more aggressive than the Plexi. Depending on the song, I’d use either/or. If I doubled something, I’d always use the amp I didn’t use the first time.

Ron Nevison, who had a reputation for being a guitar-forward producer, was behind the glass for The Ultimate Sin. What was it like working with him?

Terrible. [Laughs] It was butting heads from the beginning. Ozzy gave us a list of producers, and it wasn’t my choice per se, but he asked me, and I thought Nevison was a guitar producer since he’d worked with UFO and Led Zeppelin, so he had my vote. I’m not saying that’s why Ozzy picked him, but that’s where my vote went.

What made working with Ron so terrible?

I’m a nighttime guy, right? To me, rock is nighttime music you play in clubs until closing time. It didn’t feel like a daytime thing to me. I recorded at night, and that’s how we did Bark at the Moon. Max Norman, who produced that, was cool with that. Ron Nevison wasn’t. He told Sharon [Osbourne] that he wanted to start no later than noon.

Sharon told me that, and I said, “Noon? I’m not even thinking about waking up then. I won’t start any earlier than 6 p.m.” So right off the bat, we had problems, and Nevison told Sharon, “I know a lot of guitar players… we don’t have to use him. We can use other people to come in and play the parts. I have all the demos.”

How did Sharon react?

It was ridiculous. He obviously had no idea what Ozzy was. He’s not somebody who brings in fucking guitar players. But Sharon told me that, and I said, “Really? And what did you say?” Sharon said, “I told him he was out of his fucking mind. You’re playing the guitar. How about we start at 3?”

That was a good compromise, so I said I’d come in at 3, but I never did. [Laughs] I’d get up, look at the clock and if I saw it was 3, I’d say, “Oh, shit, I better get ready…” But I never showed up earlier than maybe 4. I just hated the idea of forcing myself to wake up and play during the day. It felt wrong to me to make an album that would last forever that way. It irked me.

Once you got that out of the way, were you able to find common ground?

No. [Laughs] When I came into the studio for the first time to record, I always played inside, where my amp was, because I like getting feedback. The headphones have to be really loud, but that’s my problem; I like playing in the room.

But I went into the room, and it was fucking freezing. I was like, “What the hell? Can you warm up the room?” Nevison said, “No. I like my musicians to be awake. The cold keeps them awake and alert.”

I said, “Fuck you. You know what it also does? It makes my fingers fucking slow because they’re frozen. I can’t play like that.” So we argued about the temperature in the room, which I won.

How did you win?

I said, “I’m just not fucking playing when my fingers are fucking cold. Fuck you.” [Laughs] He acquiesced, but then, for every song, I liked to tune my amp depending on what I was doing. I might like it more aggressive for one song, and sweeter for another. So, I went into the room, and he goes, “What are you doing?”

I said, “I’m tuning my amp for the song…” He goes, “What was wrong with the last sound?” I said, “Nothing… for that song…” He said, “I think all the guitars should sound the same,” which was another argument I wouldn’t relent on. I said, “No, I’m not playing the same guitar sound.” My vision for The Ultimate Sin was not a single sound done in one day.

What were your thoughts the first time that you listened back to The Ultimate Sin?

When I heard the first mix, I hated it. [Laughs] It was keyboard-heavy, and I talked to Ozzy on the phone and said, “What do you think?” He said, “Too many fucking keyboards!” I said, “Exactly!” Sharon said, “We’re remixing the whole album.”

She told Nevison, “I want Jake there, and I want Jake to approve of the mix as you’re mixing it,” which Nevison hated. But I made sure the guitars were actually there, though I still think it could have been more guitar-heavy. After that, I gotta admit, I liked it.

The album sold well but was raked over the coals by old-school fans and the press.

It got shit on a lot. A lot of people said, “This is Ozzy’s worst record ever.” Ozzy even said in an interview that he didn’t like it and that it was terrible. By the late ’90s, I thought, “I guess it was a shitty record. I just really sucked on it.” I wouldn’t listen to it.

The general viewpoint on the album has changed over the years. Has yours?

I didn’t listen to it for maybe a dozen years. Then a friend of mine said, “You don’t listen to it? It’s great. What are you talking about?” And then Chris Jericho told me, “The Ultimate Sin is the best” and started pointing out things I did on it, and I was like, “You really like it?”

I went back and listened to it front-to-back, and I thought, “This is actually a pretty good record. Why was this shit on so much? Why did I think it sucked when I worked so hard on it?” Now I think it’s a really good record. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s fantastic. I don’t know why it got shit on. I don’t care.

What did The Ultimate Sin reveal to you about Jake E. Lee?

It’s the first record where I knew who I was and what I wanted to do as far as guitar. Bark at the Moon was me as the new kid thrown in there, and the first time I’d recorded professionally. The Ultimate Sin is where I found my voice and my identity. And with all the guitar parts… I wouldn’t change a thing.

There’s stuff on Bark at the Moon that I would change, but not on The Ultimate Sin. I found my identity, but now I’m thinking, I found my identity, and at the time people thought it sucked. [Laughs] But I stand by it. I played everything the way I felt I should, and I carried that over into Badlands. The Ultimate Sin established who I was as a guitar player.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Jake E. Lee has given Yungblud's signature guitar his seal of approval, revealing he's added the affordable Epiphone SG Junior to his collection.

“I bought a Yungblud [Epiphone] SG [Junior],” the former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist reveals in the latest edition of Guitarist. “It’s good, but I had it refretted because it had these skinny frets and I like jumbos.

“I prefer aluminum bridges, too, especially when it’s a one-piece tailpiece like that, because aluminum sings a bit more. But I can’t swap it with the Yungblud SG because they use a tailpiece that’s slanted and cut specifically to that guitar. But it’s a really good guitar, especially for the price.”

Add that to the list of Ozzy connections that now link Lee with the rock 'n' roll torchbearer. Both Lee and Yungblud played at Ozzy's farewell show, Back to the Beginning – an experience that famously highlighted the close bond that Yungblud had with the late Prince of Darkness.

As for Lee's newest guitar, the smartly styled SG Junior – which retails for $599 and is currently sold out on the official Gibson site – takes inspiration from the Grammy-winning artist's original 1964 Gibson model.

It boasts a Classic White colorway, one Dogear Epiphone P-90 Pro – wired to CTS volume and tone potentiometers – and a compensated wraparound Lightning Bar bridge. It's an attractive offering for Yungblud fans and Gibson/Epiphone aficionados alike – and, apparently, Jake E. Lee. Guitar World gave it a tidy four star review.

“Guitars and rock music have always been a fundamental part of my life,” Yungblud said upon the launch. “Literally, my education, I grew up on the counter of a guitar shop, and I’ve been dusting them since I was three years old.

“The reason why I play a White ‘64 SG Junior is because growing up, musicians that were important in my life were Angus Young and Billie Joe Armstrong. This SG Junior is entirely my own, and it already looks fucking iconic,” he concluded.

And, speaking of Yungblud, the British breakout star recently revealed why he will never join a band – despite collaborations with Aerosmith and the Smashing Pumpkins.

For more from Jake E. Lee, plus new interviews with Robben Ford and Kim Gordon, pick up issue 535 of Guitarist from Magazines Direct.

Jake E. Lee has recalled the time he stumbled across the gear bargain of a lifetime while on tour in England with Ozzy Osbourne.

When recently asked by Guitarist if he’s ever picked up an electric guitar bargain, Lee admits he’s not had much luck in that department. But he did once got one hell of an amp steal.

Lee was the Prince of Darkness’ second full-time guitarist, replacing the late Randy Rhoads and playing on two records before Zakk Wylde took over in 1987. Not only did the gig elevate Lee’s career, it also united him with a vintage amp that he managed to pick up for a steal.

“I was touring with Ozzy in England, probably for Bark At The Moon (1983),” he says in the new print issue of Guitarist. “I used to go into every mom-and-pop shop and see what they had. One day, we were in Northern England, and I went into this one shop, and an older gentleman in his 60s was behind the counter.”

Lee was immediately drawn to an old Marshall amp head. It was covered in dust, looking like the kind of ancient relic Indiana Jones would dedicate his life to chasing.

“I said to the guy, ‘How's that Marshall? Where is it from?’” Lee remembers. “He says, ‘I don't know... It's been here for the last 20 or 25 years.’ It was a 45 with a cream back panel and a gold square plexiglass logo on the front.

“He picked it up, dusted it off, and even though it had been sitting there for years and years, it was brand fucking new. Not a scratch. He said it had been there since maybe ‘64 or ‘65, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’

“He said, ‘No. Why? Do you want it?'’” Lee wasn’t going to turn down the chance to take this amp home. “I said, ‘I'll take the chance if it's cheap enough,’ and I got it for around £60. For that amount of money, even if it didn't work, I'd have figured it out – but it worked.”

In today’s money, £60 roughly equates to around £205, or $273. Typically, 1960s Marshall JTM45 amps sell for up to $10K on the second market in 2026. That's insane.

“I went to soundcheck, plugged it in, and it wasn't the kind of sound I was looking for with Ozzy – really creamy and sweet and smooth and compressed, with a little sag,” Lee continues. “[But] that was my greatest find. I think it went the way of the first SG in the early 90s... I sold it.”

Last year, Jake E. Lee battled health issues to perform alongside his former boss at Back to the Beginning. The pair hadn’t seen one another since Lee’s departure from the band.

The latest issue of Guitarist features a deep dive into the legendary Jim Irsay collection, as well as interviews with Kim Gordon, Robben Ford, and Alter Bridge guitarists' Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti.

Head to Magazines Direct to grab a copy.

Billy Corgan doesn’t often get a chance to talk guitar tone. But capturing that elusive sound in his head has driven him throughout his career. He’s spent his life in pursuit of it. “I don’t know if I ever have found my sound,” he says. “That’s the funny part. I’m always chasing something.”

The Smashing Pumpkins leader has never suffered fools and never been afraid to speak his mind. Accordingly, we’ve heard plenty about the band’s ’90s heyday and the interpersonal dramas that ensued. When I mention that I sent off an audition for the band, Corgan laughs. “Oh, wow. You might have dodged a bullet there!”

His quest for tonal refinement is as much a part of the Pumpkins story as the combative studio sessions and era-defining songwriting. It was Corgan’s discovery of the op amp Big Muff that propelled Siamese Dream to new high-gain planes. The explosive riffs of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness were shaped by his tireless preamp and power amp matching, tube swapping, Lace Sensor pickup switching.

And he hasn’t stopped – not just to satisfy his own desires, but also to be part of the changing face of guitars in modern rock.

“The midrange became the focus for guitar music in the 21st century,” he says. “I grew up listening to Hetfield and the scooped tone, and I love that sound. But listen to Metallica’s 2025 guitar sound. The scoop is gone. I don’t love a lot of midrange on guitar, but I’ve had to adjust my ear to make it happen.”

Which brings us to the Supergrace, his pedal amp with British veterans Laney. The two-channel 60W amp in a stompbox was born from his desire to revamp the company’s ubiquitous Supergroup for the 21st century. He suggested they link up with Brian Carstens, builder of Corgan’s signature Grace head, and possessor of “a savant-level understanding of gain and power.”

The resultant Supergrace delivers precision-engineered high-gain sounds alongside woodier vintage tones, essentially bottling Corgan’s live tone in one pedal. He was so confident in the sound that its first road test was in front of 60,000 people in a headline-grabbing guest spot with My Chemical Romance.

“With My Chem, they’re all playing modelers, and they sound great. Having a full rig was complicated. I think that extols the virtue of the pedal.”

This could be just the beginning of a signature relationship with Laney. There’s talk of full-blown tube head collaborations with Carstens down the line. It’s a passion point for the guitarist, who hails the legacy of the family-run company.

“As someone who grew up listening to and being so inspired by this amp, and the man who played it, Tony Iommi, is there anything I can do out of loyalty to help them?”

Testament to his commitment to the brand, Corgan is very giving with his time. We discuss the changing role of tone in rock music, his memories of Ozzy Osbourne’s final show, and why he’s the most excited to make a guitar record in decades.

Like your Reverend and Fender signature guitars, the Supergrace is reasonably priced. Why is making gear affordable to guitar players important to you?

Pretty simple: the guitar that changed my life. I walked into a Guitar Center one day and off the wall I bought an Eric Clapton model ’57 reissue Strat with Lace Sensor pickups. It was affordable enough for me as a touring musician, and that became the main guitar for Siamese and Mellon Collie, and launched 1,000 ships of people chasing that sound.

[Editor’s note: The Lace Sensor pickups on that guitar, which became known as the Bat Strat, were not stock on ’57 reissues of the day. It may have been pre-modded in store. As Corgan recalls, Guitar Center was using Clapton, who used Lace Sensors at the time, to promote the model.]

I didn’t go out and buy some $4,500 boutique guitar. I bought a production-model guitar, and it became super-valuable in my life. So every time I work with a guitar or amp manufacturer, I always say the same thing: I don’t want this to be out of the price range of anybody.

And in that spirit, the Reverends I play on stage are all production models. I don’t have a special one only for Billy – you know, special neck, special pickup – nothing. They are literally off-the-wall Reverends.

You’ve been meticulous about your tone over the years, and it shows. Can you remember the moment you felt you’d found your sound?

The first revelatory moment was when Jimmy Chamberlin sold me what became known as the Gish Strat, the one that was stolen and later returned. And it wasn’t until I played a Strat through a Marshall that I thought, “Okay, I’m in the neighborhood.” That was the first time I thought, “The way I play, expressed through this instrument and this amp, is close to what I’m chasing – what I want to feel like when I play.”

But as soon as I got there, because I was using a JCM800, there was not enough gain. And that started this whole other thing that led to multiple gain stages and jacking the signal in through the low input and KT88 tubes, and this cabinet and this wiring, and anything to just get more gain, including using shorter cabling.

How important is tone when it comes to guitar playing?

The most important thing with any guitar player is how they attack the guitar, physically. Tony Iommi’s attack vector on a guitar is far different than, say, Eddie Van Halen’s or Brian May’s, but that’s what makes them them. Only they play like that. You can imitate, but you’re never going to replicate.

And then tone: even Eddie went from that “brown sound,” that Marshall Plexi. When I was in 5150 I asked him about it, and there in the corner was the amp. There was the amp I spent thousands of hours in my bedroom trying to replicate – not realizing I’m not Eddie Van Halen! It’s never going to work.

But even he had to update his sound. And every time he would do a new amp collab, it got more modern in terms of gain. I was recently watching a YouTube clip of when Van Halen last toured Japan. I saw some fan was complaining about the sound, saying it’s not what it used to be.

And I thought, “Yes, but I don’t think you understand that Ed was under the same pressure we all were, which is, ‘I can play my old shit, but it sounds old.’

You get put in this weird spot where somebody might sound more exciting with tone, even though you’re a better guitar player. And I think that’s always been the case. Clapton used line drivers. Ritchie Blackmore used line drivers. Tony did. They had to brighten up those dark British amps.

Last time I saw the Pumpkins, I was struck by the fact you were using more modulation on your guitar leads. Does that play into your tonal evolution?

Well, I like the way things animate against each other. I can’t say I love it. I just don’t have a better solution to get that movement behind the notes, especially for lead playing. I don’t play that many leads live anymore, so if I’m only going to play two or three leads live, I’ve got to make my point fairly quickly.

I’m 58 years old, and the kineticism of a lead is what I’m interested in. The notes are less important to me. And that might sound strange, but that’s just the way I feel.

In essence, if you’re going to play a lead in an alternative rock band in 2026, what are you trying to say? No-one’s going to care that you can play good, because there are 50 10-year-olds playing Eruption on YouTube.

There’s nothing actually that impressive about somebody being able to play the guitar at a decently high level anymore. So I think it’s the expressive quality that makes it interesting. I’m more interested in creating a feeling than showing off.

We’re talking about Laney, founded in Birmingham, where Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show took place. What did it mean to you to perform at that show?

It was honestly one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. The music, and being there in support of the band and Ozzy, meant a lot to me as a fan and as somebody who knows the Osbournes a bit personally.

I think it’ll go down as one of the great days in rock history. Just to be part of that lineup was insane, but it was that incredible moment where so many people pulled together in a common cause to celebrate the band and Oz, and everybody was so graceful about it, the vibe, the performances, the generosity.

I noticed when you got up with your fellow Chicago “metal Yardbirds”, Adam Jones and Tom Morello, you didn’t play guitar. Why not?

[Laughs] Well, originally I was going to play guitar, and then Tom wrote me and said, “Are you cool with us having K.K. up?” And I was like, “I’m getting out of the way on that one!”

I’m a huge K.K. Downing fan. In fact, I own his old number one amp and his pedalboard from the ’70s and ’80s. He put them up for auction. I saw him play that amp and that pedalboard and that V at a racetrack here in Chicago in 1982 when they were on the Screaming for Vengeance tour.

I’m not sure K.K. knows who I am at this point. I tried to talk to him about the gear, and he seemed a bit bewildered, like, “Who’s the fan that wandered in off the street?” But to stand there in Birmingham and play, not only with that great lineup on stage, but also with K.K.

It was deafening on stage. I do prize my hearing, but when he was soloing during Snowblind, I went out of my way to stand in front of that cabinet to just listen to pure K.K. with the wah and the V. And it was like an out-of-body experience.

We’ve spoken about keeping up with guitar trends. When Kiki Wong joined Smashing Pumpkins, you said you were already familiar with her on Instagram. Are there any other social media guitarists you’re a fan of?

I burned out on it, I think. And I don’t mean this as criticism – there are some unbelievable guitar players on social media. Where I get a little lost is I don’t see where a lot of that great playing is converting into popular music, whether it’s in popular metal bands or popular alternative rock bands.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there are guitar players that I wouldn’t know that got super-popular on Instagram and now they’re in the biggest metal band in Finland or something.

I guess I’m old-school. I want to see those people on stage. I want to see them making the Metallica songs of tomorrow, or Megadeth or Slayer or something. I want to see that crowd of guitar players convert those incredible abilities into the popular culture.

What if Clapton had just been a guitar influencer and hadn’t been in John Mayall and Cream and Derek and the Dominos? The reason everybody knows Eric Clapton’s name is not because he’s a great guitar player. It’s because he made some of the most popular music of the 20th century – and, oh, by the way, it has incredible guitar.

The last Smashing Pumpkins record, Aghori Mhori Mei, had a great reception. Do you see yourself continuing down a heavier path on your next release?

I’m working on music, and I’m very focused on guitar music. It’s the most motivated I have been to make a guitar record in 20-25 years. Part of that is shoegaze music has really come back in the culture, which we’re commonly associated with.

There came a point in the mid-2000s where it seemed like guitar was totally out of vogue. I’m not a Luddite – if people are not interested in guitar, that’s cool by me, and I’ll try to come at it a different way. But guitar is the thing I understand the most, and where I’ve had the most influence.

So I’m excited to once more dive into the sea of pedals and amps and guitars and see if I can come up with something new to say. And I think, in a good way, the bar is very high right now.

There’s a lot of very interesting guitar bands coming on the scene, and they’re saying lots of new things. Some are familiar – I think, “Well, you’ve definitely listened to me and Swervedriver,” but that’s cool, because we stole from everybody.

It’s just that young people are listening to guitar music, and the young guitar players of today have something new to say. It inspires me to get back on the horse one more time.

What will you change about your playing and your sounds to say something new with the instrument?

That’s a really good question, because I just did the operatic interpretation of Mellon Collie in Chicago at the Lyric Opera. And a lot of the parts that the orchestra was playing were the guitar parts, and they translated quite beautifully. In the band – and I’m not making this up – we used to call it orchestral arranging.

We would look at the wall of guitars as if, “This is the oboe and this is the violin.” So, I’m inspired to go back and once more operatically arrange the way I hear the music, and then use new technology and new approaches to guitar to achieve the polyphony that I would be interested in.

Mellon Collie was the peak of a lot of years of experimentation. But we also made that album thinking, “OK, that’s the end of this. There’s no chapter beyond this. We’ve taken this as far as we can go.” Hence, 46 guitars on Thru the Eyes of Ruby, Jelly Belly – all those crazy overdubs.

So I would like to come at it now down the road, because if Mellon Collie was the summit, Machina [/The Machines of God] was the deconstruction of that approach.

I haven’t really done that Siamese guitar stacking since Oceania in 2012. But I did it knowing I wasn’t that into it. It was like, “I’m getting all this pressure to do this again.” So rather than run away from it or shut my ears, I’ll approach it from the standpoint of, “I’m not sure I have anything new to say, but I’ll try.”

How has your relationship with the guitar changed from the ’90s to now?

I’ve always been fairly rewarded for my guitar playing. But it was not the main thrust of my thing. And I think this is the reason a lot of the guitar magazines went off me in the 2000s – because I was being critical of the guitar. I wasn’t doing like, “The guitar is great and I love my guitar.” I was actually saying something more artistic, which is: “Look, the guitar needs to innovate.”

The guitar needs to be moved forward in terms of technical and mechanical innovation. If you look at the major companies, the Fenders and the Gibsons, they’re basically running museums half the time; their main focus is not innovation. This is why I’m in a relationship with Reverend, because the focus is innovation.

I used to write guitar advice columns for Guitar World. I was totally in that community, and then they just booted me out, because I wasn’t saying the right kind of political things anymore. And what’s even weirder is because of that, those 15-20 years where I wasn’t part of “guitar world,” a lot of young guitar players don’t even know I’m the one playing the guitar! They think it’s James [Iha], because they assume I’m the singer and James is the guitar player.

So even just getting back into the conversation about guitars is a relatively recent thing, and obviously part of it is me making guitar music again. But also I think it’s just I’ve always come at it from a different perspective.

By the time I was 17/18, I could play lightning-fast. And for whatever reason, I just hit the wall. I focused more on innovation and bringing something new to the table, and getting out of the gunslinger wars, and realizing I was never going to be better than Steve Vai or Zakk Wylde – and that was OK.

I feel like I’ve come full circle, where people now understand what I did, what I’ve actually contributed, and I don’t need to play any game about it. I can talk about what I love: the guitar. And I think you can see my passion for the instrument.

• The Laney Supergrace Loudpedal is out now. Head to Laney for more info.

Over the weekend, the BRIT Awards became the latest institution to deliver a star-studded tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, with Zakk Wylde stealing the show with a massive guitar solo.

The Prince of Darkness’ passing, just weeks after his Back to the Beginning farewell show, shook the music world and there have been a raft of tributes in his wake.

First, Nuno Bettencourt, Aerosmith, and Yungblud performed an Ozzy medley at the MTV VMAs. Then, Slash and Andrew Watt lead the charge at the Grammys. The hat trick was rounded out at the BRITS in Manchester, England, over the weekend.

There, Ozzy alumni Zakk Wylde, Robert Trujillo, Adam Wakeman, and Tommy Clufetos united for a slide guitar-propelled performance of No More Tears. Wylde became Ozzy’s third full-time guitarist after Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee in 1987, while Trujillo was part of Ozzy’s band for 2001’s Down to Earth.

Drummer Clufetos and keyboardist Wakeman (the son of Rick), meanwhile, were part of Ozzy’s latter-day live band. This is also the core of the band that helped induct Ozzy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in late 2024.

Wylde, playing his offset, Bullseye-laden Wylde Audio Nomad electric guitar, was a real tour de force on the night, performing a 52-second solo. It starts slow, with wailing notes, as he strides confidently down the stage's runway. Then comes a blur of pentatonic licks as the stage is lit up with images of Ozzy.

But some credit must go to their surprise frontman, British pop heavyweight Robbie Williams, whose performance came after a surprise collaboration with Tony Iommi.

In related news, Wylde recently looked back on writing a tribute song to Ozzy on Black Label Society's new album.

Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne invented heavy metal together. Iommi gave it its inaugural riff. Ozzy gave metal a voice. And they might have had their moments over the years, with Ozzy’s fractious departure from Black Sabbath in 1979 a rift that took some healing, the pair have a closeness that few can understand.

Jack Osbourne can. The son of the late Sabbath frontman has seen this up close, and speaking with Billy Corgan for The Magnificent Others podcast, he revealed that a moment on the night before Ozzy and Sabbath’s farewell show, Back to the Beginning, in July 2025, typified the “interesting dynamic” between the two.

Osbourne was feeling some pre-show jitters. Black Sabbath were going out in the only way they knew how, with the biggest heavy metal one-dayer in history.

“He was so nervous about making sure that they were happy and everyone was good, like, he was very nervous,” says Osbourne. “But he was also really happy about it. He was. He felt good.”

A lot of preparation had already been done. There had been some hairy moments, too. Ozzy’s ailing health had threatened the show on a number of occasions. Even close to showtime on 5 July, there was a worry that they might have to cancel it. With that in mind, the final soundcheck carried a certain gravitas. Everyone had an edge to them. Ozzy’s voice wasn’t quite there, and Iommi noticed.

“He was soundchecking, so he wasn’t going to go out there with his A-game on,” recalls Osbourne. “He was just making sure everything worked, and ran through the set. And Tony said, ‘Hey, you’re singing flat.’ And my dad got really pissed off. He was upset.

“And my mom was like, ‘Oh, you know dad.’”

But Jack could see it for what it was. Only someone that close to Ozzy could have said that on this of all nights. As Corgan suggests, Iommi was like a big brother, Ozzy the little brother. That was the dynamic. Osbourne agrees, and furthermore, that moment – as fractious as it was – speaks to the closeness between the two. We would all do well to find a friend as close as Iommi was to Ozzy.

“I was like, ‘No, I think it’s a good thing,’” says Osbourne. “I think it’s a good thing because, out of the 40-whatever-thousand people at that stadium, the only person in that stadium that could ever say to my dad, ‘Hey, do better,’ was Tony. And I think everyone needs someone like that.”

Osbourne says all of the original Black Sabbath members were like brothers. Even drummer Bill Ward, who had sat out Sabbath’s reunion shows over various disputes, was back for this show. It was all water under the bridge.

“Although Tony and my dad’s relationship over the years had its times of being contentious, it was family,” says Osbourne. “They were brothers: Geezer, Bill, like, closest family that anyone could ever ask [for]. They’ve done life together.”

Furthermore, he believes Iommi was right to say what he said. Ozzy, who passed away on 22 July, aged 76, ultimately got the send-off he deserved.

“As I look back on it, I’m like, ‘No, I think that that was OK to say, because they knew it was the last time,” says Osbourne. “And it was like, ‘Hey, get out there, everyone needs to give it.”

Having Zakk Wylde for what would turn out to be Ozzy Osbourne's – and by extension, Black Sabbath's – final show, Back to the Beginning, was a no-brainer considering he was, on and off, the Prince of Darkness’ right-hand man and go-to guitarist since 1987.

However, such a large-scale event doesn't happen without its fair share of technical hurdles, and Wylde recalls what he calls his “Spinal Tap moment” during the show that drew 40,000 metalheads to Villa Park in Birmingham, and an additional 5.8 million on the accompanying livestream.

“When we were doing Mama, I’m Coming Home, I remember… the friggin’ acoustic’s over here, and the mic stand’s over there, and I’m like, ‘Oh, you gotta be kidding me, right?’” Wylde recalls of that day.

“So we start, the boss [Ozzy] cracked one of the notes, and I just go, ‘Alright, I have quite the metal conundrum right now. Not a pickled conundrum, a metal conundrum.’ So I was like, ‘How am I gonna get the guitar over to here without stopping playing?’

“So I was just hoping maybe Criss Angel [the famed magician and illusionist] could advise me on some magic at this point to try and get the guitar to levitate over the year,” he quips. “But I just couldn't get in touch with Father Criss. So I had to manually pick up the guitar and had to stop playing.”

Looking back, Wylde describes the whole snafu as “just comedy – because it was the biggest show on the planet. There's always got to be some Spinal Tap moments going on. It just did, without fail. So that was pretty funny.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Wylde opened up about writing his recent tribute song to Ozzy.

Keep an eye on Guitar World for our upcoming interview with Zakk Wylde.

Marty Friedman states he has no regrets. He’s seen and done just about everything a guitarist can, with career highs including Cacophony’s Speed Metal Symphony (1987), his debut solo record, Dragon’s Kiss (1988), and Megadeth’s Rust in Peace (1990). And in 2024 he dropped what he feels is his definitive work, Drama.

He’s delighted to have reconnected with old pal Dave Mustaine, and to have joined Megadeth onstage for a few songs at Budokan and Wacken in 2023 – which reminded the world how high the stakes go when he’s on a big stage.

“It may be because it’s what I do most naturally and best,” Friedman says. “When someone’s doing what they’re meant to do, it has a profound effect. Perhaps greater than someone who has the gift to play beautifully but who’s multi-talented with a true calling in carpentry or aviation, for example. There aren’t a lot of other things I do well!”

Friedman, of course, is aware that Mustaine is in the process of calling time on Megadeth – which has him thinking about his own past and future.

“I'm proud of the legacy I've built with the band, and I love the fans even more now,” he says. “They remind me of myself as a teenage Kiss fan.

“Whenever Megadeth retires will be the right time. Dave and I could have both retired decades ago, but we’re both lifers – we play music because that is just what we do. When the grind of touring eventually outweighs the joy of playing, I’d say that’s the time to retire.”

What are your earliest memories of music?

Johnny Cash had a TV show when I was a kid, and it came on right at my bedtime, and I used to plead with my parents to let me watch it. Most of the time they didn’t, so I listened to it through the central heating vent in the floor. He was always talking about jail and rebellious stuff – it was this forbidden thing, and I loved it.

What specifically drew you to the guitar?

I never cared about guitar! I thought they were for folk singers and college kids singing around the campfire. When I saw Kiss in concert I just wanted to be in that high-energy, high-adrenaline world, and the guitar seemed to be the way to get into it.

How did the scene you grew up in affect you?

I was very lucky. My first band, Deuce, was the foundation of everything to come. I was playing live in front of people from the very beginning, even though I could barely play! It forces you to be an entertainer, to always play your best and to avoid screwing up at all costs. No one hears your mistakes if you’re in your bedroom.

After Jake E. Lee left Ozzy, you auditioned for the job. What was that like?

I was flattered to be flown down to audition. I think I played very well, but my image at that time was more of a guitar nerd than a partying rock star. I didn’t look like the guys in the band. I think Zakk Wylde was absolutely perfect for Ozzy, with more than enough playing ability to back up his wild appearance.

How did you first meet Mike Varney, leading to signing a deal in the so-called shred era?

Back then, “shred” wasn’t a term you heard much. It always made me think of a guy playing as fast as possible in his basement – fingers were flying and looking impressive, but if you closed your eyes it sounds like absolute vomit. But a lot of people listen with their eyes; they see these guys and are impressed and they think shredding is cool. I hated being lumped in with shredders.

I first met Varney by sending a demo to his Spotlight column in Guitar Player magazine. He called me and we made several albums together. But it slightly irked me that despite all that, he never put me in his column!

Tell us about the writing and recording of solo album Dragons Kiss, which put you on the map.

I’d put all my guts and all my material into Cacophony's Speed Metal Symphony, so when Mike Varney signed me on for a solo album, I had no material. I was motivated solely by the fact that a label was willing to put out my music. I didn’t want to let anyone down.

The recording was brutal. It was done in shifts – daytime was Dragon's Kiss and nighttime was Jason Becker's Perpetual Burn, which I was also co-producing. I was in the studio 16 to 18 hours a day, with no time for trivial things like food and sleep. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way!

It was forcing me to come up with so much on the spot. Sonically, Dragon’s Kiss can be hit and miss, but I’m glad I put Forbidden City on there. I feel that was a well-done piece of music, despite my limited life experience at the time.

What had led to your hooking up with Jason Becker?

Mike had played me a demo of Jason beforehand, and I was nonplused. The best I could say about it was that he was good for a 16-year-old – but so what? But Mike insisted I meet him, and since Mike was holding the keys to the album I wanted to release, I humored him.

When Jason came into my apartment I immediately fell in love with the guy. I could see that, although songwriting and recording were not yet things he was any good at, he had an unlimited amount of talent for playing the guitar.

So I made the ultimate sacrifice and scrapped my solo album to form the band Cacophony with him. We became best friends almost immediately. I was growing as a guitarist at a pretty good pace, but Jason was growing like some kind of Guinness world record holder!

In one short year, at age 18, he went from a crappy demo tape to writing, arranging, and recording Perpetual Burn, an album that stands up today as a benchmark of jaw-dropping guitar playing. It was uncanny.

Your work with Jason, along with your solo work, got your star rising. Is that what first caught Dave Mustaine's attention?

No – Dave didn’t particularly like the Cacophony stuff. One time we were listening to it in the car and he was telling me he liked this part and that part. But he’s always been a song guy, and Cacophony was less about songs, more about new melodies, unique sections, far-out arrangements – and, of course, guitar acrobatics. Great songwriters, we were definitely not!

I was recommended to Megadeth's manager by a mutual friend, after they’d unsuccessfully auditioned around 60 guitarists.

Were you a fan of Megadeth?

I wasn't too familiar with the band, but I remember really liking the Peace Sells album when it came out. What I knew I could bring to the table was a much more melodic way to present the heavy music they were doing, and I could update the lead guitar work.

Megadeth always had good lead guitar work, but when I joined they only had two major-label albums out, and the guitar was not recorded very well – so you couldn’t tell how good it was. I wanted a much stronger and clearer presentation of guitar. We got exactly that when we started recording together.

It's undisputed that your era with Megadeth bred the band's best work. Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction are all-time albums. Why do you think that is?

We were each the perfect guy for the job, all in the band at the same time. No weak links, and we constantly pushed each other. It was a lot of very hard work, and very little resting on laurels, if any. We were deeply emotionally invested in the product we were creating.

In my autobiography Dreaming Japanese, I went into great detail about making the albums. Each had separate challenges; some were more fun than others, but none of us ever slacked off on any of them. It’s no coincidence that they still hold up pretty well today.

While you were with Megadeth in the ‘90s, you continued your solo work. Was Dave okay with that?

Dave and Megadeth management were totally cool with my solo career coinciding. At the time I wasn’t touring with my own band, like I am now. That would have likely caused a conflict. But when I was off tour, I was always working on my own music as well as Megadeth stuff.

A lot of people think it was a mistake to leave Megadeth – but there’s a strong argument that you left at the right time.

I understand that, for a fan, anything that changes your favorite lineup is catastrophic. But for me, it was the best career move I ever made. It wasn’t easy to leave such a well-established band that I’d had so much success with.

But leaving allowed me to eclipse my role in Megadeth on so many levels and create a niche for myself that’s served me very well. Megadeth went on to win Grammys and do some amazing things in my absence, so all is well on both sides.

Things seem to have thawed between you and Dave in recent years.

It’s great – we’ve both kept our things going strong for several years, so there’s a mutual respect between us. It was quite casual and easy for us to play together the few times we have at Budokan and Wacken.

You’ve remained prolific ever since, releasing amazing solo records, leading up to Drama. What keeps you chasing new sounds?

There are always new depths of melody to be created and new expressions to share, and I’ve always pursued those things. I think Drama is the ultimate representation of my musical evolution.

I’ve been concentrating on touring the album much longer than usual before starting the next one. I can't imagine topping it – so, being the lazy ass I can often be, I’ll just enjoy playing the Drama music on tour until I feel like I can do something better.

What’s the backstory of your guitars and the gear that gets your notable tone?

I’m very fortunate to have signature guitars, pickups, amps, and pedals. The Jackson Marty Friedman MF-1, the EMG MF pickups, the ENGL Marty Friedman Inferno amp, and the Tech 21 Marty Friedman pedal will lead anyone to the tones I like.

To be honest, though, I’d sound like me through any gear. I use these products because they’re extremely reliable work tools, rather than having some kind of special sound I can’t live without. I just need a workhorse that can take a constant beating.

What are you up to now, and what’s next?

I've been touring for the Drama album since it came out in late 2024 and I plan to tour it even more in 2026. And I’ve been working with several Japanese artists, doing plenty of Japanese TV shows as usual. And I have a YouTube channel called Rock Fujiyama that has me playing guitar with interesting guests every week.

• Drama is on sale now.

Anthony Jackson’s longtime manager, Danette Albetta, has voiced her disappointment over the Grammy Awards’ tribute to the late bass guitar legend, commenting that the telecast “missed an opportunity to educate the public on a true pioneer.”

Jackson was included in the Grammys’ Ozzy Osbourne tribute, with an all-star lineup that included Slash and Ozzy producer Andrew Watt, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith on drums, and Duff McKagan on bass guitar.

The segment also paid homage to Brian James of the Damned, Mick Ralphs of Mott the Hoople, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, and Blondie drummer Clem Burke (although not Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds).

“To place Anthony within a tribute centered on Rock/Metal was a grave miscalculation of his musical identity,” wrote Albetta in an open letter to Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “Anthony’s soul and career belonged in the segments celebrating R&B, Jazz, and Sophisticated Pop.

“His work with Chaka Khan, Steely Dan, and The O’Jays defines the very ‘Recording Excellence’ the Academy claims to uphold.”

“By failing to contextualize his brilliance within the R&B and Jazz lineage where he spent decades as a cornerstone, the telecast missed an opportunity to educate the public on a true pioneer.”

Having made his mark with his pioneering use of a pick and flanger pedal on the O’Jays’ 1973 smash, For the Love Of Money, Jackson perfected his craft as a first-call session ace, resulting in landmark sessions with the likes of Chick Corea, Al Di Meola, Paul Simon, Mike Stern, Wayne Krantz, Hiromi, and many more.

With a vision of the electric bass as a member of the guitar family, with the tone of a piano’s bass strings – Jackson also invented the 6-string contrabass guitar, launching the wave of extended-range basses.

“Our community expected – and Anthony deserved – a tribute that reflected the elegance and technical mastery he brought to the Great American Songbook and the R&B pantheon,” Albetta continued.

“I request a formal acknowledgment of this oversight and ask how the Academy intends to better honor instrumental innovators who operate behind the scenes but define the sound of generations.

“Anthony Jackson’s legacy is not a footnote; it is the foundation.”

Victor Wooten echoed these sentiments, commenting, “I love this Danette. You are exactly right!!!”

Aside from the Anthony Jackson tribute, the Grammy Awards ceremony was a successful evening for bass-playing acts, with Frank Bello, Christian McBride and Pino Palladino all scooping awards.

Zakk Wylde was Ozzy Osbourne's right-hand man on-and-off for decades – since 1987, to be exact. After earning his reputation thanks to his guitar work on Ozzy's 1988 album No Rest for the Wicked, followed by 1991’s No More Tears, and 1995’s Ozzmosis, Wylde and Ozzy developed a sibling-like relationship that continued till the day the Prince of Darkness passed away, on July 22, 2025.

“I don't think any of us were picturing Oz passing away two weeks after the gig [referring to Back to the Beginning],” he tells Guitar World in an upcoming interview.

“So I just figured... hopefully we'll make records, and then hopefully, because the festival went so well, Mom [Sharon Osbourne] puts together a Back to the Beginning once a year... we'll do one in Brazil, do one in Japan. You know that one was in Birmingham, then do another one in the States somewhere.”

He continues, “You could just mix it around every year – one in Germany next year, the next one would be in California, the next one's in Chicago... That's the way I was looking at everything.”

Wylde recalls how “shocked” he was when he received the call from Jack Osbourne, Ozzy's son, because, as he describes it, “Keith Richards, Lemmy, Ozzy... they're like the air you breathe, and [you think] they're going to be around forever.”

As part of his grieving process, Zakk Wylde also wrote a song that pays homage to his brother-in-arms, Ozzy’s Song – set to be the closing track of his new album with Black Label Society, Engines of Demolition (due March 27).

“I wrote the music before Oz passed away,” he explains. “But after Oz passed away, when we went back to England and we laid Ozzy to rest, when I got right from that, I went straight to Pantera celebrations with Phil [Anselmo], Rex [Brown], and Charlie [Benante]. So I hooked back up with the fellas, and we were back rolling.

“And then when I got done, when we got done with the Pantera celebration run, when I got home, I was just sitting in the house and [this] is when I wrote the lyrics and just sang the song. I was just thinking about Oz, and then I just wrote the lyrics.”

In more recent Zakk Wylde news, the longtime Ozzy guitarist and Black Label Society frontman revealed the three most important guitars in his life, and, spoiler alert, the list includes his now-iconic ‘Grail’ Les Paul.

Guitar World’s exclusive interview with Wylde will be published in the coming weeks.

• Correction 02/03/26: This article initially incorrectly stated the title of the song written in tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and has been updated to reflect the correct title: Ozzy’s Song.

When Marcus Miller shared a photo of fellow bassist Pino Palladino at the 2026 Grammy Awards, it wasn’t just a backstage moment – it was a quiet summit of bass guitar history.

In fact, the term “bass guitar” next to either of their names somehow falls short of describing their enormous contributions, both on recordings and onstage.

Miller, the architect of modern funk and jazz fusion, stood alongside Palladino, whose lines have powered everything from pop to neo-soul, prior to a special tribute performance honouring the late Roberta Flack and D’Angelo.

“I’m performing with Ms. Lauryn Hill tonight in a tribute to Roberta Flack,” wrote Miller on social media. “She’s also doing an iconic tribute to D’Angelo. So of course the great bassist Pino Palladino is here too.”

Having put fretless bass on the pop music map in the 1980s, Pino Palladino continued to bolster his resume with stints in the Who – replacing the late John Entwistle – and D’Angelo’s heralded 2000 album, Voodoo.

“I met D'Angelo while doing a track for B.B. King's Deuces Wild, and we hit it off right away,” Palladino told Bass Player. “Whenever he sang, I played better!

“He saw me playing my '63 P-Bass and said, ‘That's a Bootsy bass, right?’ I mentioned that James Jamerson also played one, and he went crazy over that.

“It turned out the approach I'd been focusing on was the concept he wanted. He just said, ‘You've got the sound I'm looking for – come and play bass on Voodoo.’”

Following a medley of hit songs from D’Angelo’s back catalogue, Hill shifted into a homage to Roberta Flack, who Miller worked with in the early ‘80s.

Talking to Red Bull Music Academy back in November 2015 he said: “I was in Roberta Flack’s band for a couple of years. I met Luther Vandross in that band. It was amazing to play in her band and learn how to really play a ballad, how to use space, how not to play all the notes, just play the right notes. I think I was 19, 20, maybe just turning 21, right before I started with Miles Davis.

“A few years later in the mid-’80s I came back to Roberta Flack, but this time as a writer and a producer. I produced an album for her called Oasis, and I was very proud to return to somebody in whose band I had worked. It was fantastic to give back to Roberta Flack after I had received so much from her.”

With Lalah Hathaway, Miller later covered Flack’s hit Killing Me Softly on his 2002 live album Marcus Miller: Master of All Trades.

Other notable bass-driven acts to win at this year’s Grammys included Christian McBride, whose big band album Without Further Ado, Vol. 1 scooped Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.

Meanwhile, Guns n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan was on hand to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and his GnR bandmate Slash.

To cap it off, That Wasn’t A Dream by Pino Palladino and guitarist Blake Mills won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

The 2026 Grammys took place last night (February 1) and proved to be something of a guitar music love-in. From Justin Bieber wielding a 1988 Yamaha RGX 612S, to Turnstile winning both Best Rock Album and, perhaps more controversially, Best Metal Performance, pop stars and quintessential rock bands alike were out in full force this year, flying the flag for the instrument.

The Ozzy Osbourne tribute (or should that be tributes?) took center stage across the weekend. Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll both honored the Prince of Darkness at record executive Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammys gala on Saturday night – with MGK opting for 2007's I Don’t Wanna Stop and the country star giving a heartfelt rendition of 1991's Mama, I’m Coming Home.

The award show’s own tribute took place on the actual Grammy stage, with an all-star lineup that included a Les Paul-laden Slash and Ozzy producer Andrew Watt brandishing an SG, Duff McKagan on bass, and Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith on drums.

Post Malone – who collaborated with Ozzy on Take What You Want and It’s a Raid from Osbourne’s first new album in a decade, 2019’s Ordinary Man – took up vocal duties on an abbreviated rendition of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs, a version that visibly left the Osbourne family fighting back tears.

Aside from the Prince of Darkness, this year's In Memoriam segment kicked off with a voiceover from Bruce Springsteen, paying tribute to Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson: “The last of the Wilson brothers may be gone, but he leaves behind so many great songs, and good vibrations.”

John Mayer also paid his respects to Dead & Company bandmate and Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir, also in a voiceover: “He understood songwriting to its core, having written and performed some of the most enduring music in American history.

“Bob was a messenger, not only for the music he made with the Grateful Dead, but for the tapestry of influences that birthed it … Bob has left us, but the songs he sang will remain a road map for a better, more meaningful life. See you down the road, Ace.”

Neo-soul pioneer D'Angelo was honored by a host of artists and contemporaries: Lauryn Hill – marking her first Grammys performance since 1999 – Raphael Saadiq, Anthony Hamilton, Leon Thomas, and Jon Batiste.

And while guitar stars, including the likes of Ace Frehley were included in the segment, Mastodon fans pointed out that Brent Hinds was noticeably omitted, with Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Zappa Plays Zappa bassist, Pete Griffin, taking to social media to call out the institution: “Shame on @grammys for not including my brother (and fellow Grammy winner) Brent Hinds in their ‘in memoriam’ segment.”

The omission seemed particularly odd, given Hinds had been nominated for no less than six Grammys, and won one in 2018 – Best Metal Performance for Sultan's Curse – during his tenure with Mastodon.

Yungblud, Ozzy’s mentee and part of the new vanguard leading rock into the future, won his first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for his career-making rendition of Changes at Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning concert.

“To grow up loving an idol who helped you develop your identity, not only as a musician, but as a man, is something that I’m truly grateful for,” he said in his acceptance speech.

“But then to get to know them and to form a relationship with them, and to honor them at their final show, and receive this because of it, is something that I and I think we are finding a bit strange to comprehend.

“We fucking love you, Ozzy,” he continued. “We would all like to thank Sharon, Jack, Kelly and Aimee [Osbourne] for this opportunity, and everyone at the Back To The Beginning show. Six generations of rock musicians came together in the name of our genre, in the name of Sabbath and in the name of Ozzy Osbourne.

“I deeply love this genre, it’s all I’ve ever known. I want to dedicate it to everyone in the guitar shop that I grew up in, and everyone in a guitar shop or in a bedroom with a dream. Rock music’s fucking coming back – watch out pop music, we’re gonna fucking get ya.”

And speaking of rock music's comeback, Turnstile bagged Best Rock Album for last year's triumphant album, Never Enough.

Accepting the award, frontman Brendan Yates commented, “The community we found through punk and hardcore music has given us a safe place to swing in the dark and land somewhere beautiful. So to our family, our friends, our partners, our peers, and to Baltimore, thank you. We love you.”

Perhaps more surprisingly, the genre-blending band also managed to win Best Metal Performance for Birds, beating the more metal through-and-through acts Dream Theater, Ghost, Sleep Token, and Spiritbox.

More standout guitar moments came by way of Bruno Mars, who, together with K-Pop star Rosé, delivered an overdriven rendition of their global hit APT.

Armed with a black Les Paul – as opposed to his signature Fender – Mars added some extra grit, as well as a squealing guitar solo, to the pop-punk-inflected track as the duo, who were nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, opened the show.

And it very much seemed like Justin Bieber went full-on Mk.gee with a stripped-down, guitar and looper performance of Yukon – from last year's album Swag (which, fun fact, included the contributions of both Mk.gee as well as his frequent collaborator Dijon).

Bieber’s guitar of choice was a left-handed purple 1988 Yamaha RGX 612S that definitely stood out on stage – an off-kilter choice that continues the trend of pop and indie stars à la Kesha and Phoebe Bridgers opting for ’80s and ’90s guitars more typically associated with metal or hardcore, whether for aesthetics or tone (or both).

Here's the full list of winners and nominees in the big four categories – and the guitar-adjacent ones:

Song of the year

Billie Eilish - Wildflower

Lady Gaga – Abracadabra

Doechii – Anxiety

Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.

Bad Bunny – DtMF

Hunter/x – Golden

Kendrick Lamar feat SZA – Luther

Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Record of the year

Kendrick Lamar feat SZA - Luther

Bad Bunny – DtMF

Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Doechii – Anxiety

Billie Eilish – Wildflower

Lady Gaga – Abracadabra

Chappell Roan – The Subway

Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.

Album of the year

Winner: Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos

Justin Bieber – Swag

Sabrina Carpenter – Man's Best Friend

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Kendrick Lamar – GNX

Leon Thomas – Mutt

Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia

Best new artist

Olivia Dean

Katseye

The Marías

Addison Rae

Sombr

Leon Thomas

Alex Warren

Lola Young

Best pop solo performance

Lola Young – Messy

Justin Bieber – Daisies

Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild

Lady Gaga – Disease

Chappell Roan – The Subway

Best pop vocal album

Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Justin Bieber – Swag

Sabrina Carpenter – Man's Best Friend

Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful

Teddy Swims – I've Tried Everything But Therapy Pt 2

Best pop duo/group performance

Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity

Huntr/x – Golden

Katseye – Gabriela

Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.

SZA With Kendrick Lamar – 30 For 30

Best traditional pop vocal album

Laufey – A Matter Of Time

Laila Biali – Wintersongs

Jennifer Hudson – The Gift Of Love

Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels?

Lady Gaga – Harlequin

Barbra Streisand – The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2

Best rock performance

Yungblud ft Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman, II – Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back To The Beginning

Amyl and The Sniffers – U Should Not Be Doing That

Linkin Park – The Emptiness Machine

Turnstile – Never Enough

Hayley Williams – Mirtazapine

Best rock song

Nine Inch Nails – As Alive As You Need Me To Be

Sleep Token – Caramel

Hayley Williams – Glum

Turnstile – Never Enough

Yungblud – Zombie

Best rock album

Turnstile – Never Enough

Deftones – Private Music

Haim – I Quit

Linkin Park – From Zero

Yungblud – Idols

Best alternative music album

The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World

Bon Iver – Sable, Fable

Tyler, The Creator – Don't Tap the Glass

Wet Leg – Moisturizer

Hayley Williams – Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party

Best alternative music performance

The Cure – Alone

Bon Iver – Everything Is Peaceful Love

Turnstile – Seein' Stars

Wet Leg – Mangetout

Hayley Williams – Parachute

Best metal performance

Turnstile – Birds

Dream Theater – Night Terror

Ghost – Lachryma

Sleep Token – Emergence

Spiritbox – Soft Spine

Best country solo performance

Chris Stapleton – Bad As I Used To Be

Tyler Childers – Nose On The Grindstone

Shaboozey – Good News

Zach Top – I Never Lie

Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo

Best country duo/group performance

Shaboozey & Jelly Roll – Amen

Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing

Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson – Trailblazer

Margo Price & Tyler Childers – Love Me Like You Used To Do

George Strait & Chris Stapleton – Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame

Best country song

Tyler Childers – Bitin' List

Shaboozey – Good News

Zach Top – I Never Lie

Lainey Wilson – Somewhere Over Laredo

Chris Stapleton – A Song To Sing

Best contemporary country album

Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken

Kelsea Ballerini – Patterns

Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter

Eric Church – Evangeline vs The Machine

Miranda Lambert – Postcards From Texas

Best R&B performance

Kehlani – Folded

Justin Bieber – Yukon

Chris Brown feat Bryson Tiller – It Depends

Leon Thomas – Mutt (Live From NPR's Tiny Desk)

Summer Walker – Heart Of A Woman

Best African music performance

Tyla – Push 2 Start

Burna Boy – Love

Davido feat Omah Lay – With You

Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin – Hope & Love

Ayra Starr feat Wizkid – Gimme Dat

Best Latin pop album

Natalia Lafourcade – Cancionera

Rauw Alejandro – Cosa Nuestra

Andrés Cepeda – Bogotá (Deluxe)

Karol G – Tropicoqueta

Alejandro Sanz – ¿Y ahora qué?

Best música urbana album

Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

J Balvin – Mixteip

Feid – Ferxxo Vol X: Sagrado

Nicki Nicole – Naiki

Trueno – Eub Deluxe

Yandel – Sinfónico (En Vivo)

Ozzy Osbourne’s fourth studio album, 1986’s The Ultimate Sin, was fraught with disagreements between guitarist Jake E. Lee and renowned producer Ron Nevison.

Lee – who had already managed to navigate a contractual dispute regarding publishing and writing rights with Ozzy – was now faced with a producer who was ready to replace him at the drop of a hat.

“I’m a nighttime guy, right?” Lee remembers in the latest issue of Guitar World. “To me, rock is nighttime music you play in clubs until closing time. It didn’t feel like a daytime thing to me. I recorded at night, and that’s how we did Bark at the Moon. Max Norman, who produced that, was cool with that. Ron Nevison wasn’t.

“He told Sharon [Osbourne] that he wanted to start no later than noon. Sharon told me that, and I said, ‘Noon? I’m not even thinking about waking up then. I won’t start any earlier than 6 p.m.’ So right off the bat, we had problems, and Nevison told Sharon, ‘I know a lot of guitar players… we don’t have to use him. We can use other people to come in and play the parts. I have all the demos.’”

So how did Sharon respond? “It was ridiculous,” Lee replies. “He obviously had no idea what Ozzy was. He’s not somebody who brings in fucking guitar players. But Sharon told me that, and I said, ‘Really? And what did you say?’

“Sharon said, ‘I told him he was out of his fucking mind. You’re playing the guitar. How about we start at 3?’” That proved to be a good compromise for Lee – although not one that won him any favors with Nevison.

“I said I’d come in at 3, but I never did,” he quips. “I’d get up, look at the clock, and if I saw it was 3, I’d say, ‘Oh, shit, I better get ready…’ But I never showed up earlier than maybe 4. I just hated the idea of forcing myself to wake up and play during the day. It felt wrong to me to make an album that would last forever that way. It irked me.”

The conflicts didn’t end there, however. The pair also disagreed on their personal preferences for, er, room temperature.

“When I came into the studio for the first time to record, I always played inside, where my amp was, because I like getting feedback,” Lee explains. “The headphones have to be really loud, but that’s my problem; I like playing in the room. But I went into the room, and it was fucking freezing.

“I was like, ‘What the hell? Can you warm up the room?” Nevison said, ‘No. I like my musicians to be awake. The cold keeps them awake and alert.’ I said, ‘Fuck you. You know what it also does? It makes my fingers fucking slow because they’re frozen. I can’t play like that.’ So we argued about the temperature in the room, which I won.”

For more from Jake E. Lee, plus new interviews with Steve Stevens and Steve Vai, pick up issue 601 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

When Ozzy Osbourne launched his solo career in the early 1980s with the help of the late, great Randy Rhoads, he tracked and released two albums in an 18 month period: Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.

Both records are widely considered to be some of the Prince of Darkness’s finest solo LPs – Classic Rock ranks the pair as the first and second best Ozzy albums – and while that sentiment remains steadfast today, it turns out that there were some minor reservations about Diary of a Madman at the time.

Those reservations came from none other than Rhoads himself, whose sister, Kathy, once revealed to Guitar World that the late virtuoso believed the whirlwind recording experience had ultimately hamstrung the tracks.

In early 1981, Ozzy and his newest guitar foil went back into the studio to track Diary of a Madman. According to Kathy, the desire to tour the US, coupled with the need to have enough material to sustain a live show, prompted a faster-than-usual recording process.

That didn’t sit easy with Rhoads – a virtuosic perfectionist. He thought he needed more time to craft his guitar parts, and the quick turnover time meant the final cut was submitted with Rhoads feeling like he had more to give.

“Randy finally had the professional-level platform he really needed,” Kathy explained. “Ozzy said, ‘Do your thing – just be you.’ He encouraged my brother to excel.

“Randy was a perfectionist. He was always criticizing his performance or worrying about his equipment. I could tell you stories about being in the limo when his pedalboard had gone out, and him being so upset about it. My mom would say, ‘They’ll get it to work; it’ll all work out, Randy,’ and calm him down...

“When they did Diary of a Madman over at Ridge Farm Studios... They put it together in literally six weeks, and Randy thought, ‘Oh, it’s not going to be good. It was too quick. I don’t feel I did my best.’ He was so worried about it – but what a freaking masterpiece that album is!”

Rhoads himself had previously spoken of his experiences recording Diary of a Madman, once going as far as admitting parts of his playing make him “cringe” during an interview with Guitar World.

“On Diary... we put a lot more energy into the songwriting,” he said in a 1982 interview. “So the songs are happening but my guitar playing isn't. We were in a hurry to get over to the States and tour behind Blizzard, so Diary was rushed. We only had time to get a song's basic form before we had to record it.

“What you hear on there is actually the guitar track. It's a dummy solo I laid down where I was later supposed to put down a real one. But I never got time to do it. “A lot of my things on Diary lack feeling,” he opined. “It sounds a bit ordinary to me, like just sort of play anything you can think of.”

Of course, it’s a lesson to every player that regardless of Rhoads’ excessive personal critique, Diary of a Madman ultimately far exceeded expectations. Indeed, his former bandmate, bassist Bob Daisley, considers it to be one of the best representations of Rhoads generational guitar talents.

Because of his contributions, Diary of a Madman is a landmark guitar album, one that cemented the young Rhoads' reputation as one of the most exciting up-and-coming guitar talents of his time – and, following his tragic death, eternalized his legacy as one of the greatest players to ever pick up the instrument.

After last July’s Ozzy Osbourne farewell show, Back to the Beginning, high estimates were reported for how much the mega-event raised for its chosen charities: Acorns Children’s Hospice, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Cure Parkinson’s.

Media reports, as well as musical director Tom Morello, suggested that Back to the Beginning had grossed over $190 million for the three charities. However, it appears that the reported donation amount has been inflated, with Ozzy Osbourne's son, Jack Osbourne, recently clearing up the rumors on the Punk Rock Sober and Painful Lessons podcast.

“This is how you know the news is probably 90% bullshit, 'cause it was, like, CNN and New York Times was saying ‘Ozzy raised $150 million.’ And it wasn’t that,” he says.

“I think what it came down to was, like, when all was said and done, because it was a charity gig, you still have to pay for the actual gig. No bands got paid, and most of the crew donated their time.”

Osbourne asserts that “when all was [said] and done, each charity got, like, one and a half or two million pounds [approximately $2.7 million] each. So, it was, I think, six or seven million pounds [approximately $9.4 million].”

He continues, “That’s what was donated to the three charities. I mean, we would’ve loved it if it was hundreds of millions. We would have been, like, 'Fuck yeah.’”

Nonetheless, it is still an admirable feat – and Back to the Beginning has gone down in history as arguably the greatest one-day lineup of rock and metal bands ever assembled.

Gibson TV has launched a new free-to-air docu-series on the life and legacy of Tony Iommi, the undisputed godfather of heavy metal. Featuring everyone from Slash to Tom Morello and Brian May, the film details the origins of Black Sabbath and the man behind the riffs.

Its narrative, which also includes an extensive interview from the man himself, charts the musical heritage Iommi was born into, how the Shadows became one of his first loves, and why Birmingham, as “the industrial heartbeat of England,” played a vital role in the Black Sabbath’s birth.

Iommi’s famed finger-slicing accident is also covered, as is the influence that Django Reinhardt had in getting him playing again afterwards.

With Black Sabbath, Iommi would go on to change the world with his riffs, but it all started with Ozzy Osbourne’s unassuming advert, which found the aspiring musician scouring the local area for musicians to start a band with.

“We never really associated at school,” Iommi says of Ozzy. “We [Iommi and drummer Bill Ward] went into the music shop in Birmingham, and there was an advert that says, 'Ozzy Zig requires gig.' And I said to Bill, ‘I know an Ozzy, but it can't be him. He can't sing!’

“Sure enough, we went round to his house, and his mum came to the door. [We said] ‘We've come about the advert,’ and she said, ‘John, it's for you.’ I'm seeing him walk up the hall, and I said to Bill, ‘Forget it.’ We talked to him for a bit, and then we left.

“Two days later,” Iommi continues, “Ozzy came round to my house with Geezer [Butler, bass] and said, ‘Do you know any drummers?’ So we decided to get together and give it a go. It was absolutely horrible. Geezer was a guitar player; he'd never played bass before.”

History dictates, of course, that their ill-fated first jam would not be the end of the band, and in 1969, after a last-minute guitar change from Strat to SG, Black Sabbath recorded their seminal debut album. The world would never be the same again.

Despite Black Sabbath ending at Back to the Beginning last summer, Iommi has been keeping himself busy. He’s released a new Laney amp, relaunched his signature pickups, and continues to work on his hotly anticipated solo album, which he promises will be released in 2026.

In related news, he also recently explained why he never became a Les Paul player, despite always wanting one, and mourned the loss of two of his prized early SGs.

When Ozzy Osbourne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the second time in late 2024, Wolfgang Van Halen put years of virtuosic rivalry and shredded Crazy Train at the ceremony – but what did Ozzy make of the performance?

When the Prince of Darkness launched his post-Sabbath career with Blizzard of Ozz, Randy Rhoads became an immediate guitar hero, and to many, a worthy adversary to the incendiary talents of Eddie Van Halen at the time.

It seemed fitting, then, that Wolfgang would be the one to bring the two names together. On the night of Ozzy's induction, the Mammoth leader teamed up with Tool frontman James Maynard Keenan, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith, and Andrew Watt to perform the track.

During his acceptance, Ozzy confessed, “If I hadn't met Randy Rhoads, I wouldn't be sitting here right now,” and it seems Wolfgang’s Rhoads impression received his seal of approval.

“At first I was like: ‘Was that good enough?!’’” Wolfgang, in a moment of self-reflection, says of his reaction to the performance in a new interview with Classic Rock. It turns out, any lingering self-doubt was unnecessary.

“His [Ozzy’s] exact words, I believe, were: ‘It was bloody brilliant,’” Wolfgang adds. “He gave me a hug. That meant everything. And I got him to laugh.”

Touring commitments with his band, Mammoth, forced him to pull out of his scheduled appearance at Ozzy's farewell show, Back to the Beginning. So when the legendary singer passed just weeks later, he produced a tear-jerking cover of Mama I’m Coming Home in his honor.

“It sucks that we are in a world that doesn't have Ozzy Osbourne anymore,” he said before playing the song. Wolfgang had heard of Ozzy's passing during soundcheck and knew that “just mentioning it wasn’t enough.”

Elsewhere, Wolfgang has discussed what he believes is an underrated aspect of his dad's playing, and explained why Allan Holdsworth's avant-garde approach to guitar has become an important pillar of his own six-string identity.

Best of 2025: Over the holiday season, GW is shining the spotlight on some of its biggest stories of the year.

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!’”

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.

“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.

“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.”

• “We had our ups and downs over the years – I hadn’t spoken to Ozzy since 2017. But I always knew if I reached out, he’d be there for me”: Geezer Butler remembers the genius and humor of his friend and Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne
• “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

As I wrote in this space last year, we typically get an early start on our annual end-of-year issue. Therefore – out of necessity – a lot of this issue was put together in late October, including our annual “biggest guitar news of the year” feature.

But, to prove how alive, dynamic and inherently interesting “guitar land” is, I had to update our news feature – literally on the page – almost every day as our printer deadline approached. Whether it was the sale of Eddie Van Halen’s “Kramer Ad” guitar, the Stray Cats’ tour cancellation, Gibson/Epiphone’s Back to the Future ES-345s, Nigel Tufnel’s new Marshall amp or who knows what else, there was always something happening.

Of course, the biggest – and most tragic – piece of “late news” was the death of Kiss co-founder Ace Frehley, a down-to-earth and charismatic guy (not to mention a local boy) who graced our cover several times.

We happened to have an unpublished early-2025 Frehley interview in the can, so it made sense to include that as part of this issue’s 11-page Ace tribute. This "lost interview" conveys everything that made Ace fun to talk to and know – his honesty, his sense of humor and his wealth of detailed memories about the good-ish ol’ days.

This dashing, rectangular and bulbous issue includes...

* Our editors choose the guitarists of the year – 20-ish players who left their indelible mark on 2025, including Nuno Bettencourt, Jake E. Lee, the guys from Mirador, Marcus King, Nigel Tufnel, Noel Gallagher, Stephen Carpenter, Tim Henson and a ton more.

* A recap of the biggest guitar news of the year – including the deaths of Ace Frehley, Ozzy Osbourne and Brent Hinds, plus that massive Back to the Beginning event way back in July, the end of Megadeth, those Modified Marshalls and more.

* The GW gang chooses our favorite new gear of the year, including the EVH SA-126 Standard, the Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble, Taylor's new Gold Label acoustics and many, many more things that we'd love to own.

* A plethora of guitar stars – including Don Felder, Brad Gillis, Kiki Wong, Max Cavalera, Herman Li, Vernon Reid, Joe Perry, Keith Urban, Eric Gales, Richard Fortus, Melanie Faye, Steve Stevens and more – choose the year’s best albums, solos, riffs, songs, guitar moments, guitarists of the year and more.

* A tribute to Ace Frehley, including an interview conducted in early 2025 but not published till this issue.

Not so fast! We've got this stuff too

The Gear Hunter checks in with Paul Reed Smith over at PRS Guitars, a company that's celebrating its 40th anniversary.

We also chat with Nuno Bettencourt (one of our guitarists of the year) and transcribe – for the first time in our 45 years on the planet –Young Man Blues from Live at Leeds by the Who. Our other transcriptions are Shinedown's 2025 track Three Six Five and Buddy Holly's Blue Days, Black Nights, featuring the late, great Sonny Curtis on guitar.

Gear-wise, we explore the history and allure of the Gibson SG Standard, and we review all this lovely stuff:

• Ibanez Q54W
• Boss PX-1 Plugout FX
• Sterling by Music Man Kaizen 7
• Fender American Professional Classic Stratocaster
• Warm Audio Throne of Tone
• JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage

Finally, we have new columns by Joe Bonamassa, Jared James Nichols and Cory Wong, and we introduce a new columnist, Blackberry Smoke guitarist Charlie Starr.

You can buy new issues of Guitar World at Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Hudson News, Books a Million and other stores. But why not save on every issue by subscribing?

Black Sabbath’s epic farewell show, Back to the Beginning, was a mammoth undertaking for everyone involved. That's especially true for Nuno Bettencourt – the 'MVP' of the event, who ended up playing on 12 songs.

There was one guitar part he drew the line at, though: Jake E. Lee's guitar solo on The Ultimate Sin, which Lee asked him to cover going into the show.

For Back to the Beginning, the Extreme shredder was already pencilled in to play Bark at the Moon, Jake E. Lee’s signature Ozzy tune, which Lee himself couldn't play in light of his health struggles.

But when it was suggested that Nuno could come to his aid one more time, Bettencourt had other ideas.

“At one point, Tom Morello said, ‘Jake said, ‘I know Nuno has a lot on his plate, but could he maybe take the Ultimate Sin solo?’” Bettencourt details in the new issue of Guitar World. “We all know that, as legendary as Jake is, he's struggling a little bit, as we all do as we get older and don't know what's going to happen to our hands and bodies.

“But I told Tom, ‘Give me his phone number right now.’ I texted Jake and told him, ‘You are fucking Jake E. Lee. There's no way in hell I'm taking that solo. You're going to play that solo. And not only that, I'll double it with you, and we'll do it together. Whatever happens, it's going to be fucking incredible,’ and that's what we did.”

The song was intended as Lee’s Plan B. Bettencourt appreciated the situation; Morello, who felt Lee’s presence was integral to the day’s success, was trying to make his life easier.

But Bettencourt felt Lee needed – no, deserved – his time in the spotlight, given the context of the event. So, not only did he refuse to budge on The Ultimate Sin solo, he also walked off stage mid-song during Shot in the Dark, leaving Lee on his own and giving him his time to shine.

“I was supposed to play on Shot in the Dark. I didn't tell anybody I was doing it – but I just walked off the stage,” he laughs.

“I wanted Jake to have his moment without another guitar player stealing his thunder. And Jake nailed it. We all came from one-guitar bands. We didn’t want rhythm guitarists. I wanted Jake to have his one moment up there by himself, so I just left. And Jake nailed it.”

Check out Bettencourt’s new interview in full in the latest issue of Guitar World, which takes an in-depth look at the year in guitar. Grab a copy from Magazines Direct.

Meanwhile, Bettencourt, who recently launched his own guitar brand, has apparently shown off his ice skating skills in a new music video.

Wolfgang Van Halen was one of the most notable absentees from Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s historic farewell show, Back to the Beginning. Now, Nuno Bettencourt has reflected on his absence, and discussed the incomparable pressures that come with performing the band's biggest hits.

Wolfgang was set to feature on a lineup that also boasted the likes of Jake E. Lee, Billy Corgan, Metallica, Halestorm, Tom Morello, Bettencourt and more. However, touring conflicts meant he had to drop out. It turned out Mammoth was kicking off a tour with Creed around the same time, making for a logistical nightmare.

In fact, Wolfgang was on that very tour when the news of Ozzy’s passing broke, resulting in him playing an emotionally charged Mama I’m Coming Home in tribute.

And while Wolfgang dropped out reluctantly, Bettencourt has suggested it could have all worked out in his favor.

“I got a call [saying] Wolfgang Van Halen just dropped out, and I was like, ‘What are the songs [he was meant to play?’” he says on the Steve and Rik's POTcast.

“I said, ‘Yeah, he’s dropping out because he’s smart! Nobody wants to play those fucking Randy Rhoads or Jake E. Lee solos!’ Nobody wants to do it because if you go down in flames on that stage with Ozzy there and all your peers watching, your career is over!”

It was a pressure Bettencourt knew all too well. He had his work cut out for him at Back to the Beginning. His role during the event certainly wasn't risk-free.

“When I got the call to do that, everybody was playing two songs, and they knew I was able. It's like, ‘Great, I'm on it.’ Then I get a call three or four days later, like, ‘Can we throw three more at you?’...and then another three. I ended up playing 12 fucking songs,” he says.

“Instead of [just] learning them, I was like, ‘Well, I’ve got to own this shit!’ I only learned it was being streamed globally two days before. I'm playing all these other songs I've never played before, on stage with a band that I've never played with before.

“So I was in here for weeks for four or five hours a day, standing up, performing the fuckers. I just wanted to respect the songs, [and] go all in.”

Having said that, Wolfgang himself – who joined Van Halen as a youngster – is certainly no stranger to high-stakes and intense pressure. At Taylor Hawkins' tribute concert, he flawlessly covered two Van Halen classics. In fact, his covers were so good, some people thought he was miming. He probably would have relished the chance to play Sabbath at Back to the Beginning.

Elsewhere, Bettencourt has launched his own guitar brand, confirming the identity of the mystery guitar he played in Birmingham.

Jake E. Lee played some of the biggest stages in the world during his time as Ozzy Osbourne’s lead shredder. And he usually has nerves of steel. But at the Prince of Darkness’s farewell show, the guitarist says the presence of one musician had him sweating.

For Lee, Back to the Beginning was especially poignant. It was the first time he'd seen Ozzy since leaving his band more than three decades ago, having battled health issues and recovered from multiple gunshot wounds to make the gig.

On stage, he nailed his parts, playing The Ultimate Sin and Shot in the Dark, although he had to pivot away from his original song of choice due to difficulties with arthritis. While he was preparing for his big moment in the spotlight, though, one guitarist left him feeling “really nervous.”

“When I got there, I figured I'm still just, ‘Oh yeah, that's Jake. He was in the band once.’ But, at the first rehearsal, I actually got nervous, which I never do,” Lee tells the Talk is Jericho podcast (via Ultimate Guitar).

“It's not in my nature to get nervous,” he adds. “What's going to happen is going to happen. Worrying about it doesn't do anything. But watching Nuno Bettencourt and the musicians rehearsing their songs while I was standing there waiting for my turn, I started to get really nervous, which was weird.”

It’s not unusual to be intimidated by Bettencourt’s flair. He certainly nailed his parts at Villa Park on the day, and has been playing a sensational Ozzy medley with Extreme in the wake of Ozzy’s passing. The man can play. So it took some kind – and quite funny – words of encouragement from a thrash metal bass legend to quell his nerves.

“Frank Bello [of Anthrax] was standing next to me, and he turns to me and he says, ‘I can't wait to watch you,’” Lee recalls. “I'm like, ‘Dude, I'm really nervous.’ And he's like, ‘No, you're Jake E. Lee. You could go up there and fart and we'd applaud.’ That made me feel okay.”

Tom Morello had said the whole show hinged on Lee’s involvement, and backstage at the show, Lee also got the chance to play Kirk Hammett’s famed “Greeny” Les Paul, and immediately fell in love with it.

And though he never got a chance to talk directly with his old boss, a text message he received from Ozzy while waiting for his flight home helped to completely smooth over their once-fractured relationship.

Young guitarists dream of playing the same stage as their heroes, but few ever realize the fantasy. Guitar prodigy Thomas McRocklin, however, had the opportunity to open for Ozzy Osbourne when he was just eight years old – and he landed the spot on the day of the gig.

Nowadays McRocklin – real name Thomas McLaughlin – is Polychrome DSP’s headless guitar-toting head honcho, but back in the ’80s, he was a kid with outlandish outfits and technique far beyond his years.

At eight years old, he was shredding up social clubs in his native Newcastle, UK after school – and it’s fair to say audiences were taken by surprise.

“They were expecting some nice little tunes, and then it's a Marshall cranked up and there's full fireworks,” he says in a new interview with Guitar World. “But it really caught people's attention.”

It was that mentality that led to the Ozzy support slot, with a little help from his dad, who McRocklin describes as “a bit of a chancer” – the kinda guy who wasn’t afraid to try outlandish acts to make his son’s dreams come true.

“Ozzy is playing in Newcastle. We're obviously going to go,” recalls the guitarist. “And then next thing, I'm a little kid dressed head to toe in leathers, big cowboy hat and boots five times too big for me. I would look absolutely ridiculous. But it worked, because now we're knocking on the back door of Ozzy’s gig.

“Management, security, whoever, look at me and think, ‘What the hell is this all about?’ Drag [me] in. Plug me into Zakk Wylde’s amp. And then next thing I’m widdling, going crazy. There’s harmonics flying everywhere.”

Be it the harmonics or the hat, McRocklin says something caught the attention of the metal god. “That leads to Ozzy going, ‘Oh, let's get him on tonight.’”

Back then, the young guitar player would simply go up and shred sections of his favorite solos from Van Halen and Steve Vai before being dragged offstage – sometimes literally – when he reached the end of his 15-minute set.

As a result, he didn’t get a whole lot of time with Ozzy – which was probably for the best, given he was terrified of the Prince of Darkness’ persona.

“The only thing that was in my mind was the stories of Ozzy biting the head off a dove or something,” explains McRocklin. “And he was behind me in this picture with his arms right out, wrapped around me. I was petrified, but he was super-cool. Zakk Wylde was super-cool.”

McRocklin and his dad would go on to employ similar tactics to attract the attention of Steve Vai, who ended up producing the young shredder’s debut album with rock band Bad4Good – and later handed him the historic Ibanez Universe featured on the cover of landmark album Passion & Warfare.

But that’s a story for another time. To be precise, later this month, when McRocklin’s Guitar World interview will be published in full.

Billy Strings may be a Grammy-winning bluegrass great, but he's proven to be a dab hand at metal guitar, too, by nailing a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's Bark at the Moon dressed as a werewolf.

Taking the Halloween spirit in full stride, Strings and his band were dressed in a smattering of different costumes, from a Phantom of the Opera nod, to a vampire and Frankenstein's monster, for their show at the CFG Arena in Baltimore.

Playing what looks to be a PRS McCarty electric guitar, Strings is bang on the money with the cover, nailing everything from the tone to the song's iconic guitar solo. It's excellent stuff.

As someone commenting on the cover writes, “You never know what you're gonna get when you go to a Billy Strings concert!”

It’s the latest in a long line of Ozzy tributes that have graced stages since his passing. Already, we've seen Nuno Bettencourt and Extreme get creative with a superlative medley, Wolfgang Van Halen’s tear-jerking Mama I’m Coming Home, and the somewhat divisive all-star medley at the MTV VMAs.

Meanwhile, Strings released two signature Martin guitars at the start of the year, both of which are based on his 1940 D-28 in a move that has parallels with the firm's new releases with Jason Isbell. It follows a signature pedal drop with Chase Bliss last year.

Strings has also had his ear pricked by a musical troubadour who's penned a song about buying guitars.

And if you're not over the Halloween frivolities yet, James Hetfield playing a thrash classic dressed as a Kangaroo might just be the remedy you need.

One of the most heartfelt tributes paid to the late Ozzy Osborne came from Ian Gillan. “I can’t help smiling, even now,” wrote the Deep Purple singer. You improved my life – thanks mate.” Poignant words from a voice that, just like Osborne, helped defined the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the outset.

The parallels ran deeper – not least when Gillan joined Ozzy's old pals Black Sabbath in 1983, for the controversial Born Again album. There's an additional link in the shape of guitarist Bernie Tormé, who played in both frontmen’s solo bands.

Dublin-born Tormé, a uniquely gifted player whose legacy has received renewed attention via two recent box sets, had a ferocious style that blended shred-level chops, hotwired blues licks, and ear-grabbing whammy-bar dives, making him a cornerstone of Gillan from 1979 to 1981.

And although his stint with Ozzy lasted a mere seven gigs, from April 1 to April 10, 1982, the Prince of Darkness deemed it to be of pivotal importance in allowing his career to continue after the tragic death of Randy Rhoads in a plane crash the previous month.

Deciding to continue his tour, Osborne had frantically reached out to many well-known guitarists, including Michael Schenker and Gary Moore, but later confirmed that Tormé had been the only one willing to step up. The Irishman first listened to Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman the day before flying out to join the road trip, reportedly learning the material in flight.

Despite the additional pressure of hooking up with a band still processing the shock of Rhoads’ death, Tormé took the stage at Stabler Arena, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, remaining until longer-term replacement Brad Gillis was ready to take over.

In 2022 Osbourne told Metal Hammer: “I remember thinking, ‘I’m done.’ Sharon... said, ‘No, Randy wouldn’t have liked that, you’ve got to keep his memory alive.’ Bernie was rushed in at the last minute, didn’t know what he was getting into – but he did me a great favor. If it wasn’t for him I’d have given up.”

Of course, Tormé’s legacy extends far beyond that fleeting tenure. Last February’s Gillan: 1978-1982 collection showcased the guitarist’s vital contribution to the success of that band, as both soloist and songwriter. Seven months earlier, Tormé: The Bernie Tormé Archives Vol. 2 brought together his mid-80s albums with future LA Guns frontman Phil Lewis.

By 1982, Tormé had blazed a singular trail through the UK music scene. Influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore, and Rory Gallagher, he’d played in mid-70s hard rock combo Scrapyard with future Gillan bassist John McCoy. Enthused by the energy of the punk scene, he then formed his own punky power trio, the Bernie Tormé Band, gigging with Generation X and the Boomtown Rats.

When he supported Gillan in January 1979, Tormé’s fretmelting musicianship and exuberant showmanship impressed the headliner.

Speaking to this writer in 2024, Gillan recalled: “He was doing his soundcheck, and all I could describe is that he was having sex with his guitar!

“It was unbelievable; so exciting. I thought, ‘Wow, I’d like to work with this guy!’” When previous six-stringer Steve Byrd quit shortly thereafter, Tormé lit a fire under Gillan, as can be heard on Glory Road highlight Unchain Your Brain. “Bernie and I ended up great friends,” said the singer.

Leaving in 1981, the guitarist re-emerged with Bernie Tormé and the Electric Gypsies before teaming up with former Girl frontman Phil Lewis in Tormé in 1984. They recorded two effervescent glam-punk albums – gathered in The Bernie Torme Archive Vol 2 set – complete with characteristically wild, exciting fretwork, as in Eyes of the World).

Sadly, the UK’s major record labels’ indifference to rock limited their prospects. In 1987, Lewis accepted Tracii Guns’ offer to join LA Guns, going on to major Stateside success.

Tormé also crossed the Atlantic, joining former Twisted Sister vocalist Dee Snider’s Desperado. Their prolific partnership fueled a titanic debut album loaded with pounding, blues-infused riffs and ripping solos, only for record label politics to scupper its release and sink the band.

Returning to the UK, Tormé continued to launch well-received albums until his untimely passing in 2019, including a reunion with former Gillan bandmate John McCoy in GMT.

His continued friendship with Phil Lewis saw him guest with LA Guns onstage in later years, the last such occasion occurring in 2017.

“It was inconceivable playing a show in London without Bernie showing up,” Lewis said. “Tracii adored him; they became really good friends.”

“Bernie was fearless,” Guns – a diehard Rhoads fan – marvels. “To step into Randy Rhoads’ shoes that fast was brave. I was just listening to some of the recordings from the dates he did with Ozzy. He was playing right out of Randy’s pedalboard and amp.

“Bernie told me that Randy's pedalboard was doing changes on its own, which is one of the things that really freaked him out about doing the gig. And Rudy told me that before I knew Bernie.”

He continues: “He was a true pentatonic Lord. The way he interpreted the solos, the rhythms, the fills – it's actually mind-blowing because it's off the cuff. That’s why he was so brave.

“And he’s playing the Stratocaster, so it’s almost like Hendrix stepping in for Randy. And he looked great next to Ozzy.”

The impression Tormé left on Guns was as immediate as the one he’d left on Osbourne.

“It was only a two-day period where we were in London,” Guns says. “But we had a lot of conversations. We really had great respect for each other. He was still passionate about creating music and playing live.

“Next thing I know, we're onstage doing Rip and Tear. He had his Strat and I’m like, ‘Turn it up!’ He goes, ‘Oh, I’m gonna turn it up!’ To play with him and Phil at the same time was a huge experience for me – I watched that video a lot.

“Bernie could have done it a hundred more times with us. I was looking forward to more of that.”

• For more information head to Tormé’s website.

Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s final show, Back to the Beginning, featured some of hard rock and metal’s best-known talents performing their own renditions of both seminal and deep-cut Sabbath and Ozzy tracks.

Halestorm were one of the bands that made up the historic lineup, which also included Mastodon, Anthrax, Tool, Alice In Chains, Guns N' Roses, and Metallica, to name a few. However, as they reveal in a recent interview, the show's set list wasn't cemented until just a few weeks before the event.

"When we got the call, ‘Sharon's asking you to be a part of this,’ we're like, is this real?” Lzzy Hale tells Guitar World's Paul Riario.

“There was this email. It was like, ‘Hey, Sabbath is gonna play one last gig with the original four members, and maybe Metallica might be there. Do you guys wanna be on the show?’” relates lead guitarist Joe Hottinger.

“We're like, ‘Well, yeah, of course.’ And that's all we knew about it. Then they announced it, and we were like, ‘Oh, this is a whole thing.’”

Halestorm ended up putting their own spin on Perry Mason, from Ozzy's 1995 record, Ozzmosis. However, it wasn't their original choice – or what they had prepared for.

“That wasn't what we were going to be playing until about two weeks out. We were going to be playing A National Acrobat off Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” explains Hale.

“We worked up A National Acrobat, and then Morello was like, ‘Hey, you can't do that. I think Metallica was gonna [do that]...’ ‘All right, fine,’” continues Hottinger.

“He's like, ‘Tony Iommi hasn't made up the set list... It's up in the air with that one,’” adds Hale.

When A National Acrobat was axed, Perry Mason felt like a natural choice, since, as Hottinger relays, “When we came up, listening to rock ’n’ roll in the ’90s, Ozzmosis was out, [and] that song was the one on the radio.”

In more Halestorm news, Hale recently revealed how a “fluke accident” resulted in her band opening for Heaven & Hell during what would be Ronnie James Dio’s last show before he died.

What do you say to the manager of the world’s most iconic metal frontman – the voice that breathed life into heavy metal – when they call you up and ask you to audition?

Picture the scene. It’s 1981, Blizzard of Ozz has just brought Ozzy Osbourne back from his post-Black Sabbath purgatory, introducing the world to a maverick new metal guitar talent, Randy Rhoads. And this band, the hottest band in town, need someone on bass guitar to replace the outgoing Bob Daisley. Oh, and there are tour dates coming up, so they need that bassist quick.

Rudy Sarzo, famously, got that call, and we know how the story ends, right? He joins the Ozzy Osbourne band, even receives credit for 1981’s Diary of a Madman even though Daisley played bass on it, and the rest is history. But that’s not the whole story.

Speaking to Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast, Sarzo reveals how it all went down – and why he actually turned Ozzy down the first time. Not many musicians get to turn Sharon Osbourne down and enjoy a second chance. Clearly, someone was watching over Sarzo.

“I was playing in the band called Angel, too – the Punk Meadows’ Angel – but they had just lost their record deal to Casablanca. But I was happy. I loved the guys,” he says. “There were really nice. It was cool hang, and I was playing in Angel. I had an identity. They were a big band.”

Sarzo enjoyed playing in Angel so much that when the phone rang, and the late Quiet Riot frontman, Kevin DuBrow, answered, passing the phone to Sarzo and telling him Ozzy’s manager, Sharon, is on the line, he was not of a mood to say yes.

“She said, ‘Oh, hi, Rudy, this is Sharon, Ozzy’s manager, Randy tells me about you, and we want you to come out to audition,’” says Sarzo. “I was shooting from the hip. I didn’t think about it, I didn’t say, ‘Wow, that sounds great.’ My first reaction was, ‘No thanks’. No thank you. ‘No, thanks. I’m playing in Angel blah blah blah.’ She hangs up on me. I’m like, ‘Well, okay… Sorry.’”

Was Sarzo really that happy in Angel? They had lost their record deal. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. Sarzo tells Corgan that this was symptomatic of his decision making at the time. It was a dumb thing to do, especially seeing as he didn’t even think it over. DuBrow chewed him out. He knew he’d screwed up.

“Little did I know that the next day, I was going to get a call from Ozzy,” says Sarzo.

The following day, Ozzy took HR matters into his own hands. Sarzo wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

“I get the second call the next day, it was like, ‘Oh, yes!’” he recalls. “Ozzy himself called, ‘Yo, man, Randy tells me that you’re the guy, and we just auditioned a bunch of hacks…’ And I said, ‘Yes! I’ll be there.’ So Randy picks me up, because they were in a rush – they had to meet and do this whole thing really quickly. Because within 10 days, they were going on tour.”

There was no time to waste. Sarzo was whisked over to The Beverly Hilton, where he met up with Team Osbourne.

“There’s Sharon, Tommy Aldridge, and I’m sitting with Ozzy, and he’s telling me all about Randy and how much he appreciates him and loves him,” says Sarzo. “And I’m thinking, ‘This is this is a good place to be in. There’s a lot of gratitude, a lot appreciation going on.’ He just told me at the end of it, he says, ‘Man, I get a good vibe from you – just be able to play.’”

Sarzo could play all right. Rhoads could vouch for that. He and Sarzo were bandmates in Quiet Riot. Rhoads recommended him to the Osbourne camp. But what Sarzo couldn’t play was Ozzy Osbourne material.

“Nowadays, a 10-year-old or a fetus can actually play Crazy Train,” he says. “Back then, it’s like, ‘I never heard the song! [Laughs] I gotta learn this.”

He had help. Rhoads came by before the audition to work through Crazy Train and I Don’t Know. They worked fast. They had to. In an hour’s time they would be driving off to play it with Ozzy and the band.

“Those where the audition songs. So we go over, and I had to retain it, and then we drive over to rehearsal,” says Sarzo. “We do one pass with Tommy, and then Ozzy and Sharon show up, and they listen to us play the two songs with Ozzy looking at the band.

“Then Ozzy gets up on stage, we play the songs again, and Ozzy turns to me and says, ‘Hey, man, do you want the gig?’ I said, ‘Yes!’ [Laughs] And my life went into Panavision color at that. It was like, ‘Wow!’ I’m in this world now. I had a gig with the most amazing musicians that I ever played with.”

It was the gig of a lifetime. But after Rhoads’ death in a plane crash in 1982, Sarzo had seen enough. Ozzy was going off the rails. He wanted out, rejoining Quiet Riot after the Diary of a Madman Tour. Not that he was ever wholly divorced from the Ozzy camp.

Sarzo would be one among a cast of metal’s biggest names to perform at Villa Park, England, for Black Sabbath and Ozzy’s final show, Back to the Beginning.

Speaking to Guitar World in August, Sarzo said he remained ever grateful to Rhoads, Ozzy and Sharon and wanted to salute his old boss.

“I’ll never have enough time in my life to thank Randy Rhoads, Sharon and Ozzy for changing my life. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if not for them,” he said. “Ozzy, Randy and Sharon are the three main people who changed my life. I went from sleeping on the floor of Kevin DuBrow’s apartment to passing the audition with Ozzy and moving in with Sharon’s family.”