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While on tour with Judas Priest -- and ahead of a run of support dates for Guns N' Roses -- Music Radar recently caught up with Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde to talk about his new Christmas album, among other things.
You can check out a few excerpts below and read the full interview here.
On how his new Christmas EP came about: "Basically, I was asked by the folks at iTunes to do something, and I said, "Absolutely. I love Christmas, and I love Christmas tunes — what's the big deal?" So I Googled Sarah McLachlan to see what songs she did — 'cause she's amazing, of course, as we all know — and I did a couple of the songs that she covered. To me, if they're good enough for Sarah, I might as well have a go at them."
On touring with Guns N' Roses: "Yeah, that'll be amazing, too. I've been friends with Axl [Rose] for a long time. He's the last of the great frontmen. Seriously, who else is there? You had Elvis and Mick Jagger, then you had Jim Morrison and Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, Ronnie Van Zandt and, of course, you can't forget about Ozzy, David Lee Roth … After all them, Axl came out, and it was like, Wow! The ultimate frontman, you know? You've gotta give it up for Axl. Amazing songs, amazing production — Appetite's one of the greatest records of all time. The guy's got the whole nine yards. As a frontman, nobody's come close to him since he busted out."
Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.
