From his solo albums and records with Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde's contributions to heavy metal on record are nearly unparalleled. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Wylde opened up about what he thinks are the ten songs that defined his illustrious and still-going-strong career (as transcribed by MetalSucks]
- Ozzy Osbourne, "Miracle Man" – "That's the first song I wrote with Oz…"
- Ozzy Osbourne, "Mama, I'm Comin' Home" – "He got some great vocal melodies on that album."
- Pride & Glory, "Losin' Your Mind" – "Something like the banjo intro to a song like 'Losin' Your Mind' would never really fit into how an Ozzy record should look or sound…"
- Zakk Wylde, "Between Heaven and Hell" – "I'd spend all night drinking then go back to my hotel room inspired and that's how Book Of Shadows came about."
- Black Label Society, "A Spoke In The Wheel" – "The first Black Label Society song I ever wrote…"
- Black Label Society, "Stillborn" – "That's how I've always approached the Black Label stuff – how much can you do with as little as possible?"
- Black Label Society, "In This River" – "I'd written it before Dime had even passed away…"
- Generation Axe – "Probably the most important collab I've ever done…"
- Zakk Sabbath, "Black Sabbath" – "Re-recording that whole album just reiterated to me that Black Sabbath are the Beatles of heavy metal."
- Black Label Society, "Farewell Ballad" – "For the first time, I'd recorded all my parts before the guys even arrived…"
Black Label Society was forced to cancel three shows last month due to vocal complications for Wylde, but you can rest assured that he'll be ready to go in time for Black Label Society's summer tour with Anthrax, and guests Hatebreed. You can find those dates below.
7/26 The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ
7/28 Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV
7/29 The Palladium, Los Angeles, CA
7/30 Heart Health Park, Sacramento, CA
8/1 Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO
8/2 Midland Theater, Kansas City, MO
8/4 Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana, Gary, IN
8/5 Oshkosh Arena, Oshkosh, WI
8/6 The Fillmore, Minneapolis, MN
8/8 Southside Ballroom, Dallas, TX (no Hatebreed)
8/9 Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater, Austin, TX
8/11 The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
8/12 House of Blues, Orlando, FL
8/13 The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
8/15 The Andrew J Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
8/16 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
8/18 The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
8/19 Main Street Armory, Rochester, NY
8/20 The Fillmore, Detroit, MI (no Hatebreed)
8/22 StageAE Outside, Pittsburgh, PA
8/23 History, Toronto, ON
8/24 Amphitheatre Cogeco, Trois Riviere/Montreal, QC
8/26 Coney Island Amphitheater, Brooklyn, NY
8/28 The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA (no Hatebreed)
8/30 Raleigh, NC The Ritz (Rescheduled BLS date)
9/2 Fayetteville, AR JJ's Live (Rescheduled BLS date)
9/3 Tyler, TX Country River Club (Rescheduled BLS date)