Zakk Wylde hasn't officially been in Ozzy Osbourne's band for over a decade. At the time, Wylde was focusing on his own band, Black Label Society, and also trying to get his alcohol addiction under control. In the last few years, Wylde has been sober, and putting out some of the best performances of his career.
So it only makes sense that Ozzy decides to reunite with his berserker guitar player for a new run of solo tour dates this summer. According to the press release, this will be "the first collaboration for the duo for a full tour since 2006." The last album Zakk recorded on was 2007's Black Rain. Of course, the duo have played on select shows in recent years, most memorably a run of "Ozzy and Friends" gigs when Tony Iommi was sick.
Ozzy's full solo band going forward will be Zakk on guitar, Blasko (Bass), Tommy Clufetos (Drums) and Adam Wakeman (Keyboards). Ozzy provided a serious quote while Zakk made some jokes:
"I'm so happy to be getting back on the road with Zakk, Blasko, Tommy and Adam," says OZZY OSBOURNE. "This is what I do. This is where I belong, on the road."
"I'm really looking forward to The HARDCORE POWAHLIFTING TRAINING SESSIONS with OZZY as well as playing music in between sets of HEAVY SQUATS, BENCHING and DEADLIFTS," Zakk Wylde adds.
So far, only a handful of dates have been confirmed but more are coming:
Fri, July 14 Oshkosh, WI Rock USA Festival
Sun, July 16 Chicago, IL Chicago Open Air Festival
Wed, August 9 Sturgis, SD Buffalo Chip
Mon, August 21 Cartersville, IL Moonstock Festival
The press release also promises that Ozzy is prepping for a new solo album to be released in 2018.
Get ready for a lot more Ozzy in the next few months. Could this mean there is a possibility for Ozzfest to return in 2018? Never say never.
