Zakk Wylde
Bullseye Les Paul, pinch harmonics and southern-fried heavy metal muscle
Zakk Wylde was born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt in Bayonne, New Jersey, and grew up in Jackson, New Jersey. He has said that hearing Elton John's Rocket Man first pulled him toward music. As a teenager he absorbed the heavy riffing of Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page, the showmanship of Jimi Hendrix and the modern virtuosity of Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen. He practised obsessively and was playing local clubs while still very young, working toward the kind of big break few unknown guitarists ever get.
That break came in 1987, when he auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne and the teenager was hired as Ozzy's new lead guitarist. He first appeared on No Rest for the Wicked in 1988 and then on No More Tears in 1991. That album's crushing riffs, wailing pinch harmonics and polished power ballads made him one of the defining metal guitarists of the era. He also co-wrote much of the material. Outside Ozzy's band, he explored his love of Southern rock in Pride & Glory, whose one album appeared in 1994.
After a more acoustic solo album, Book of Shadows, in 1996, Wylde founded Black Label Society, which put out its first album, Sonic Brew, in 1998. The band combined sludgy, down-tuned riffs with piano ballads and Wylde's gruff vocals, and a string of albums through the 2000s built a devoted following. He went back to Ozzy's band several times, including for Down to Earth in 2001 and Black Rain in 2007. In 2004 his close friend Dimebag Darrell was killed, and Wylde later honoured him with the song In This River.
A serious health scare from blood clots in 2009 led Wylde to stop drinking, and he kept up a heavy workload. He launched his own gear company, Wylde Audio, in 2015 and started Zakk Sabbath as a tribute to his heroes. He also toured with the Generation Axe guitar showcase. In 2022 he played with Ozzy at an NFL halftime show and joined the reunited Pantera, playing Dimebag's parts alongside Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown. Black Label Society kept releasing new albums through the 2020s.
The 10 greatest Zakk Wylde solos
- 1Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1991
- 2Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1988
- 3Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1991
- 4Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1988
- 5Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1991
- 6Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1995
- 7Black Label Society · solo by Zakk Wylde · 2003
- 8Black Label Society · solo by Zakk Wylde · 2005
- 9Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1988
- 10Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Zakk Wylde · 1991
The sound
Wylde's sound is heavy, earthy and aggressive. His most famous trademark is the squealing pinch harmonic, which he plants on the ends of riffs and inside solos until it almost becomes a second voice. His lead playing mixes ferocious alternate-picked pentatonic runs, repeated blues licks played at extreme speed and wide, violent vibrato. His rhythm tone is thick and loud, built on Les Pauls through cranked Marshalls with wah and chorus colours. Underneath the aggression is a love of Southern rock, country chicken-picking and piano ballads, which gives his music a warmer, rootsier side.
- Gibson Les Paul Custom "The Grail" (bullseye) (guitar) His famous bullseye-painted Les Paul Custom. It went missing in 2000 and was recovered in 2003.
- Wylde Audio Odin (guitar) The Les Paul-style model from the company he founded in 2015, which he has used almost exclusively since.
- Gibson ZV Splittail / Dean Razorback (guitar) The pointy V-shaped guitars he uses for his more extreme metal looks.
- Marshall JCM800 (amp) Stacks of these heads with twin 4x12 cabinets drove his live sound for decades.
- Dunlop Wylde Wah (effect) His signature wah, a key part of his vocal-sounding solos.
- MXR Wylde Overdrive (effect) The signature boost he puts in front of the amp for extra gain and punch.
- Dunlop Rotovibe and MXR Black Label Chorus (effect) Modulation that gives his clean and ballad tones their swirl.
Covers
- Ain't No Sunshine, originally by Bill Withers Black Label Society turned the soul classic into a brooding, bluesy hard-rock lament.
- I Never Dreamed, originally by Lynyrd Skynyrd A heartfelt nod to his Southern rock heroes that closes the Mafia album.
- Black Sabbath (album in full), originally by Black Sabbath Zakk Sabbath re-recorded Sabbath's 1970 debut with extra weight and his own leads.
- War Pigs, originally by Black Sabbath He played Tony Iommi's riffs live with Ozzy, adding his own howling harmonics.
- Paranoid, originally by Black Sabbath A breakneck version played as a standard closer at Ozzy's shows.
Timeline
- 1967 Born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt in Bayonne, New Jersey, on 14 January
- 1987 Hired as Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist
- 1988 Makes his recording debut on No Rest for the Wicked
- 1991 No More Tears is released and becomes one of Ozzy's biggest albums
- 1994 Pride & Glory release their only album
- 1996 Releases the solo album Book of Shadows
- 1998 Founds Black Label Society and records Sonic Brew
- 2009 Hospitalised with blood clots and stops drinking
- 2015 Launches his own gear company, Wylde Audio
- 2022 Joins the reunited Pantera as a touring guitarist
Facts
- His birth name is Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt.
- He has said Elton John's Rocket Man was the song that first made him want to play music.
- He joined Ozzy Osbourne's band while still in his teens.
- His prized bullseye Les Paul was lost in 2000 and found again in 2003.
- His Les Paul graphics include a design based on a Zippo lighter he owned.
- Ozzy Osbourne was godfather to one of Wylde's children.
- He appeared in the 2001 film Rock Star, playing in the fictional band Steel Dragon.
- He is a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.
- He has sold his own hot sauce, Berserker, made with Blair's Sauces.
- He was inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame in 2006.