Zakk Wylde: Jersey's 'Guitar Hero'

Zakk Wylde (second from left) and Black Label Society (Credit: Neil Zlozower)

Zakk Wylde first burst onto the national metal scene as a young six-string shredder hand-picked by the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, to play in his band, and more than two decades later Wylde, who grew up in Jackson, can easily contend for the title of hardest working man in metal.

Between his continuing work with Osbourne and his efforts with his own band, Black Label Society, Wylde has made a career out of being a guitar hero, even appearing in last year's "Guitar Hero: World Tour."

Describing his current tour, which is set to roll into the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville on Tuesday (April 7), Wylde said, "It's a hot, sexy rock show, and it's an unstoppable rebel force that can't be stopped." The guitarist will be releasing "Skullage," a career-spanning CD/DVD set, on April 21, and he recently spoke with Metromix Jersey Shore.

With "Skullage," how does it feel to be looking back over your whole career?
I wouldn't change nothing. The whole thing is, you can always get better. Put it this way: even if we won the Super Bowl, the bottom line is we could have beat them 60 to nothing. Even when I played football as a middle linebacker, the bottom line was, we won the game like 21 to three, I would be all pissed off because we gave up three points, because it's unacceptable. I don't like losing at nothing. So, that's the way to be, and you have to have that mentality at everything. I'm married, I only have one wife, and that's the way it rolls.

The whole thing is, you try to make the best records you can and you try to do the best job you can at everything you do. When I'm sitting there working out, benching 315 or whatever, the bottom line is, I don't want to fail. You challenge yourself all the time, that's Black Label, and that's they way it's got to be and that's the way it always will be and nobody can tell me f----all aside of that.

Now, the new disc has also got some live acoustic tracks on it. Do you have any plans to do any acoustic shows in the future?
Well yeah, obviously. I mean, I'm 42, and I enjoy being 42. When I was 21 that was great; being in high school, I had a great time, too, we all had a f------ blast, it was ass-kicking, but you know, you move on to the next level in what you've got to do. It's like with Babe Ruth: the bottom line is, yeah you're the man now, Babe was like, "I'm gonna manage a team." Instead of playing, you manage. Then next, you own the f------ team.

You just did a guest spot on "No Regrets," the new album by Dope, one of the bands that's going to be at Starland with you. How did that come together?
My manager, Bob Ringe, he manages Dope as well, and I've known the guys for years and they're all sweethearts man, they're good people, they're Black Label, they're good eggs. They were just like, "Zakk, do you want to play a solo on this?" and I said, "Yeah, no f------ problem," you know what I mean? It's not like I'm gonna ask for money or anything like that, it's just like, "God bless ya, and keep whooping ass guys." We're all rowing the same boat, so I don't give a f---.

Last year, you were in a new Guitar Hero game. What was the process of working with them on that game like?
Oh, it was hysterical dude. I had to put the outfit on and whole nine yards, it was beyond gay. F------ awesome. Dude, it was f------ hysterical. All we did was bring a bunch of beer down there, got loaded and had a good time. Yeah, and they were all good people, man.

What are your thoughts on the game? I've heard a lot bands say it's good for introducing kids to classic rock and stuff they would have never heard otherwise.
I think it's awesome; I agree with you exactly on what you said, because the bottom line is a kid will pick that thing up and then eventually he'll just go, "Well, I want to do the real thing, I want to actually learn how to play the guitar," so that's what I'm saying. You can play "John Madden Football," but if you really want to play you're gonna have to work out and do what you've got to do. If you want to be Joe Montana, it goes with a little bit of work.

How does it feel that for a lot of up-and-coming guitarists, your Les Paul Custom Bullseye is up there with Tony Iommi's SG and Randy Rhoads' flying-V when it comes to iconic guitars for metal?
If it wasn't for Randy or Tony Iommi, there would be no Zakk Wylde. So I mean, it's an honor, so you've just got to keep working hard and doing what you've got to do. But the whole goal is you want to be in the same breath as those motherf------. You want to be a great linebacker, you want to be mentioned with Lawrence Taylor, Ray Nitschke, Dick Butkus, all those guys, Jack Lambert, that's what you aspire to be. It's a lot of hard work, and you kill yourself to do it, but that's that. There is no substitute for f------ hard work, that's f------ fact.

Is there a new Black Label record in the works?
Yes, as soon as we get off the road doing this f------ thing, I've gotta go back in the studio, finish Ozzy's record, finish the boss's record, and then do another Black Label record.

Awesome. Any idea when we'll be hearing those records?
Oh yeah, they'll probably be out before the new year ... probably around October, because mom (Sharon Osbourne) was telling me, "We've got to go with a finished record" and I'm like, "Mom, when are we finishing this album?" And you know how mom is, she tells me to jump, I ask how high, that's about it. Yeah, I love her. She's my mother, so what the f---? It's Sharon, right? So, the bottom line is, we'll get it done as we always do. G.I.F.D.: get it f------ done.