ZAKK WYLDE: 'EDDIE VAN HALEN Hasn't Just Gone Off The Deep End — He's Living In Atlantis'

February 17, 2005

In an interview with Revolver magazine conducted in mid-December, OZZY OSBOURNE/BLACK LABEL SOCIETY guitarist Zakk Wylde spoke about the death of his best friend and blood brother, DAMAGEPLAN and PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

"I'm supposed to be working on videos and approving artwork, but I really don't give a fuck about music right now," he said after raising his bottle in toast to Dime. "I can hardly play guitar, let alone look at fuckin' CD covers. The hardest thing is dealing with the finality of it all. I just don't want to let go. Dime and I were going to do a record together, and we were going to tour with Kerry King [SLAYER]. I still wish we could do that, but I have to accept that it's never going to happen now."

Wylde has so many items of Dimebag memorabilia scattered around his house that it's hard not to be constantly reminded of the guitarist. A custom Washburn guitar that Dime gave to him hangs in the guitar display room, and several laminated photos that were gifts from Dimebag hang on various walls in the house. But one item Wylde treasures the most is a fax bearing a cartoon of Dime and himself behind bars wearing matching striped prison garb.

"Dime and I got really fucked up and destroyed this car that we thought was a rental," he explained. "It turns out that it belonged to someone else, and they called the cops. We thought they were going to catch us and lock us up forever for that stunt. Somehow we got away with it, but Dime and I were really scared for a long time."

Having to bury his partner in crime was tough enough, but Wylde also had to contend with the bizarre behavior of one of his guitar heroes, Eddie Van Halen, at Dimebag's funeral and memorial service. "I don't know what the hell happened to Ed," he lamented. "He hasn't just gone off the deep end — he's living in Atlantis! I couldn't get in a word without being interrupted by him. If I mentioned God, he'd say, 'There is no God or Jesus, only yes or no.' It was like he thought the whole thing was about him. He wasn't thinking about Dime, or even Vinnie and Dime's old lady, Rita, for that matter. He did put his original black-and-yellow guitar in the coffin with Dime, though. That was cool."

Wylde's complete interview with Revolver appears in the magazine's April 2005 issue, out now.

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