ZAKK WYLDE Names Song That Made Him Want To Pick Up The Guitar

Zakk Wylde appeared live on TalkShopLive on Tuesday, March 3 for a special interactive question-and-answer session hosted by Rock Feed's Brian Storm. Streaming exclusively via TalkShopLive, the event featured Wylde in conversation with Brian, taking fan questions in real time and discussing the making of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's upcoming album, "Engines Of Demolition", the inspiration behind the music, and what fans can expect from the band in 2026 and more. In addition to the live Q&A, viewers had the opportunity to purchase a special CD edition of "Engines Of Demolition" that includes an autographed insert signed by Zakk.

Asked to name a song that made him want to pick up the guitar, Zakk said "Yeah, I remember — it was crazy — I remember seeing a band play at our high school. I think it was before high school, maybe eighth grade or something like that, but I remember this cover band was playing, and I remember the guy playing [DEEP PURPLE's] 'Smoke On The Water', and just the power and everything, and hearing it live, it was pretty amazing. But hearing stuff and then seeing it live — I guess it's like seeing somebody doing a magic trick in front of you, and then it inspires you to wanna become a magician, sleight of hand or doing illusions and stuff like that. It's just, like, 'Wow, this is the most interesting thing I've ever seen — ever.'

"What's so funny is I remember Tom Petty actually said, he just goes, to him, he said, 'Music, to me, is the truest form of magic,' which is kind of true. When you think about it, for all of us, you know how it can move you, and then certain songs just transport you back to when you were 13 years old where you can remember exactly where you were at. And it was like with Ozz [Ozzy Osbourne] — he said he remembers exactly where he was when he heard his first BEATLES song. And I remember Ozz talking about THE BEATLES. He just goes, 'Zakk, it was just like everything was in black and white. And when they came out, the world was in color.' After they came, it was just amazing, the impact they had, how they inspired people and influenced [others] to become musicians.

"Yeah, music's amazing," Zakk continued. "But seeing that guy play ['Smoke On The Water'] that [night]… And then, obviously, Leroy Wright, who I eventually took guitar lessons from, seeing Leroy play in front of me was just the coolest thing. And every week when I had a lesson with him was just the coolest hour in my life. Just sitting, watching his hands and him just breaking down, showing me — like how you pull a rabbit out of a hat, or how you do card tricks. It's, like, 'No, you're doing it wrong. This is the way you're doing it.' It's, like, 'Oh, that's how you do it.' So, learning how to play the lick to [AC/DC's] 'Back In Black'. And then you could play with the record. And, really, it's, like, 'Wow, this is magic,' because you're playing along with your favorite bands. It's pretty mind blowing."

"Engines Of Demolition" will be released on March 27 via MNRK Heavy. The follow-up to 2021's "Doom Crew Inc." contains 15 tracks, including the four previously released singles, "Name In Blood", "Broken And Blind", "The Gallows" and "Lord Humungus", as well as a tune titled "Ozzy's Song", which is a tribute to the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY guitarist/vocalist's longtime bandmate, the iconic BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne.

Wylde formed BLACK LABEL SOCIETY in 1998 and has kept the band busy in between touring and recording with Ozzy Osbourne, whose backing group he first joined nearly four decades ago.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Order Of The Black" (2010) and "Catacombs Of The Black Vatican" (2014) both broke into the top five on the hard rock album charts.

Since first joining Ozzy, Zakk had played on all of the BLACK SABBATH singer's solo albums except for 2020's "Ordinary Man", including such classic efforts as "No More Tears" (1991),"Ozzmosis" (1995) and "Black Rain" (2007).

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY is:

Zakk Wylde - vocals, guitar, piano
John "JD" DeServio - bass
Jeff Fabb - drums
Dario Lorina - guitar