ZAKK WYLDE Says NICK CATANESE 'Will Always Be A BLACK LABEL Brother'

Joe Charupakorn of Premier Guitar recently conducted an interview with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Premier Guitar: It's been almost four years since [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's last album] "Order Of The Black". Why so long?

Zakk: It was the same between "Shot To Hell" and "Order Of The Black", but it's not intentional or anything. We've been busy working. We toured for over three years on that album. It's not like we've been sitting home stockpiling riffs for four years.

Premier Guitar: Did anyone else in the band take part in the songwriting [for the new BLACK LABEL SOCIETY studio album, "Catacombs Of The Black Vatican"]?

Zakk: Nah, I just write it from the beginning to the end, man. I'm the Salvador Dali. I'll paint the picture and put the frame around it as well. Obviously, I'm producing the record, but with JD [bassist John DeServio] and [engineer] Adam [Klumpp] there mixing it, I'll come in and do the taste testing at the end of the night. I'll be like, "Can we bring the kick drum up a little bit?" But the guys pretty much nail it. The way we make the BLACK LABEL Krispy Kremes, we've pretty much got it down to a system. After we get the music recorded, I take a CD of it and sit out in the truck, crank it, and start singing melodies.

Premier Guitar: Nick Catanese, who has played rhythm guitar with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY since near the beginning, has recently been replaced by Dario Lorina. What prompted the change?

Zakk: Well, Nick's not out of BLACK LABEL. He'll always be a BLACK LABEL brother. He wants to write and do his own thing. He was like, "Zakk, I really want to get knee-deep in this project." I was like, "Knock it out, brother. We all love you and wish you the best." That's what I always tell the guys. You always have freedom to do anything you want within BLACK LABEL. With Ozzy, I'm not going to write lyrics or come up with melodies or album art. I'm not producing the record. I'm not involved in the mixes. So you need outside stimulation. The whole thing is about freedom, man. If JD wanted to make a funk record or something like that, he can stay within BLACK LABEL, but obviously some things aren't going to fit. So it's like, "Do the funk record, and then you've always got a home here."

Premier Guitar: How did Dario Lorina get the gig? I'm sure a lot of guitarists would have wanted to audition for the gig.

Zakk: I know. I've got lots of buddies who are phenomenal guitar players as well. But Dario just worked out great. My buddy Blasko [Rob Nicholson] turned me on to him. I watched a couple of videos of him playing BLACK LABEL tunes and solos — the whole nine yards — just shredding it. It's Dario's gig until he doesn't want to do it anymore. Until he's like, "I got my own band going." Then I'll be like, "Great, man. Knock it out."

Read the entire interview at Premier Guitar.