Zakk Wylde Interview: New Black Label Society Music, Ozzy + More

When Zakk Wylde joined Loudwire Nights on Wednesday (Oct. 22), he was his jovial self as he joked about when fans might be able to expect Black Label Society's next album.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

"We're just going to keep dropping singles until about 2036," he told host Chuck Armstrong.

"And then we'll put the full album out. The whole gameplay is to beat Chinese Democracy. That is the game. Chinese Democracy was 15 years, we're looking at — why stop at 15? Let's go for 20. Don't go for 16 years. Let's go for the full 20. You just go for the gusto, man."

In the midst of the jokes, Wylde did mention that the name of Black Label Society's new album is potentially Engines of Demolition; it was clear that he was proud of his band's new music, namely the latest track, "Broken and Blind."

"These are things that people need to know," Wylde said about the content of the new song.

"My soul was broken and then when I found out there was no more peanut butter and chocolate, I was blind with rage ... Back in the day it used to be the beer. If there was no more beer in the submarine, then you'd be broken and blind. But now it's just peanut butter and chocolate."

Playing With Ozzy One Final Time at Back to the Beginning

In addition to celebrating Black Label Society, Wylde spent time reflecting on Back to the Beginning and what went through his head as he watched Black Sabbath play their final notes of "Paranoid" on July 5 in Birmingham.

"The running joke when I would text [Sharon], I would go, well, look at this way, Mom, hopefully this thing will go great and then Oz will fire up the machine again," Wylde shared.

"She goes, 'Let's hope.'"

Wylde looked back on his long history with Ozzy and said it wasn't uncommon for them to run into problems, but no matter what sort of speed bumps they'd hit — Ozzy's health, as an example — they'd always get through it.

"I didn't think after we got done doing 'Mama' and 'Crazy Train' and everything like that [that] this is going to be the last time we're ever going to play or I'm ever going to see Sabbath again," he said.

"I just figured we're going to hook up again when Ozzy's doing another record. He'd say, 'Come on down and do your diddly diddly on it' or whatever, you know? I didn't think this is going to be the last time we're going to be hanging out."

Zakk Wylde's Faith and His Friendship With Ozzy

Wylde has always been open about his personal faith, whether it's in interviews or his personal social media. During the conversation on Loudwire Nights, Chuck asked him if he ever talked to Ozzy about it.

"Ozzy just always said, 'You know what God means, Zakk,'" he said.

"He just goes, 'Add another O — it just means good. Be good or be gone.' It's the truth, man."

As they talked about that, they also got into the possibility of new music utilizing vocals that might not have been used yet — similar to what Judas Priest did with their recent cover of "War Pigs" featuring Ozzy.

"I don't know if there is any stuff lying around," he admitted."

READ MORE: Sammy Hagar Says There's Still Something He Wants to Achieve - 'It's Always About Outdoing Myself'

"Obviously, any stuff that we recorded back in the No Rest or No More Tears or whatever, demos or bonus tracks, I think the majority of that stuff's out there."

If anything does exist, Wylde wouldn't be surprised if fans might hear it one day.

"I'm sure if there is, I'm sure Mom would put it out there," he said.

"But I mean, I don't know what's in the vault."

What Else Did Zakk Wylde Share on Loudwire Nights?

• His excitement for RUSH's return to the stage in 2026 for the RUSH Fifty Something Tour: "That's what Neil [Peart] would want. I think that all the bands that we love or all the artists, the music is bigger than the people who wrote it, you know what I mean ... It's timeless music that they created that really lifts so many people up and brings joy into their lives. It's great."
• What he's working on at the moment: "I'm doing my Zakk Sabbath homework because we're putting new songs in the set. I don't have a teleprompter up there or anything. You got to memorize all the lyrics. It's like ripping a page out of the phone book and you've got to memorize anything on the page. I'm doing that right now. Black Label will be out in 2026, we'll be doing that. I think in eight months from now, we have some Pantera Celebration stuff going on over in Europe with Metallica. We're going to do some shows with the fellas over there."
• What runs through his head when he thinks about Black Label Society nearing its 30th birthday: "I have one of my Guitar Player magazines that has Keith Richards on the cover and it says, 'Keith Richards: 16 Years With the Rolling Stones.' Sixteen years! ... When I first started with Ozzy, I don't remember high school going by this fast. I remember high school was more like molasses going uphill in January, as far as time went. But it's really amazing. Me and [John DeServio] talk about it all the time."

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Zakk Wylde joined Loudwire Nights on Wednesday, Oct. 22; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.