Zakk Wylde Confirms He + Ozzy Osbourne Were Planning a New Album Before Ozzy's Death

In the months since Ozzy Osbourne’s passing, guitarist Zakk Wylde has spoken several times about how he hoped to keep working with the Prince of Darkness after his Back to the Beginning farewell concert. Now, Wylde has confirmed that the pair were planning to make a new album together, and he even specifies how Ozzy wanted it to sound.

Ozzy’s Plan for Their New Record

Speaking to NJ.com (published on Nov. 7), Wylde looked back on his last show with Ozzy, commenting that despite Ozzy’s medical issues, he (Wylde) was trying to “stay positive” and think about the future. “I just figured we’ll do the gig, and then who knows?” he continued.

Eventually, he revealed that Ozzy even texted him with ideas for a potential follow-up to 2022’s Patient Number 9 (which featured Wydle, as did 1988’s No Rest for the Wicked, 1991’s No More Tears, 1995’s Ozzmosis, 2001’s Down to Earth and 2007’s Black Rain). Of course, he appeared on several live LPs along the way, too, and according to Wylde, Ozzy wanted their next studio set to be a throwback to their late 20th century work:

He was texting me, "Zakk, let’s do another record. Because I really loved it when you were going through your Allman Brothers, Skynyrd phase when we did ‘No More Tears,’ it’s heavy but it’s more melodic, it’s not pummeling heavy." So I said, "Alright Oz, whatever you want."

No matter how Wylde feels about never getting to make that album, he at least sounds grateful that Ozzy was able to complete several projects before he passed:

We did the show, he ended up finishing his book [Last Rites], they did the documentary [Ozzy: No Escape From Now and/or Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home], and then he was like, “All right, I’m out of here.” He finished everything he had to do and then he was like, “All right, I’m done.”

So, how do you feel about the pair’s plan to make another record together (especially considering the nostalgic vibe Ozzy wanted it to have)? Let us know!

What Else Has Wylde Said About Ozzy?

Late last month, Wylde joined Loudwire Nights and spoke with host Chuck Armstrong about a number of things. During their conversation, he reflected on watching Black Sabbath play “Paranoid” at Back to the Beginning (which took place on July 5, 2025 in the band’s hometown of 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.' She goes, ‘Let’s hope,”” Wylde stated.

He added:

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. 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. . . . Ozzy just always said, “You know what God means, Zakk.” He just goes, “Add another O — it just means good. Be good or be gone.” It's the truth, man.

Other Wylde News

Wylde will continue to honor Ozzy’s legacy through the end of the year by playing multiple shows across the United States with his Black Sabbath tribute band, Zakk Sabbath. (You can see the full batch of dates and grab tickets here.) As for his main outlet – Black Label Society – they’re still working on their upcoming album (which might be called Engines of Demolition). That said, they did put out a new single, “Broken and Blind,” in early October.

Other Ozzy News

In a recent chat with Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan (for Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast), former Ozzy bassist Rudy Sarzo disclosed that he initially felt unsure he’d be accepted when he replaced Bob Daisley in 1981. Yet, in typical Ozzy fashion, Ozzy quickly made Sarzo feel like he belonged in the band.

Specifically, Ozzy championed Sarzo in a 1981 interview with Circus magazine, calling him “Rudy from Cuba.”

“I open (the magazine) and I see ‘Rudy from Cuba,’ and I went, ‘Wow, he doesn’t mind that I am from Cuba.’ That is what confirmed it,” Sarzo recalled (via Loudwire).

Sarzo also told Corgan that he was sleeping on the floor when he joined the group; however, Ozzy and Sharon eventually asked him to move in with them. Ozzy even offered Sarzo some clothes.

“We were playing pool. [Ozzy] takes a look at me and he goes, ‘Man, you look like you need some rock and roll clothes,’” Sarzo mentioned (via Loudwire). Ozzy then left the room and soon returned with a suitcase full of clothing. “He says, ‘Grab whatever you want.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, my god, that’s the jacket from that album cover of this magazine.'”

On Oct. 23, Slash appeared on Loudwire Nights to discuss his latest live album, Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival. In the process, he said it was “amazing” that Guns N' Roses got to play four covers during their stint at Back to the Beginning.

“[T]hat was definitely one of those major kind of events that everybody was there for all the right reasons. There was such a camaraderie in the production itself, with all the different bands and the crew,” he explained.

In fact, when Guns N’ Roses got there, there was “just such an outpouring of love and appreciation for Ozzy and Sabbath.” Slash expounded: “Everybody was there because of that. . . . It was really a momentous occasion and very indelible. That was the only even like that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been in this business.”

Another highlight of the night for the famed guitarist was the chance to finally introduce vocalist Axl Rose to Ozzy.

“It’s not like Ozzy was coming down to Guns N’ Roses shows all the time, but I’d get up and jam with Ozzy and see him. But they never crossed paths, so that was the first time,” Slash said. “For Ozzy to tell Axl that [he loved him] and Axl to really see that genuine respect that Ozzy had for him, [it] was huge for Axl. That was a big deal.”