INTERVIEW: Zakk Wylde
- Al Muzer
Spewin' a fast-food-barrage of beer-swillin' Jack-guzzlin' can-crushin' joke-crackin' titty-feelin' law-breakin' keg-tappin' speed trap-blowin' bravado as if the road of life had no posted limit, rock stars still had more fun than regular people and a republican still ruled the White House, Zakk Wylde, band leader, guitar monster, solo artist, Ozzy insider, Guns 'n' Roses 10-minute member, one-time Allman Brother (for about as long as he was with G'n'R) and long-ago axe slinger for several long-forgotten New Jersey bands will never be accused of holding back when it comes to they way he feels about things.
On his discovery: "I was playing in this little shithole with this crap band that was going nowhere fast when a guy came up to me and asked me about auditioning for Ozzy."
On his audition for Ozzy: "Being a Black Sabbath freak, I shit myself when I plugged in and looked over to my right and there was Ozzy!"
On a short stint with the Allman Brothers Band as a fill in for guitarist Dickie Betts: "[I] thought I fit in really well with my 20 minute guitar solos. I guess not."
On his initial impression of fellow Garden State guitarist, Bruce Springsteen: "'I can't hear any fucking guitar in any of these songs! There's nothing!' I'm going, like, 'Where's the fucking fiddle?' And my friends'd be like, pointing it [Springsteen's guitar] out for me. Well, hell ... if you gotta point out where the fucking fiddle is [in a song], then there ain't none in it!"
On the inspiration for "Born To Lose," a track on the recently released Sonic Brew (Spitfire Records): "Is it [just] me, or have you noticed the endless stream of fucking idiots that keep jumping through the television screen?"
On the blistering "Sweet Leaf" riff that torches "Peddlers of Death": "Which one? [slams into a brief, full-volume assault of the song's semi-familiar riff on a guitar cranked to "shred" and sure to rattle windows in his hotel room] That one? Man, that is the fucking greatest riff of all fucking time! [overcome by the accidental genius of Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Zakk blasts out a few minutes worth of "Sweet Leaf" before returning to earth.]
Addressing himself as he mulls the thoughtful lyrics, mournful acoustic guitar and obvious heartbreak that make "Spoke In The Wheel" such a moving coda for Sonic Brew: "...quite feeling sorry for yourself, fuckface."
On the songwriting and creative process that went into Sonic Brew -- "I didn't approach this any differently than when I do an Ozzy record. I sit around and I ... well ... I gotta write a riff that makes my fuckin' dick hard first. After I find the riff, the rest is easy."
On the music he and drinking partner/drummer Phil Ondich, with the assistance of producers Ron and Howard Albert (the Black Label Society) created for Sonic Brew, Zakk's third solo effort: "I hate fucking comparisons, fucking 'genres' and fucking 'labels,' so I pre-labeled my music for ya, it's called 'Alcohol Fueled Brewtality for the next millennium.'"
All things considered, that's not a bad description for the tremendously powerful blasts of hair-swirling, neck-snapping, metal-edged devil-hum that makes Sonic Brew such a surprisingly accessible 14-track treat. Built on solid songs with well-written choruses, genius riffs, better vocals than you're probably imagining, subtle, well-placed guitar heroics, the good sense to mellow out in a few key spots, and a slew of genuinely memorable hooks, Sonic Brew sounds a little like Monster Magnet with a heavier Black Sabbath jones, a much better guitarist, a genius bassist, access to all the free booze the band wanted in the studio, and an Alice In Chains cassette glued in the tour bus tape deck.
Despite the lack of 30-minute guitar wanks and the ego-driven chest-thumping you expect on a "guitarist's" solo album, Wylde is only too happy to remind you of his six-string pedigree every now and then by taking his "fiddle" (as he calls it) to lofty heights, screaming dives and churning power mulch-fuzz depths not many guitarists would survive, let alone attempt, all within the semi-structured confines of 14 outstanding new tunes that define a brand new direction for metal.
On the guitar as a way of life: "If I was never playing with Ozzy or I never got my deal, I'd still be as deep into it [music] as I am now. I mean, I did construction for a bit and had a few other jobs but, I was like, Fuck this! If I don't have a fuckin' 'fiddle' in my hand, then I'm not doin' what I'm meant to be doin'... what I'm supposed to be doin.'"
Go to http://www.spitfirerecords.com or http://www.zakkwylde.com/ for more information on Zakk Wylde and the Black Label Society's Sonic Brew.
