FEATURE
Dead on Target Dead on Target
Wylde with a leather fedora and
a Les Paul with his trademark bull’s-eye pattern inlaid with mother of pearl.
Photo by Clay Patrick McBride
Armed with his arsenal of bull’s-eye-themed axes and fresh
on the heels of his 10th release with Black Label Society, Zakk Wylde
proves he’s still one of the hungriest men of metal—even if he
wouldn’t mind writing a tune for Britney Spears or the Eagles.
BY CHARLES SAUFLEY
Almost 25 years after Ozzy Osbourne lis-
tened to Zakk Wylde’s mailed-in audition
cassette and asked him to join his band,
Wylde remains an inspiration to thousands of
players around the world. And that’s due to
his underdog tale as much as it is to his dis-
tinctive playing—including his much-copied
pinched-harmonic squeals, which are now a
staple throughout metal. Thanks to Wylde,
guitarists know to aim high, shoot for the
moon, and expect the impossible. During
the past two and a half decades, Wylde
has squandered none of the opportunity he
was given. He has contributed guitar to five
Osbourne albums, including the late-period
Oz classic No Rest for the Wicked, and cut
10 albums with his own Black Label Society.
Wylde’s intense drive as a player, and
even as a businessman, has made him a
larger-than-life figure among contemporary
metal and heavy-rock guitarists. And his
influence has spread well beyond the realms
of metal and shred, as a listen to any Alice
in Chains record reveals. His image is that
of a leather-and-denim-clad Viking wielding
a bull’s-eye Les Paul. But behind the stage
persona is a musician with chops that tran-
scend metal and a voracious appetite for
creating larger-than-life sounds.
www.premierguitar.com
PREMIER GUITAR NOVEMBER 2010 213
