Ozzy Osbourne and long-time guitarist Zakk Wylde shan't work together again. It's news to Zakk.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Ozzy Osbourne Says He’s Dropping Zakk Wylde: “I Wanted a Change”

7/13/09, 8:26 am EST

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/07/13/ozzy-osbourne-says-hes-dropping-zakk-wylde-i-wanted-a-change/



A few years ago, a Web rumor suggested Ozzy Osbourne was scrapping longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, who joined Ozzy’s band in 1987. In late 2005, just before the start of the recording sessions for Ozzy’s 2007 solo LP Black Rain, Osbourne reportedly hosted auditions for a new guitarist. Apparently, those auditions didn’t yield an Ozzy-approved replacement, and Osbourne ended up using Wylde’s signature guitar riffing on what was a poorly received record.

Now, though, it seems the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness wants Wylde out, and someone fresh in. In an interview with Classic Rock magazine, Ozzy says he’d like to audition Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 for the opening.

“I’m getting a new guitar player as we speak,” Osbourne explained, “and everyone has been saying to me for a long time, ‘Get Johnny 5!’ And I tried him at one time and I didn’t really give him a chance. We’ll see, I don’t know. I haven’t fallen out with Zakk, but Zakk’s got his own band, and I felt like my stuff was beginning to sound like Black Label Society. I just felt like I wanted a change, you know?”

Ozzy added that he’s even got a guitarist flying in from Greece to try out for the open slot. Osbourne says he’s started working on the follow-up to Black Rain with producer Kevin Churko, and apparently, Wylde has already worked some on the new disc. “Zakk came down and did a bunch of stuff and I don’t know if I want to use it but I’ve got it there if I do,” Ozzy says. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Osbourne cancelled 2009’s Ozzfest so he could focus on his next studio album, his 10th.

Of course, it seems Wylde’s been kept out of the loop. He posted on his Twitter over the weekend, “I’m doing the BlizzCon convention in Anaheim, California with Ozzy in August and supposed to finish up the CD in September…This is news to me. I haven’t heard anything about this. Until I talk to the Boss, I don’t know. I love Ozzy.”

[DarkTirade]

1. I loved him in the fictional band "Steel Dragon" for the movie Rock Star.

He managed to both capture and yet improve on the best of hair metal. :)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. Yep...that movie is one of my guilty pleasures.

Definitely one of those "so bad it's good" films in spots, but Wahlberg's audition for the band is a pretty universal "rock & roll fantasy" moment (and for Ripper Owens, it was more than a fantasy)...

:toast:

[driver8]

11. I work at Warner Bros. and was the dailies assistant on that movie.

We had to run all the film that was shot for the day and transfer it to tape for the editors to load into their computers.

We knew the words to EVERY song that "Steel Dragon" did -- backwards and forwards!!

[MrSlayer]

3. Zakk is a fucking god, this a travesty.

90% of the reason I go see Ozzy anymore is to see Zakk tear it up. John 5 is just "o.k." as a player, a pro for sure but not a standout, not top of the line phenomenal as Ozzy's guitarists always have been. If true, this is not a good move.

And his reasoning is bullshit, they almost never use Zakk's material. If they did, Ozzy's later work would have been better.

Color me unhappy.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. It's basically Zakk and Randy...

...everything else in between...to paraphrase Ian Hunter..."wasn't the Nazz...they were just a buzz...some kinda TEMPORARY..."

:toast:

[MrSlayer]

5. Jake E. Lee is a tremendous player.

Right up there with Randy and Zakk and considered by many to be the best of the lot. His work is nothing less than fantastic even if the material on Bark and Ultimate Sin wasn't the best. And Brad Gillis was excellent on the Speak of the Devil tour, he just killed. Why he went back to Night Ranger remains a mystery to me.

Ozzy needs something more than a run of the mill great guitarist. He has to have one of the best in the world. He had that in Sabbath and he's had that through his solo career. John 5 isn't it. Perhaps he'll find the next phenom and all will be well but losing Zakk seems crazy and a betrayal, it's like disowning your child.


Edit: Joe Holmes would be an acceptable replacement. He played with Ozzy for a number of years while Zakk was doing BLS on Ozzfest. He's a total Randy clone.

[DarkTirade]

10. Its entirely possible that that's why Ozzy would prefer another player...

He probably doesn't want somebody stealing his spotlight. :)

[Common Sense Party]

6. I like the 9-year old Japanese kid. He shreds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMD_L8IDZnc

Rock on, Yuto!

[jmowreader]

7. Too bad Yuto didn't have TWO Ozzy songs ready to go

Yuto sings one, Ozzy the second. Maybe "Flying High Again"?

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Never liked Zakk. All flash, no real meat. Bit of a douchebag wanker, really.

Good for Ozzie.

Get a real guitarist this time, O Mighty One!

[driver8]

12. I used to think Zakk was a douchebag wanker, also.

However, I have read a couple of interviews with him and he is actually a pretty humble guy.

I was very surprised, because he does come off like a dick.

[Strong Atheist]

9. Recommended,

dammit! x(

[Iggo]

13. I was about to post how Zakk is just another...

...in a long line of Ozzy guitarists.

But damn! Twenty-two years?!?!! Again, and with gusto: DAMN!

[Mudoria]

14. Ozzy should see what Michael Schenker is up to these days..

[Amerigo Vespucci]

15. He's touring the U.S. with MSG...and seems interested in keeping the spotlight in his direction.

http://www.michaelschenkerhimself.com/home.php

A Note From Michael 2009.06.05

WELCOME TO MY SITE

A new Michael Schenker Era is continuing with the "In the Midst of Beauty—World Tour" continuing in the United States.

The line up for the US Tour is:
Michael Schenker (Guitar)
Gary Barden (Vocals)
Wayne Findlay (Guitar/Keyboards)
Pete Holmes (Drums)
Rev Jones (Bass)

[mitchum]

16. Ozzy Osbourne? That guy from the TV show? He's a musician?

what a trip