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For Zakk Wylde<\/strong>, striking out on his own never meant severing ties with Ozzy Osbourne<\/strong>. Quite the opposite, despite forging his own creative path through Pride & Glory<\/strong>, his 1996 solo debut Book of Shadows<\/em>, and eventually Black Label Society<\/strong>, Wylde<\/strong> says the Osbournes<\/strong> have always had his back, which goes on to prove that creative independence and loyalty can indeed go hand in hand.<\/p>\n Joining Ozzy Osbourne<\/strong>‘s band at just 19, Wylde<\/strong> was thrown headfirst into the high-stakes world of professional rock. That remained his musical home for years, until the early to mid-1990s, when other creative projects began to take shape.<\/p>\n “I think, when I started doing Black Label<\/strong>, Oz<\/strong> was just like, ‘Well, Zakk<\/strong>‘s his own guy now,'” Wylde<\/strong> said in a recent appearance on Billy Corgan<\/strong>‘s podcast The Magnificent Others<\/em>. “It’s just like, ‘Zakk<\/strong>‘s out of the nest now.’ He’s just like, ‘I don’t want to be the lead singer in Black Label Society<\/strong>.'”<\/p>\n Even as Wylde<\/strong> began stepping in and out of Ozzy<\/strong>‘s band over the years, that evolving musical independence never caused tension between them. He elaborated further on how Ozzy<\/strong>‘s attitude reflected his trust in Wylde<\/strong>‘s path: “And I don’t take offense to that, because if Randy<\/strong> had gone on to keep doing Quiet Riot<\/strong>, [Ozzy<\/strong>] would have been like, ‘I don’t want to be the lead singer in Quiet Riot<\/strong>.'”<\/p>\n During the podcast, Corgan<\/strong> brought up a moment when Ozzy<\/strong> allegedly joked that his solo records were starting to sound like Black Label Society<\/strong>, a comment that may have stemmed from their 2009 split. But Wylde<\/strong>, who’s always been clear about the influence of Tony Iommi<\/strong>, didn’t disagree entirely.<\/p>\n “I mean, especially with me, in the Black Label<\/strong> soup you’re always tasting [a bit of Sabbath<\/strong>], being that I’m a graduate of Lord [Tony<\/strong>] Iommi<\/strong> University\u2026 So, the whole thing is, it’s gonna be in there, in the soup somewhere.”<\/p>\n Wylde<\/strong> emphasized that overlap is inevitable, given how deeply his musical DNA is tied to the roots of metal. But when it comes to authorship, the identity of a track can shift in a heartbeat, as soon as Ozzy<\/strong> lends his unmistakable voice.<\/p>\n “When I’m jamming, as soon as Ozzy<\/strong> would sing on it\u2026 If Ozzy<\/strong> sang on ‘Stillborn’ \u2013 he sang on the chorus, but if he sang the whole song, that would be a new Ozzy<\/strong> song. If Ozzy<\/strong> sang on ‘The Gallows’, that would be a new Ozzy<\/strong> song.”<\/p>\n \n