Black Label Society has officially released their twelfth studio album, Engines Of Demolition, available today via MNRK Heavy. Serving as the direct follow-up to 2021’s Doom Crew Inc., the new record concludes with a deeply personal track titled “Ozzy’s Song“. Penned by frontman Zakk Wylde, the closing anthem stands as a musical tribute to his late bandmate, mentor, and father figure, Ozzy Osbourne.
Zakk Wylde first joined forces with the heavy metal icon back in 1987, affectionately referring to the vocalist as “The Boss” throughout their decades of collaboration. Adding a layer of historical significance to the tribute, the guitarist wrote portions of the new track using his famous 1981 Les Paul Custom, “The Grail”—the exact same instrument he used during his very first writing sessions with the Prince of Darkness.
During a recent interview with Guitar World, Wylde detailed the timeline of the song’s creation. He explained that while the instrumental foundation was already recorded, the lyrics were finalized in the quiet aftermath of the singer’s funeral last summer.
“I wrote the music before Oz passed away. But after Oz passed away, when we went back to England and we laid Ozzy to rest, when I got right from that, I went straight to Pantera celebrations with Phil [Anselmo], Rex [Brown], and Charlie [Benante]. So I hooked back up with the fellas, and we were back rolling. And then when I got done, when we got done with the Pantera celebration run, when I got home, I was just sitting in the house and [this] is when I wrote the lyrics and just sang the song. I was just thinking about Oz, and then I just wrote the lyrics.”
During a recent interview with São Paulo’s 89 FM “A Rádio Rock,” Wylde discussed the creative origins of “Ozzy’s Song” and how the tragic loss of his longtime bandmate ultimately fueled the lyrics.
“ Yeah, I had the music written ’cause we’d been writing this album for the last three and a half years, almost four years. So, we stockpiled all these songs. And I was real happy with the way the music came out. And then I figured eventually I’ll finish the song. But then after we laid Ozzy to rest, when we got back home, we took a break from Pantera celebration [touring with the reformed Pantera]. I sat in a little library room in our house. I just put the headphones on at about one o’clock in the morning and I was looking at a book of Ozzy and I just wrote the lyrics. And that’s what came out.”
Explaining how the track earned its straightforward title, the guitar icon credited his wife and the unavoidable parallels to his previous tribute for fallen Pantera brothers Dimebag Darrell Abbott and Vinnie Paul Abbott.
“My wife would always be listening to it in the truck, Barbaranne, she’d be, like, ‘Babe, put on Ozzy‘s song again.’ So that was pretty much just the working title. It’s just, like, well, it’s Ozzy‘s song. So, people would always be asking, like, ‘I wonder since Zakk wrote a song for [late Pantera guitarist] Dimebag [Darrell Abbott],’ and now we sing it for [late Pantera drummer] Vinnie [Paul Abbott] as well, ‘with ‘In This River‘, I wonder if Zakk will write a song for Ozzy on the new album.’ So, it’s only fitting. We just called it ‘Ozzy’s Song‘. So that’s how we ended up with ‘Ozzy’s Song‘. We’re working on the video for that one right now. So, that’ll be out on the 27th, when that comes out.”
To mark the album’s release and honor the late legend, Black Label Society is hosting a free livestream event tonight, March 27. Broadcast live via Veeps directly from The Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin, the event will feature the debut live performance of “Ozzy’s Song“. Following the performance, fans will also be treated to the world premiere of the track’s official music video. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST.
To support the release of the new album, Black Label Society is currently on an extensive North American headline tour. Zakk Sabbath is serving as the opening act on select dates, with Wylde pulling double duty.
Engines of Demolition Official Tracklist:
- “Name in Blood”
- “Gatherer of Souls”
- “The Hand of Tomorrows Grave”
- “Better Days & Wiser Times”
- “Broken and Blind”
- “The Gallows”
- “Above & Below”
- “Back to Me”
- “Lord Humungus”
- “Pedal to the Floor”
- “Broken Pieces”
- “The Stranger”
- “Ozzy’s Song”
- “Name in Blood (Unblackened)”
- “Lord Humungus (Unblackened)”
Black Label Society Spring 2026 Tour Dates:
- Mar 27 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
- Mar 28 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
- Mar 29 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
- Mar 31 – Montreal, QC – MTELUS
- Apr 02 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
- Apr 03 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater
- Apr 04 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
- Apr 06 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
- Apr 07 – Norfolk, VA – The NorVa
- Apr 09 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
- Apr 10 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
- May 10 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues
- May 11 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
- May 12 – Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center
- May 14 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
