During a recent appearance on Loudwire Nights with host Chuck Armstrong, guitar icon Zakk Wylde opened up about Black Label Society‘s highly anticipated new album, Engines of Demolition. In true Wylde fashion, the conversation balanced heartfelt reflections on his fallen brothers with his signature, side-splitting humor.
When asked how the new record stands out from the rest of the Black Label Society catalog, Wylde offered a perfect fast-food analogy to describe the band’s reliable heaviness.
“People are like, ‘Zakk, what’s the difference between this album, what makes it so special compared to all the other albums,” Wylde said (via Loudwire). “[Well,] it’s the new album. It’s the next album. And they’re like, ‘Zakk, you know a lot of the complaints, all the albums sound the same.’ I go, ‘Yes, but like McDonald’s or White Castle…it’s consistently the same. Pure taste devastation.'”
Engines of Demolition was originally slated for an earlier release, but Wylde‘s commitment to honoring Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul on the Pantera celebration tour pushed the timeline back significantly.
“We started recording everything in 2022, then went out and did the Pantera celebration for a year and figured that would be it and then we’ll put the Black Label album out,” he shared. “Nah, we’re gonna go out for a little while longer, then that was another year. Then we went out again for another year. Next thing you know, we’re four years deep on the Pantera celebration.”
While the new album doesn’t necessarily sound like Pantera, Wylde admitted that the sheer enthusiasm of his late friend Dimebag Darrell bled into the sessions.
“It’s just Dime‘s energy,” Wylde said. “It’s in the riffs. There’s nothing per se where you go, ‘Oh yeah, it sounds like a Pantera song,’ or anything like that, but [it’s] the enthusiasm and the energy. I mean, Dime would walk in a room, you were having the worst day possible…and he would just light up, his energy was infectious.”
He added that keeping their memory alive is about adopting their relentlessly positive worldview:
“I always tell everybody, if you’re to honor Dime and Vinnie [Paul], [you’ve got to live like] every night was Friday, Saturday or Sunday. There were never any weekdays in their lives. It was always a continuous weekend. Their outlook on life was, ‘I could be happy or miserable. I choose happy.'”
One of the most heavily discussed tracks on Engines of Demolition is “Ozzy’s Song“. Following the devastating passing of his mentor and friend Ozzy Osbourne, the instrumental took on a profound new meaning.
“I had the music written, because like I said, we’ve been writing for years since 2022,” Wylde explained. “But after we laid Ozzy [Osbourne] to rest and when we came back, winding down the Pantera celebration run, I came home, I just sat in the library in our house looking at a book of Ozzy. And I just sat and put the music on and wrote the lyrics right there. Obviously if Oz hadn’t passed away, I’m not writing those lyrics.”
To make the track even more special, Wylde dusted off a piece of heavy metal history to record the solo: his legendary 1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom, known as “the Grail.”
“When it came time to do the solo [for ‘Ozzy’s Song,’] Adam Fuller, who does all our records, he’s in the Black Label kitchen [and] was just like, ‘Zakk, you should get your Grail.’ … It makes perfect sense because I wrote my first song on that and did all the records with Ozzy with that guitar — it only makes sense that I’d play the solo on this fiddle.”
Reflecting on the loss of Osbourne, Wylde noted how playing the music keeps the spirits of departed legends alive:
“Every night when we played Randy [Rhoads‘] stuff with Ozzy, Randy‘s alive and well and his life force is there,” he said. “Same thing with Dime and Vinnie. Every night we’re up there playing Pantera songs and every time a 14-year-old kid gets behind the drums and plays Pantera or plays guitar, Vinnie and Dime are alive and well. Their life force and their energy is still there. It’s a beautiful thing. … Ozzy‘s alive and well.”
Looking ahead, Wylde is preparing for a massive undertaking: pulling double duty on tour by opening for Black Label Society with his Black Sabbath tribute band, Zakk Sabbath. When asked how he manages the workload, Wylde laid out his master plan with typical hilarity:
“The whole point is I’m in Zakk Sabbath and we’re opening for Black Label. I’m not only a fan of Zakk Wylde, I’m a fan of his wife, and by us being out on this tour, I plan on sleeping with Zakk Wylde‘s wife. That’s why I’m thankful that this tour was put together. While we’re going to blow Black Label off the stage, I’m gonna sleep with his wife. So that’s the outlook going into this tour.”
As for whether playing in so many different massive bands (including Pantera‘s upcoming dates opening for Metallica) ever causes ego clashes, Wylde compared the heavy metal community to a pizzeria.
“I’ve been out with all the other bands. Everybody’s cool. No one cares, you know what I mean? It’d be like pizza getting jealous of other pizza. Some people like margherita, some people prefer pepperoni, some people like the white pie with the ricotta. I like the grandma, I’m a big, huge fan of the grandma pie. Then you’ve got garlic and mushroom. So what’s the best pie? They’re all good. It’s all a win-win situation here.”
“We’ve got a group chat and everything like that, so I keep in touch with the fellas and everything.”
Black Label Society 2026 North American Tour Dates:
Feb 27 – San Antonio, TX @ Boeing Center at Tech Port *
Feb 28 – Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory *
Mar 1 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom *
Mar 3 – Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory at the District *
Mar 4 – North Kansas City, MO @ VooDoo at Harrah’s Kansas City *
Mar 6 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom *
Mar 7 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center *
Mar 9 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment Center *
Mar 10 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre *
Mar 12 – Funner, CA @ Harrah’s Resort Southern California *
Mar 13 – Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater *
Mar 14 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield *
Mar 16 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre *
Mar 17 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theater *
Mar 19 – Calgary, AB @ Grey Eagle Event Centre *
Mar 21 – Edmonton, AB @ Midway Music Hall *
Mar 23 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre *
Mar 25 – Prior Lake, MN @ Mystic Lake Casino *
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 2 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena *
Apr 3 – Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theater *
Apr 4 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway *
Apr 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia *
Apr 7 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa *
Apr 9 – 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 *
*Performances with Zakk Sabbath and Dark Chapel
