The ongoing debate surrounding artificial intelligence in the music industry continues to draw diverse opinions from veteran musicians. In a recent interview with “Qobuz,” Black Label Society frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde offered his perspective on the growing use of A.I. generators to create melodies, harmonies, and lyrics. Unlike many of his peers who view the technology as a threat, the guitarist explained that he remains unbothered by the emergence of machine learning models.
He emphasized that while algorithms can analyze and replicate a band’s signature traits, they cannot authentically duplicate the human element and creative spirit of legendary musicians.
“To me, it’s no big deal, ’cause whoever the artist is that you love, whether it’s Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, you’ll never be able to replace what’s gonna come out of Tony‘s [Iommi] riffs, what Geezer‘s [Butler] gonna write lyrically, what Bill‘s [Ward] gonna play, what melodies Ozzy‘s [Osbourne] gonna sing, because they’re creating it. But I get it. I mean, if A.I., it listens to all of Ozzy‘s melodies and gets a feel for what Ozzy‘s style is, and then hears Tony‘s riffs and then it could hear the tendencies Bill plays, certain fills he does, and the way Geezer plays bass, and it listens to the lyrics, and it takes in the lyrics of what Geezer [writes] about — a lot about religion, about war, about things like that — and it comes up with something [new]. It’d be no different than a songwriter trying to come up with something that Black Sabbath would write,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Acknowledging the widespread industry anxiety regarding the rapid advancement of these tools, the guitarist stated that he ultimately views A.I. mimicking as a form of flattery rather than a genuine replacement for human creativity.
“Everyone’s terrified of [A.I.],” Wylde continued. “I just think you can’t take away what’s in the mind of Jimi Hendrix, what Jimi Hendrix is gonna write. So you can try and emulate it. All I look at it is the computer is just giving a compliment to the sound of whatever band that they’re trying to [emulate], like The Eagles or something, that’s gonna write a song that’s like a ‘Desperado‘ kind of song, or ‘Hotel California‘. No, it doesn’t bother me, ’cause I’m still gonna buy the record from The Eagles.”
During a recent Q&A session at HMV on Oxford Street in London on January 28, the guitarist spoke about AI-generated music, arguing that while the technology is “fine” for entertainment, it ultimately lacks the unique creative spark of human legends.
“A.I. is fine,” Wylde told the audience at the time. “It would almost kind of be like if me and you were sitting around going, ‘Hey, guys, can you write a song you think Black Sabbath would write?’ So it’s no different than that. But you’re never gonna be able to replace what is coming out of Ozzy‘s mind, what’s coming out of Tony Iommi‘s mind, what Geezer‘s thinking when he’s gonna write lyrics, and how Bill‘s gonna approach the drums on a riff, what kind of drum beat he’s gonna play.”
He continued, applying the same logic to Pantera and Elton John:
“‘Cause when you get a record from whatever your favorite artist or your favorite band [is], you’re getting a piece of them. So you can’t ever replace that. It’s just like saying you’re gonna write A.I. Pantera. You can’t replace what was going on in Dime‘s mind and what Vinnie‘s gonna play. Pantera is those four guys — so it’s Philip, Rex, Dime and Vinnie. And that’s that. I mean, that’s Pantera. So, just like any other band is… That’s who it is. You can’t replace what’s coming out of Elton John‘s mind, what he wants to sit down and play on a piano and what Bernie Taupin‘s gonna write lyrically. That’s the beauty of the human element of music.”
While protective of the “real thing,” Wylde admitted he isn’t entirely opposed to the technology, noting that he enjoys the novelty of AI-generated mashups. He recalled sharing a digital fusion of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath with Osbourne himself.
“But, I mean, A.I. is fine,” Wylde conceded. “It’s fun, in regards, though, if it’s gonna write something that sounds like what Led Zeppelin would write or what Black Sabbath would write. And it’s just, like, ‘Oh, wow. This came out pretty cool.’ I mean, with Black Label, we always start with the Zeppelin-Sabbath mashup. And I think it’s great. I remember when Ozzy heard it the first time, he was, like, ‘Oh my god. Zakk, have you heard this thing?’ I’m, like, ‘Yeah, I think it’s great.’ It’s ‘Whole Lotta Love‘, and then you stick in Ozzy singing ‘War Pigs‘ over the riff, and then Robert Plant comes in on the solo. I’m, like, ‘Dude, this is the coolest thing ever.’ So, it’s having fun with it. But you’re never gonna replace Ozzy coming up with that melody, Tony coming up with that music, and Geezer coming up with those lyrics. And then ‘Whole Lotta Love‘, Jimmy Page playing that riff and then Robert Plant singing the ‘Whole Lotta Love‘ scream over the top of it. ‘Cause that’s the real thing. You can never replace the real thing.”
Wylde closed his thoughts on replacement with a self-deprecating joke about his marriage:
“My wife has no problem replacing me with various other people and things, but as long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters.”
