Zakk Wylde and Ozzy Osbourne have collaborated and been pals for many years now – so it is interesting to hear Zakk say that Ozzy once got the guitarist to turn into a “full-blown Satanist.” But what exactly is the context to such an intense shift?
Per a new interview with Revolver, Wylde not only spoke to his relationship with Ozzy and working on the metal legend’s new record – Patient Number 9 – he also spoke to the first time he ever listened to some of Ozzy’s music. The first time Wylde heard Ozzy was thanks to a Black Sabbath related release back when he was a young kid. Here is what the guitarist had to say about listening to Ozzy and Sabbath and how he found himself turned into a “full-blown Satanist.”
“I remember being in art class. My one buddy Tommy — he must have been like 11 years old — he had a sculpture of a jawless skull, which is basically the Black Label skull now: Skully. It was a jawless skull with a lightning bolt going through it that said, ‘Black Sabbath 666.’
“I was like, ‘Wow, what is that?’ And he goes, ‘Oh, it’s just a rock band my older brother listens to.’ And I thought it looked so cool. I just wanted to figure out what it was. So, I was at the mall with my mother and my mom was like, ‘You can get a record.’ OK, so obviously, I ended up buying We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll — but we know it’s a double album.
“I had never heard a Sabbath song before in my life. So, I put the record on and I was beyond terrified the whole time I listened to the album. I was Catholic when I first put the needle down on it, and halfway through the second LP, I was a full-blown Satanist. And by the end of the album, I converted back to Catholicism just so I could thank God for creating Black Sabbath.”
That is one hell of a mark to make on someone when it comes to music! We imagine there might have been many people back in the day who were listening to Ozzy and Black Sabbath and felt some sort of ominous atmosphere coming from the music. What was your experience like first listening to Black Sabbath and Ozzy? Did you think the music sounded “evil”?
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