Zakk Wylde Quotations

You listen to Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio in it, and it's not Black Sabbath. They should have just called it 'Heaven and Hell' right from the beginning. Because you listen to that 'Heaven and Hell' album, that doesn't sound anything close to Black Sabbath.

One day my wife went and saw the accountant and said she's pulling the plug. She said you guys are done. I said, how bad can it be? 10 grand? She said you're not even close. It came out to almost $50,000 in alcohol for two months.

You have to pay attention, like with tours and expenses; you have to factor that all in. You want to play music for the rest of your life, you have to pay attention to all the things. You want to know what's always going on.

Another Black Label motto. That's what I think life is. It's just another bridge to cross. You ask no questions. Whatever work it is you gotta do, you gotta go over it, under it, through it, around it, to do it.

Great musicians, you don't just hear them, you feel them. When I listen to Randy Rhoads, I feel every note. I learned a lot from him.

As much as I love heavy riffs, I like The Eagles, Neil Young, Elton John, Crowded House.

If you bleed Black Label and you're going to be a man, you gotta get up there and do what you gotta do every day, relentless and as tired as you can be.

On the tour we get a case of beer on the bus every day from Ozzfest.

I'm excited to join my brother-in-law Ken Thomson every Tuesday night on SiriusXM to recap all of the awesome NFL action, and to find out what in the Wylde world of sports is going on.

Any guy that's not working with the same amount of intensity and passion that I do, I don't want to know.

If I'm playing with Ozzy it's just a guitar thing. But with the vocals I feel like I'm studying for the SATs.

For Black Label Special Opps, adversity is what you thrive on. General Patton is a huge fan favorite in Black Label.

That's why for Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society the colors are black and white. There are no gray issues. Life is black and it's white. There's no in-between.

It isn't a band. It's bigger than a band. It's a lifestyle

I screwed my knee up once because I fell off the stage.

You've got certain guys that just want to be famous and then you've got the real musicians that just love playing music.

We were sitting on the bus one day and there were 5 of us hanging out. There was only one beer left in the cooler and we actually all took a little cup and split it. It was a pathetic day in a rock and roll when five grown men have to be sitting there sharing a beer.

Had an awesome time. You tell me to show up and all I have to do is drink beer, play guitar all day and I can lift weights and you're going to pay me for this!

It's pure Black Label. It's about violence and booze. That's all it is. There is no plan

Around my house, I won't even speak to my family unless they first address me by my official Berzerker name, Godred Crovan, Victor of Sky-Hill and Ruler of Man and the Isles. And now that I think of it, that's probably why nobody speaks to me unless it's time to feed the dogs or take out the garbage.

I don't think it's ever changed, whether its Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Zeppelin, Guns n' Roses or anyone today, the reason why you get into music is because you love it, and if you're good at it, that's a plus.

For me, the music dictates the melody. Give me a riff to sing over, you know?

I'm just worried that there's enough beer on the bus. That's the top priority at all times.

The way I look at it you can always get better.

Without a doubt, even when I play with Black Label, when we have different guys I play with, everyone always brings their own magic, their own flavor to the soup, hands down.

Because with Black Label and all the fans it's just one big family.

Since day one my thing has always been to play the music

You had better love the music... because sometimes the music doesn't love you.

There's only one Sabbath guitarist and he is the architect for everything, Tony Iommi.

Back when I was jamming with Axl and the guys they had boxes of cassettes with song ideas. How do you know which ones you like now when you have that many ideas.

I love the whole process for each new album. The writing, the touring, everything. For me, it never gets old.

If somebody says they really like my playing I say thanks a lot

I've messed myself up more playing music than when I played football.

We just done doing The Blessed Hellride tour and Ozzfest.

With Nine Inch Nails, it's all Trent Reznor. So when we get a new record from Nine Inch Nails, it depends on what side of the bed Trent's waking up on and what he's been eating lately and what he's been into. Because he's preparing the whole meal.

Another time I cracked two of the vertebrae in my back and broke a rib.

I had throat surgery. We had to check that out and make sure it wasn't cancerous. I had a polyp on my vocal cord, so I had that taken out.

All my writing, I always do it in the studio, 'cause everything sounds good. The piano's there, the keyboards; if you want to put strings on something... And everything sounds good when it's in the cans; it sounds killer.

Chris Jericho is a great guy. He's beyond hysterical. He's good people. They're really good. Chris wanted me to throw down a solo. He sent it to me and I knocked it out.

I feel sorry for these kids in bands. Everything is so disposable nowadays. These kids don't even get 15 minutes of fame, it's like a minute and a half.

If it's a long bus drive after the gig, we'll listen to music all the time, like the Stones, Neil Young, Elton John. Just mellow stuff.

I was looking at the lyrics, and I just said, 'Man, this has gotta be Dime's tune,' so we just made it Dime's song and that's how the video came about, ... I think it's really emotional and it came out great. It's all about Dime's memory and there ain't a dry eye in the house every time you see it.

My spirit is bent and there's blood on my hands, the more I'm down, the less I understand.

We know so many people and have extensive connections to families and friends in Louisiana and Mississippi, so this is the least we can do. People should also know that absolutely every penny that we raise at this event is going directly to the people and families that have been so greatly affected.

The river is a metaphor for life in general, ... all the bullshit that you deal with from being a kid growing up. The whole thing's just about life and death.

If I sit down with an electric guitar, what's going to come out are Sabbath/Zeppelin type riffs, but if I'm sitting behind a piano late at night, I might write something like 'Desperado.' You're not going to write 'Desperado' between a wall of Marshalls and thumping, crushing volume.

I knew that I was going to dedicate my life to music and that was it...

Without a doubt, Eddie Van Halen is the greatest guitar player who has ever lived.

Live, it's just the free flow and the energy and the excitement. It's a one-off and you have that adrenaline for an hour and a half.

I'm blessed to be able to do what I do.

The tours are campaigns.

It'll leave you feeling hollow and helpless, and there is where you'll stay. Ain't it funny child, love sometimes leaves you as dead as yesterday.

Even when I played sports when I was little, I played to win. Otherwise, what's the point of putting the pads on and going to practice? I don't understand.

It's just a natural progression. You're a player, then you're a coach, then you're general manager for the team, and then the next logical step for me and you would be [to become] team owner.

The one thing about the music business is that there is no rulebook. It's not like the NFL or something where there's four downs to get ten yards or baseball where it's three strikes and you're out.

I'm a good Catholic boy.

Being in the studio, it's more of a controlled environment, where you can be Salvador Dali and sit back and look at the painting. And you can go, 'Ah, you know what? Maybe a little bit more red over here...maybe add some blue over here.' You can sit back and look at the painting.

You have to have passion for anything you do. Whether it's sports, whether it's music, whether you want to be Mother Theresa, you have to have passion for what it is you do, or what's the point in getting up in the morning and getting out of bed?

Every day you try to get better.

You have to have passion for what you're doing.

I have sold my soul. Just sign right here.

You're never going to learn everything.

There are no rules in the entertainment business.

You never toot your own horn.

Every night I get up on stage, I love it. I never get like, 'Oh, I'm bored, I want to go home.' I never, ever get like that.

If you have passion for what you want to do and that's what you want to do, you've just got to bust your balls and go for it if you want to play music.

Face your fear Accept your war it is what it is.

Whatever it is you love, and whatever it is that you want to do, that's what you should be doing.

The work these brave men and women do is extremely important, not only to our nation but to all the countries that our troops are stationed at around the world. I am grateful to the USO for having us and to all the troops who shared their day with us.