Metal Anarchy

During an interview with Guitar World, Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist Zakk Wylde paid tribute to the late singer. Wylde says Osbourne “gave [him] purpose to be a musician.”

Wylde said the following when asked about the final live performances of “Mama, I’m Coming Home” and “Crazy Train” from Osbourne’s farewell show:

“They’re ingrained in my head. With ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home‘, when we got the acoustic out, I had to be like, ‘Keep the guitar away from the microphone so I can sing,’ because Oz’s voice was having trouble at certain notes. It was like juggling chainsaws on a skateboard… the most important show ever, but everything’s on the fly!

I was like, ‘I need to make sure I’m always there so I can double him.’ I was like three feet away from the microphone when I started playing the song. I was like, ‘I gotta get near the microphone,’ so I had to almost stop playing, lift the guitar up and put it over the mic.”

He also revealed the final text he received from the singer:

“Everybody and their mother were in the backstage dressing room and I just wanted to give him a break. I figured we’d see him later on – the next day or whatever. But no. The last text I got from Oz was saying, ‘Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn’t see you.’ He goes, ‘Thanks for everything.’ It was just us talking, saying, ‘I love you, buddy.’ That was it.”

He also added the following when asked where his life would be without Osbourne:

“I always say, to have music be the thing that turns the lights on at the end of the day, instead of some job that you can’t stand, it’s everything. Everything revolves around playing and music.

If I didn’t have Oz, without a doubt, I’d continue playing… but it’s how Ozzy would say what The Beatles did for him, you know? What he gave me with Sabbath, and then with Randy and Jake, it’s a beacon of light. It gives you purpose. So even if I hadn’t played with him, he gave me purpose to be a musician. And without a doubt, that’ll always be with me.”

He went on to say that he is thankful for the time he got to spend with the frontman:

“I’m blessed and grateful, man. Anything other than that would be selfish. And on top of it, to go out with what’s the biggest-grossing charity event of all? That’s unbelievable. He helped a whole lot of people instead of making a profit. My God, what an incredible master. What an incredible life.”