Zakk Wylde is undoubtedly one of the most legendary rock/metal guitarists of all time. He played with Ozzy Osbourne for nearly four decades and is the founding frontman for Black Label Society. As someone who’s seen it all, he thinks Pro Tools could have ruined most classic rock musicians.
Asserting that “those albums wouldn’t sound like they do,” Wylde told Metal Hammer he thinks the simplicity of songwriting by artists like The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix was crucial to what makes their music so iconic.
“When you [think] about all the great riffs…I mean the first two songs I learned how to play on the guitar, on one string, were [Deep Purple’s] Smoke On The Water and [Black Sabbath’s] Iron Man,” Wylde said. “The art form of the simplicity of just coming up with something as simple as possible.
“I only give you three crayons. Let’s see what you can come up with,” he added. “You know what I mean? Just take everything away, let’s see what you can come up with with limited resources.” Wylde then offered examples of classic rock bands and albums he thinks were better because of analog recording.
“When you actually listen to all the old albums, Sergeant Pepper’s…, Jimi Hendrix records, the first Sabbath album or Zeppelin’s first album, you go, ‘Man, imagine if they had today’s Pro Tools and had, you know, a hundred tracks,’” he said. “I’d go, ‘Those albums wouldn’t sound like they do.’
Zakk Wylde played on nine of Ozzy Osbourne’s albums, including live records
“It would have ruined them,” Wylde continued. “[Pink Floyd’s] Dark Side Of The Moon wouldn’t have sounded like it does if it had today’s resources. If Led Zeppelin IV wasn’t recorded in 71, if it was recorded today, it wouldn’t have sounded the way it does, because a lot of things were either happy mistakes, or you had to be creative.”
Once again using his crayon comparison, Wylde said: “If I only gave you a red crayon and a white crayon, then you mixed them together, you came up with pink. You created that colour by having to mix the two of them.”
Fans can hear some new Wydle riffs when Black Label Society’s new album, Engines Of Demolition, is released on March 27, 2026. Click here to learn more and check out one of the band’s newer singles.
The post Zakk Wylde Says It’s Good Classic Rock Bands Didn’t Have Access to This Modern Recording Tool: ‘Those Albums Wouldn’t Sound Like They Do’ appeared first on VICE.
