Zakk Wylde

Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy metal band Black Label Society.

Wylde's signature bulls-eye design appears on many of his guitars. He was also the lead guitarist and vocalist of Pride & Glory, who released one self-titled album in 1994 before disbanding. As a solo artist, he released the albums Book of Shadows and Book of Shadows II. Wylde joined the reunited Pantera in 2022 as a touring guitarist.

Zachary Phillip Wylde was born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt in Bayonne, New Jersey, on January 14, 1967. He is of Irish descent. He started playing guitar at the age of eight, but did not become serious about it until his early teenage years. At the age of 14, he worked at Silverton Music in Silverton, New Jersey. He grew up in Jackson, New Jersey, where he attended Jackson Memorial High School, graduating in 1985. He has stated that he often played the guitar almost non-stop between coming home from school and leaving for school the next morning, then would be completely exhausted during school the next day.

Wylde played locally with his first band Stone Henge, then later with local New Jersey band Zyris.

In 1987, Wylde auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne after listening to The Howard Stern Show and learning that Osbourne was looking for a new lead guitarist. Wylde was hired to replace Jake E. Lee, who was fired by Ozzy Osbourne manager Sharon Osbourne. He subsequently toured with Osbourne and played on No Rest for the Wicked (1988), No More Tears (1991), and Ozzmosis (1995) as a co-writer.

Wylde was replaced by ex-Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe Holmes in 1995 until Wylde's return in 2001. Although not credited for songwriting, Wylde recorded Down to Earth and appeared on the supporting tour. After auditioning different guitarists in 2004 and 2005, Ozzy Osbourne announced Zakk Wylde as the official guitarist for his album Black Rain, which was released in 2007 and also accompanied by a tour.

Wylde rejoined Ozzy Osbourne's band once again for a select number of dates during Osbourne's 2017 summer tour, and then performed on the No More Tours II tour before the remaining shows were postponed and eventually canceled. On September 8, 2022, he again joined Osbourne onstage at the SoFi Stadium along with Andrew Watt to perform "Crazy Train" and the title track for Osbourne's album "Patient Number 9" at the NFL's season opening during half-time. The following day, Patient Number 9 was released featuring Wylde playing guitar on 4 tracks.

On October 19, 2024, Wylde performed on stage at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse during the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Osbourne, playing Mama, I'm Coming Home and No More Tears.