Zakk Wylde has recalled how his 1995 audition with Guns N’ Roses led to the formation of his band Black Label Society.
The guitarist was lined up to join Axl Rose and co when they were considering a double-lead approach. They decided against it, and he went on to found BLS three years later, between stints with Ozzy Osbourne.
Wylde tells That Metal Show: “We had some ideas laying around, but nothing amounted to where Axl sang on stuff, had lyrics written and everything like that.
“It was great – all the guys were there: Slash, Axl, Duff, Dizzy, Matt. We were all jamming.”
With the idea abandoned, GnR’s classic era officially came to an end the following year when Slash left, soon followed by Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. But Wylde’s brush with the band bore fruit.
He says: “I had a batch of riffs laying around and I just said, ‘I’ll do it myself’ – and that’s when Black Label Society was born.”
And he jokes: “That’s why I’m still living in a van down by the river. I figured, ‘Maybe I want to do this myself.’”
BLS play this year’s Bloodstock Open Air at Catton Park, Derby on August 6-9.
