Living metal guitar god Zakk Wylde made a surprise appearance in Seattle last night ahead of the Seattle Seahawks' NFL face-off against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field. The Black Label Society frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne collaborator was on hand, decked out in a Seahawks jersey, to hammer out a metalled-up version of USA national anthem The Star Spangled Banner, accompanied by a burst of pyro and a couple of fighter jets to ramp up the spectacle.
Sadly, Wylde's performance was not enough to inspire the Seahawks themselves to victory, as they crashed to a 20-26 loss on the night to the Rams. Unlucky, lads. Watch video footage of the performance via the Seattle Seahawks Youtube.
Wylde unveiled a new Black Label Society track back in September, a typically groove-heavy slab of beefy metal titled The Gallows that was sprinkled with his trademark, unmistakeable style of shred. Previously, Wylde had been busy playing guitar in the controversial Pantera reunion, filling the shoes of his late friend Dimebag Darrell, who was killed on stage during a Damageplan show in 2004.
"You approach it the same way as you do when I'm playing with Ozzy," Wylde told Sirius XM of his approach to taking part in the reunion while staying respectful to Darrell's legacy. "Obviously I've gotta learn [Randy] Rhoads's stuff and I've gotta learn Jake's [E. Lee] stuff, and when I was doing the [Black] Sabbath stuff, you learn it and do it as faithful as you can."
Dimebag Darrell's brother and Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul passed away in 2018 due to health issues, with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante taking his place behind the kit for the Pantera reunion shows. The shows have proven extremely divisive to fans, some delighted at the chance to get to see Pantera songs played live again, others dismayed at the band touring in the wake of Vinnie Paul's vocal opposition to a reunion while he was still alive, alongside frontman Phil Anselmo's historic racism controversies.
