Zakk Wylde Says Ozzy Osbourne Wanted to Record a ‘Heavy… Melodic’ Album Before Death

Ozzy Osbourne was hoping to record one more album before his shock death in July at age 76. According to the late hard rock icon’s longtime solo band guitarist, Zakk Wylde, not long after this summer’s all-star Back to the Beginning show honoring Black Sabbath and Ozzy’s solo career, the Prince of Darkness rang Wylde up with some ideas for a potential album.

Related

Oasis Bid Farewell to Australia: 'Thanks For Putting Up With Us'

Ozzy Osbourne Was the No. 2 Artist on TouchTunes for Q3 of 2025

Yungblud Hits Back at ‘Bitter & Jealous’ Critics of Ozzy Osbourne Tribute at MTV VMAs

“He was texting me, ‘Zakk, let’s do another record. Because I really loved it when you were going through your Allman Brothers, Skynyrd phase when we did ‘No More Tears,’ it’s heavy but it’s more melodic, it’s not pummeling heavy,’” Wylde told N.J.com of the vibe Ozzy was in search of that would hearken back to their early 1990s salad days working together on albums including 1991’s No More Tears and 1995’s Ozzmosis. “So I said, ‘Alright Oz, whatever you want.’”

Ozzy took the stage to perform his solo hits and a handful of Sabbath classics at the July 5 show in the rocker’s native Birmingham, U.K., where he shared the stage with Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Mastodon and many more. Osbourne passed away just 17 days after the triumphant gig, which was highlighted in the recent Paramount+ documentary Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now. In addition, a 100-minute concert film chronicling the concert, Back to the Beginning: Ozzy’ Final Bow, is slated for release in early 2026.

Despite not getting in the studio to work on the follow-up to his Grammy-winning 2022 album Patient Number 9, Wylde said Osbourne seemed content after the Back to the Beginning blow-out. “We did the show, he ended up finishing his book, they did the documentary, and then he was like, ‘All right, I’m out of here,'” Wylde said of Osbourne. “He finished everything he had to do and then he was like, ‘All right, I’m done.’”

Wylde will be on the road honoring Ozzy’s legacy this fall and winter with his Black Sabbath tribute band, Zakk Sabbath, whose next show is Tuesday night (Nov. 11) at the Bourbon Theatre in Lincoln, Neb.