Ozzy Dumps Zakk Wylde

07/13/09 5:31pm

by Bianca Marcus (CHARTattack)

It seems the 20-year love affair between Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde has ended.

The Prince Of Darkness opened up about his relationship with (former?) Ozzy guitarist Wylde in a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine.

"Well, I'm getting a new guitar player as we speak," said Ozzy, "and everyone has been saying to me for a long time, 'Get Johnny 5!' And I tried him at one time and I didn't really give him a chance. We'll see, I don't know.

"I haven't fallen out with Zakk, but Zakk's got his own band, and I felt like my stuff was beginning to sound like Black Label Society. I just felt like I wanted a change, y'know?"

Ozzy also revealed he's ready to work on a new album.

"I've got a guy from Greece coming in — not the musical, the country of Greece — but I'm not going to say too much about it, cos I don't know myself at this point," Ozzy continued. "I've got a new album, I'm working on it as we speak. I've got a studio at my house and I've got a guy called Kevin Churko [Cheap Trick, Britney Spears], the guy that did the last album — he's great to work with."

The exclusion of Wylde from Ozzy’s upcoming album may come as a shock to fans, but according to Wylde's Twitter, the guitarist hasn't even been notified of the sudden lineup change.

"I haven't heard anything about this," Wylde Tweeted on Friday. "Until I talk to the Boss I don't know. I love Ozzy."

He then wrote, "I'm doing Blizzcon with him in August and supposed to finish up the cd in September....this is news to me."

He has since updated his status with a repost of the first Tweet.

Considering the booting of Wylde, Churko's pop credits and Johnny 5's work as a staff writer at Chrysalis Records (Avril Lavigne, FeFe Dobson, Lynyrd Skynyrd), it sounds like Ozz'’s next record may not be quite as dark as what we've come to expect from the godfather of heavy metal.

You can see Wylde with Black Label Society on these dates:

July 19 Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
July 22 Montreal, QC @ Olympia De Montreal
July 24 Portland, ME @ Cumberland County Civic Center w/Mudvayne and Static-X
July 25 Lowell, MA @ Tsongas Arena w/Mudvayne and Static-X
July 26 Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
July 28 Reading, PA @ Sovereign Center
July 29 Youngstown, OH @ Chevrolet Center
July 31 Big Flatts, NY @ NY Tags Summer Stage
Aug. 1 Albany, NY @ Altamont Fairgrounds
Aug. 2 Atlantic City, NJ @ House Of Blues
Aug. 4 Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
Aug. 5 Battle Creek, MI @ Kellogg Arena
Aug. 7 Moline, IL @ Wireless Center
Aug. 8 Rockford, IL @ Rockford Metro Centre
Aug. 9 Madison, WI @ Willow Island
Aug. 11 Topeka, KS @ Landon Arena
Aug. 12 Mankato, MN @ Midwest Wireless Civic Center
Aug. 14 Omaha, NE @ Westfair Amphitheater
Aug. 15 Little Rock, AR @ Riverfest Amphitheatre
Aug. 16 Wichita, KS @ KS Coliseum Lot
Aug. 18 Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheater
Aug. 19 Missoula, MT @ Ryan Creek Amphitheater
Aug. 21 Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
Aug. 23 Portland, OR @ Washington County Fairgrounds
Aug. 25 Eugene, OR @ Cubhert Amphitheater
Aug. 26 Reno, NV @ Events Center
Aug. 28 San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic Auditorium
Aug. 29 Bakersfield, CA @ Rabo Bank Arena
Sept. 1 San Diego, CA @ San Diego Sports Arena
Sept. 2 Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheater
Sept. 4 Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street Amphitheater
Sept. 5 San Antonio, TX @ Sunken Gardens
Sept. 6 Lubbock, TX @ Lonestar Amphitheater
Sept. 8 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
Sept. 9 Oklahoma City, OK @ Zoo Amphitheater
Sept. 11 Louisville, KY @ TBA
Sept. 12 Detroit, MI @ Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
Sept. 13 Dayton, OH @ Montgomery County