Zakk Wylde, whose résumé includes Ozzy Osbourne and Black Label Society, thinks the idea of being "the best" musician is ridiculous. In an interview with Music Is Win, Wylde breaks down his belief that nobody is "the best" and states that there's no real, quantifiable way to prove that someone "the best". He also makes the excellent point that it's all a matter of taste and what you're trying to do with your music.
"When we say, 'Who's the best guitar player?' or 'Who's the best drummer?' or 'Who's the best singer?' or 'Who's the best…' whatever, right? When that debate always comes up, [it] is kind of a weird thing," he said.
"Even King Edward [Eddie Van Halen] always said, he goes, 'Music, it's not sports.' It's not a powerlifting meet where you know who the strongest guy is because, obviously, his numbers are the highest. Whoever benched the most, whoever deadlifted the most, whoever had the highest numbers wins the meet. Or sports — baseball game or a football game — there's a winner at the end of the game.
"But music, it's not who's the best; it's who is your favorite. It's like pizza — what's your favorite pizza? They're all good. They're all slamming. It's just, like, 'Do you like it just plain? Or do you like it with garlic and mushroom? Do you like it with pepperoni? Do you like it with sausage?'
"It's just like saying, 'What's your favorite Zeppelin record?' There is no favorite; they're all good. They're all amazing, actually. It's like I'm wearing out II for a while, so I'm listening to Presence now because I haven't listened to that for a while. So, yeah, it really is the truth — it's what's your favorite, or whatever mood you're in for that day."
We do know one thing Wylde is definitely the best at, and it's writing songs for Black Label Society. Wylde recently revealed he wrote and recorded roughly 30 songs for a new Black Label Society record, which should see the light of day this November.
