Ozzy Osbourne Guitarist Recreates Black Sabbath Debut Album For 50th Anniversary

Bruce Henne | 07-06-2020

(hennemusic) Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde will pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the debut album by Black Sabbath by releasing a full recreation of the groundbreaking project this fall with his band Zakk Sabbath.

Due September 4, "Vertigo" sees the Sabbath tribute band - featuring guitarist/vocalist Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne), bassist Blasko (Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie) and drummer Joey Castillo (Danzig, Queens of the Stone Age) - deliver their faithful rendition of the Birmingham group's first record.

Legendarily recorded in a single day in October 1969, Black Sabbath's self-titled debut was released on a Friday the 13th in 1970, fifty years ago this year.

Having been gigging as a fun homage to the godfathers of metal since 2014, the Zakk-led trio was looking for a new idea when the decision to go studio came about.

"We recorded a live EP and were wondering what we could do next as a cover band, so the 50th album anniversary came just at the right time," explains Blasko. "Compared to 'Paranoid', which is almost like a best-of record, the bulk of the material on 'Black Sabbath' is deep-cut, really experimental stuff that was never thoroughly explored, so that was a challenge, not to forget that we wanted to meet our own high standards."

Describing the DIY process as "very productive," the three respectfully added their own flair to make for a slightly different flavor, also revisiting various live renditions and "extending a solo here or slowing things down there because that's what they tended to do on stage."

Zakk Sabbath's ode to the masters won't be available digitally, "to make the release feel authentic to when vinyl ruled the earth. It was such a cool time for those of us that grew up during that time. The fan experience with the physical product is irreplaceable with digital and streaming. We wanted to capture that authenticity." Check out the cover of "Black Sabbath" here.

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