Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde believes the best music comes from simplicity, and that if Pro Tools were around during the making of classic records like Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon and The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, these records wouldn’t have had the same magic.

Wylde joined Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band in 1987, and played for him on and off throughout his long career. He also fronts his own band, Black Label Society.

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And in a new interview with Metal Hammer, the guitarists reflects on why the simpler recording and production technology available to bands prior to DAWs like Pro Tools contributed to the success of such records.

“When you actually listen to all the old albums, Sgt. Pepper’s…, Jimi Hendrix records, the first Sabbath album or Zeppelin’s first album, you go, ‘Man imagine if they had today’s Pro Tools and had, you know, a hundred tracks.’ I’d go, ‘Those albums wouldn’t sound like they do.’

“It would have ruined them. [Pink Floyd’s] Dark Side Of The Moon wouldn’t have sounded like it does if it had today’s resources,” he continues. “If Led Zeppelin IV wasn’t recorded in ‘71, if it was recorded today, it wouldn’t have sounded the way it does, because a lot of things were either happy mistakes, or you had to be creative.”

Wylde isn’t the only artist who feels today’s tools may be having a counterproductive effect on record production. Looking back on the formative Smashing Pumpkins albums Gish (1991) and Siamese Dream (1993), Billy Corgan told Rick Beato in 2022 that modern tools are “like the filter on Instagram”.

“It’s hard to go back into that brain…” he said. “Now, if you try to do that, you’re thinking in the back of your mind, ‘Well, if I mess up, we can fix it, move it…’ And when you start moving – it’s over. It’s like the filter on Instagram.”

Emerging technologies are regularly the source of debate in the music world. With AI an increasingly common talking point, Zakk Wylde also reflected on its impact during a recent Q&A in London.

“AI is fine. It would almost be like if me and you were sitting around going, ‘Hey, guys, can you write a song you think Black Sabbath would write?’ So it’s no different than that.

“But you’re never gonna be able to replace what is coming out of Ozzy’s mind, what’s coming out of Tony Iommi’s mind, what Geezer’s [Butler] thinking when he’s gonna write lyrics, and how Bill’s [Ward] gonna approach the drums on a riff, what kind of drum beat he’s gonna play,” he added. “When you get a record from whatever your favourite artist or your favourite band [is], you’re getting a piece of them. So you can’t ever replace that.”

Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society will release a new album, Engines Of Demolition, on 27 March. Find out where to catch them on tour via their official website.

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