“You should be doing rap like Limp Bizkit.” Zakk Wylde recalls the career advice that backfired

When Zakk Wylde looks back on his career, one lesson stands above all the others: ignore anyone who tells you to follow trends.

The former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist has heard that advice repeatedly over the decades. Whether it was producers declaring electric guitar solos obsolete, record executives urging him to embrace the latest musical fad, or industry insiders insisting that heavy metal was on its way out, Wylde says he and pals like the late Dimebag Darrell learned early that chasing fashion is a losing proposition.

“There was a time when producers were definitely telling guys like me and Dime that guitar solos were ‘dated,’” Wylde recalled. “We’d be like, ‘How can a solo be dated if it’s good? Tell Randy Rhoads and Van Halen that.’”

As Wylde points out, great songs and great solos have endured for generations, regardless of whatever style happened to dominate radio at the time.

“Listen to ‘Over the Mountain’ or ‘Crazy Train,’” he said, referring to classic Rhoads-era Ozzy tracks. “Those songs are great — you gotta have a good song — but if the song is the cake, then the solo is the icing. Good solos never go out of style. I can understand some radio edits, but just imagine ‘Stairway to Heaven’ without that solo. It’d be a different song.”

The pressure to conform wasn't limited to guitar playing. When Wylde joined Osbourne’s band in the late 1980s, glam metal was at its commercial peak. Producers encouraged him and his bandmates to soften their sound and follow the formula that was selling records.

“When I first started with Ozzy, Bon Jovi was the big thing, and I couldn’t stand that kind of music,” Wylde said. “I was into Sabbath and Zeppelin, but we were writing these songs that sounded like Bon Jovi because the producer guys were telling us, ‘You’re never gonna make it if you’re playing that old crap. That stuff is going out of style.’”

A decade later, as rap-rock exploded in popularity, the advice changed but the message remained the same.

“When Limp Bizkit and all them were coming up, I was being told, ‘You should be doing rap shit like that. What are you doing with this whole Viking berserker biker image you’ve got going?’”

Wylde’s response was blunt.

“I was like, ‘You gotta be kidding me. You’re saying that if I put on a backwards baseball hat, a pair of shorts, some Vans, and an oversized T-shirt, that’s gonna fix everything? Take your record company and cram it!’”

Instead of adapting to every new trend, Wylde says musicians should focus on developing their own voice by embracing the music that inspires them.

“You just gotta stay true to what you love,” he said. “That’s what all the great bands I love did.”

As evidence, he points to the pioneers who transformed rock guitar. Each arrived at a moment when many believed there was nothing left to invent.

“After Jimi Hendrix, everyone figured, ‘What the hell more can you do?’” Wylde said. “Then Jimmy Page shows up with a violin bow. Then Van Halen comes out and just destroys the planet. Then Randy hits, and people are like, ‘You can’t get any better than that.’ Then Yngwie Malmsteen shows up.”

But Wylde argues that innovation isn't always about inventing a new technique. Sometimes it's simply about bringing passion, personality and conviction to what you already love.

“The only way to find your own identity is to keep doing what you love,” he said. “If you think about finding that identity, it’s never gonna happen. Just keep plowing ahead with all the stuff you love.”

And for young musicians worried about sounding too much like their heroes, Wylde has a simple answer.

“Don’t be afraid to sound like your influences,” he said. “If you’re way into Metallica, your band should sound something like Metallica — at least in spirit. If your band ends up sounding like the Backstreet Boys, you’ve got a problem!”