It’s said that rules are made to be broken, and Zakk Wylde’s career — from his work with Ozzy Osbourne to Black Label Society and Pantera — is a testament to that.
You can say the same thing about the man’s picking technique. Wylde defies convention by holding his hand at an unusual angle to the strings. “That’s the way it’s always been,” he says.
The subject came up when Wylde guested on Chris Shiflett’s Shred With Shifty podcast. And when it did, the guitarist pointed to a few other guitarists with unusual picking techniques, including Eddie Van Halen.
“I always tell everybody, King Edward would always hold the pick between his thumb and middle finger. I don’t know how he does it like that.
“I think the only other one I know that actually has a hand at that kind of angle is Marty Friedman,” Wylde added. “And Marty’s amazing. He picks everything, too.”
While Van Halen is considered one of the greatest guitarists in rock, his technique is not one that guitar teachers would encourage. However, it makes a case for prioritizing your personal technique when it comes to crafting your sound and unique style as an electric guitar player.
Indeed, Eddie’s left-field approach to playing struck Dweezil Zappa when he first crossed paths with him as a child. He said having Eddie over at his house — he was there to visit his father, Frank — was “like having your own toy Eddie Van Halen”.
Watching him play close quarters, he saw how he tapped upward, rather than the more commonly seen downward motion. That helped Eddie sound like no one else, even if it went against the grain of so-called ‘proper technique’.
To that end, Wylde finds it strange that so many have bawked and obsessed over his technique. Especially when very few ever question the results.
“I’ve even heard some people be like, ‘Bro, how do you pick like that?’ or whatever. To me, I don’t know. That’s what it’s always been,” he tells Shiflett.
In a recent discussion with Guitar Player about his top five tips for guitarists, Wylde said, “I’m always going over my technique and trying to better myself.” His picking methods, however, are off the table.
“It’s not going to happen just by wishing it. And I come up with surprises all the time. I’ll be running through Pat Martino stuff, practicing his chromatic licks, and then I’ll say, ‘Hey, what if I incorporate that into Voodoo Chile?’ The more you play and practice, the more likely you are to stumble on those kinds of ideas.”
In related news, Wylde sat down with GP earlier this month to relive some of his most cherished Ozzy moments and discuss the stories behind some of his greatest tracks.
During the chat, he revealed how Ozzy’s ear for a hit is well-tuned, saying: “When I played ‘I Don’t Wanna Change the World,’ I was just messing around having a joke, riffing, singing crazy shit. But Ozzy heard something that clicked for him. When he picked up on the riff, I thought, Are you kidding? But he turned that into a Grammy-winning song.”
Ozzy, of course, gave Wylde his big break in the industry, having chosen an unknown talent to replace the outgoing Jake E. Lee, perhaps with the hope of replicating the glory days of Randy Rhoads.
In an alternate reality, things may have been different after Chris Impellitteri, a hot-shot speed-metal guitarist at the height of his powers at that moment, recently revealed he auditioned to replace Lee. If he did get the job, he says it would have brought big changes to the singer’s career.
Wylde is set to tour with Pantera again in 2025, calling it an “honor to be up there playing my buddy’s stuff every night,” adding, “I try to keep as faithful as possible to the original solos for nearly everything.”
