“AI is fun… But you can’t replace what’s coming out of Ozzy’s mind”: Zakk Wylde weighs in on AI music
Artificial Intelligence can already fake your favourite band’s riffs, remix their voices and spit out passable soundalikes in seconds. But according to Zakk Wylde, that’s about as far as it goes.
Speaking at a recent Q&A session in London, the Black Label Society frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne collaborator weighs in on the growing use of AI music generators – explaining why, novelty aside, they stop short of replacing the real thing.
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“AI is fine,” Wylde says [via Blabbermouth]. “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,” says the virtuoso. “‘Cause 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.”
Wylde argues that while AI might convincingly imitate a band’s style, it can never recreate the people behind the music or the personal chemistry that defines great records.
“It’s just like saying you’re gonna write AI Pantera. You can’t replace what was going on in Dime’s mind and what Vinnie’s gonna play. Pantera is those four guys – so it’s Philip [Anselmo], Rex [Brown], Dime [Darrell] and Vinnie [Paul]. And that’s that,” he says. “I mean, that’s Pantera. So, just like any other band is… That’s who it is. You can’t replace what’s coming out of Elton John’s mind, what he wants to sit down and play on a piano and what Bernie Taupin’s gonna write lyrically. That’s the beauty of the human element of music.”
Still, Wylde believes that AI has its place, particularly when it’s treated as a creative toy rather than a replacement.
“But, I mean, AI is fine. It’s fun, in regards, though, if it’s gonna write something that sounds like what Led Zeppelin would write or what Black Sabbath would write. And it’s just, like, ‘Oh, wow. This came out pretty cool,’” says Wylde.
“I mean, with Black Label, we always start with the Zappelin-Sabbath mashup. And I think it’s great. I remember when Ozzy heard it the first time, he was, like, ‘Oh my god. Zakk, have you heard this thing?’ I’m, like, ‘Yeah, I think it’s great.’ It’s Whole Lotta Love, and then you stick in Ozzy singing War Pigs over the riff, and then Robert Plant comes in on the solo. I’m, like, ‘Dude, this is the coolest thing ever.’ So, it’s having fun with it.”
“But you’re never gonna replace Ozzy coming up with that melody, Tony coming up with that music, and Geezer coming up with those lyrics. And then Whole Lotta Love, Jimmy Page playing that riff and then Robert Plant singing the Whole Lotta Love scream over the top of it. ‘Cause that’s the real thing. You can never replace the real thing.”
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