Ozzy: Wylde was drinking too much

Ozzy Osbourne has revealed he parted ways with longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde because it was becoming more and more difficult to be sober around someone who drank so heavily.

The Black Label Society star has been replaced by Gus G in Ozzy's touring line-up and now the rock legend has explained the real reason behind his decision to end his long professional relationship with Wylde.

Osbourne tells Guitar World magazine, "Zakk came in at the beginning of the new one (record), but he was still drinking. When you're drunk and somebody else is drinking, it's OK, but when you're sober and somebody's blabbering away in your ear, it ain't. I mean, Zakk's a great player and I love him. I love his playing. But in the end, it came to the point that I had to get another guitarist.

"It was hard for me to be around someone who is actively drinking. I heard he's not drinking anymore. I don't know if that's true or not.

"I love his playing; he's one of the greats. But it was the drink getting the better of him. I couldn't watch him die. In one sick respect, it was good for me to see, because that's what I was like, and worse. Believe me, if I started drinking now you'd think, 'F**k, this is b**locks! I've got to get out of here.'

That's how I felt around Zakk toward the end."

But the Brit insists he and Wylde are still good friends.

He says, "We're like family."

source: the gauntlet