Zakk Wylde Claims He Listens to Pop Songs Backwards for Satanic Influence

Zakk Wylde says he's turned to backmasked subliminal messages for evil inspiration.

"What I end up doing is, I take all the Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber records and put them on backwards and listen to all the Satanic messages and the riffs," Wylde told Hysteria magazine. "Then I convert back to Catholicism and play the riffs normal – then there you go, we have a whole bunch of Black Label Society songs. I do it all for the art."

He's joking, of course. There has been no confirmation – at least, not yet – that these pop songs include reversed vocal messages that can help spread dark energy. As such, Wylde could face some backlash following his comments – but he says he's ready for it.

"The whole thing is, as far as naysayers, I'm surrounded by my wife, children and the fellas in the band. They all belittle me and deeply abuse me so I'm kind of accustomed to it and that's the only thing actually I know," Wylde said. "So, when someone says something un-nice about me I'm like, 'Yeah? You should hear what my children have to say about me, and the fellas in the band.' It doesn't bother me whatsoever; to me, it's just normal. I think if somebody said something nice, I'd kinda get a little upset!"

He even claimed that Ozzy Osbourne – who brought Wylde back into his solo band last year – refused to offer any support. "I talk to the boss and then, figurin' when I need a hug, Oz will look me and I'll say, 'Oz, I need a hug,' and he just pokes me in the eyes," Wylde added. "I'll say, 'Now what was that for?,' so he'll say, 'Because life sucks, so get used to it – now, go make me a ham sandwich, light on the mustard.' That's a moment of compassion in my life."

Accusations of backmasking have existed in rock music since the '60s. Along the way, the Beatles' "Revolution #9" ("Turn me on, dead man"), Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" ("Oh here's to my sweet Satan) and the Eagles' "Hotel California" ("Yes, Satan organized his own religion") were among those implicated. Judas Priest were actually sued over the supposed existence of subliminal messages.

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