20 YEARS GONE

IN THIS EXCERPT FROM OUR INTERVIEW WITH ZAKK AND DIME FROM OUR MARCH 2003 ISSUE, THE DUO SCREAM OUT FOR MORE GUITAR SOLOS IN MODERN ROCK AND PREDICT THE RISE OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF SHREDDERS

- DAN EPSTEIN

GW ’s readers have voted Zakk Wylde Most Valuable  Player and Zakk and Dimebag Darrell the Best Metal Guitarists for 2002.

DIMEBAG DARRELL: I say thanks a million, right out of the chute. And I just want to say that Zakk Wylde is easily the best, most well-rounded player in every category, and he wholeheartedly deserves the Most Valuable Player award, hands down. He’s the hardest-work in’ motherfucker in rock ’n’ roll, period. He does double duty — he does Black Label, he does Ozzy. He’s been nonstop since he showed his face in the first place, and he keeps taking it to a new level. He’s done scared everybody else off, so nobody else is even gonna try, you know? [Laughs]
ZAKK WYLDE: The first time I heard Pantera, I thought, Jesus Christ! I still think that, to this day, Pantera is the heaviest band on the planet, but it’s not just heavy for the sake of bein’ heavy; it’s got groove to it, and it’s pure musicianship at the same time. And what I’d say about Dime is, you can’t get that good unless you work at it. You can tell he put the hours in and the practice in and drew from so many of the great players. You surround yourself with greatness — the Randy Rhoadses, the Van Halens, the Tony Iommis — and you’ll be in the right ballpark. Or the right ZIP Code, anyways!

DIME: Maybe that’s kinda what ties us in — we come from pretty much the exact same school.