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This is what they mean by 'skullduggery.' Zakk Wylde on stage with Black Label Society, 2010. © Gene Ambo ./Retna Ltd./Corbis

"Probably all of my favorite bands did mellow stuff from time to time," says Black Label Society main man Zakk Wylde. "Zeppelin did all kinds of of acoustic songs. Almost everything on Zeppelin III was acoustic. And when I was with Ozzy, we did Mama, I'm Coming Home - people thought we were crazy at the time, like we were going all soft. Hey, don't get me wrong, I still love to slam it. But I can't rock out all day long. I'd go out of my mind!"

And so, Wylde and the rest of Black Label Society decided to explore the softer side of a handful of tunes from the band's Order Of The Black album by recording 'unplugged' and, in some cases, 'semi-unplugged' versions on the just-released The Song Remains Not The Same. (Darkest Days gets not one but two reworkings - on the first Wylde sings lead, while on the second he duets with country superstar John Rich.)

Although Wylde stresses that The Song Remains Not The Same isn't an 'official' album ("we just wanted to put something cool out there"), he's quick to point that it's not a throwaway, either. "If anything, it gave me a chance to stretch out and do some covers of songs I've always loved," he says. "You want to hear me do Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young? Here's the record for you." Wylde even turns in a haunting version of Black Sabbath's Junior's Eyes, which is bound to turn the heads of heavy metal fans everywhere. "I always dug that song," says Wylde. "It has a special vibe, and I think I took it somewhere different."

MusicRadar caught up with Wylde the other day to talk about The Song Remains Not The Same. The guitarist, still reveling in his recent appearance on American Idol, during which he backed up contestant James Durban on Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal, was preparing for a lengthy BLS tour. "My life is non-stop, man," he says. "We've got band rehearsals firing up later tonight, so I've got a million fuckin' things to deal with till then. In other words, a normal day for me."

First off, I love the title The Song Remains Not The Same.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. We were sitting there while we were recording it, havin' a good time, and I think somebody said something about Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same. Of course, we all love and worship that record. I mean, who doesn't? All of a sudden, the whole thing hit me – The Song Remains Not The Same. I said, 'Dude, that's it. Not only is it a great title, but it totally fits what we're doing.'

"It all worked because we were recording these new versions of songs from the Order Of The Black album, unplugged and acoustic versions, acoustic-electric versions – really, the only track that's an unplugged version is Overlord because it has the same riff. It reminds me of when Clapton did that unplugged version of Layla. It was pretty different, but when you listen to it closely, it's basically the same riff.

"So I said to everybody, 'Let's do something like that on some of these things.' Like Riders Of The Damned, it's not even the same melody; I just used the lyric. It's almost a different song. To me, that really fed into the whole title of The Song Remains Not The Same. What we're doing here is not the same, even if you think you know the songs."

At first I thought you were playing everything yourself - the overall mood is very intimate.

"No, the band's on the record, and then I'm playing the piano. I'm playing some electric guitar, as well. There's definitely electric guitar on the record."

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