Watch Zakk Wylde bring some metal to the US national anthem ahead of last night's NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and LA Rams

(Image credit: YouTube (Seattle Seahawks))

Living metal guitar god Zakk Wylde made a surprise appearance in Seattle last night ahead of the Seattle Seahawks' NFL face-off against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field. The Black Label Society frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne collaborator was on hand, decked out in a Seahawks jersey, to hammer out a metalled-up version of USA national anthem The Star Spangled Banner, accompanied by a burst of pyro and a couple of fighter jets to ramp up the spectacle.

Sadly, Wylde's performance was not enough to inspire the Seahawks themselves to victory, as they crashed to a 20-26 loss on the night to the Rams. Unlucky, lads. Watch video footage of the performance via the Seattle Seahawks Youtube.

Wylde unveiled a new Black Label Society track back in September, a typically groove-heavy slab of beefy metal titled The Gallows that was sprinkled with his trademark, unmistakeable style of shred. Previously, Wylde had been busy playing guitar in the controversial Pantera reunion, filling the shoes of his late friend Dimebag Darrell, who was killed on stage during a Damageplan show in 2004.

"You approach it the same way as you do when I'm playing with Ozzy," Wylde told Sirius XM of his approach to taking part in the reunion while staying respectful to Darrell's legacy. "Obviously I've gotta learn [Randy] Rhoads's stuff and I've gotta learn Jake's [E. Lee] stuff, and when I was doing the [Black] Sabbath stuff, you learn it and do it as faithful as you can."

Dimebag Darrell's brother and Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul passed away in 2018 due to health issues, with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante taking his place behind the kit for the Pantera reunion shows. The shows have proven extremely divisive to fans, some delighted at the chance to get to see Pantera songs played live again, others dismayed at the band touring in the wake of Vinnie Paul's vocal opposition to a reunion while he was still alive, alongside frontman Phil Anselmo's historic racism controversies.

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.