The news of Ozzy’s death comes less than three weeks after Black Sabbath’s epic reunion show, Back To The Beginning, which saw the band reunite after two decades and was accompanied by heavy metal royalty, Metallica, Slayer, and Pantera in attendance.
In retrospect, now it feels as if Ozzy knew his time had come, and he wanted to see his fans one last time. Throughout the performance at Back To The Beginning, Ozzy made multiple attempts to get up from his throne but couldn’t owing to his physical condition. Through many songs, especially “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” he was visibly in tears. “Thanks for your support over the years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you,” said OzzyHe knew his time had come. He knew it was his last show. He knew it was his curtain call, his swan song.
Ozzy’s life was filled with equal doses of fame and notoriety, diligence to music and decadence, ranging from substance abuse to domestic violence. Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England, Ozzy rose from working-class obscurity to global fame as the voice of Black Sabbath, with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward.
With their 1970 debut, Black Sabbath, the band pioneered a darker, heavier sound that gave birth to heavy metal. Some of the common recurring themes of the band included darkness, negativity, existential struggles, and supernatural elements, along with war, destruction, doom, and misery.
“Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerer of death’s construction
In the fields, the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds”[Verse1ofWarPigsParanoid1970)[Verse1ofWarPigsParanoid1970)
Osbourne’s haunting vocals on tracks like “Paranoid,” “War Pigs,” and “Iron Man” laid the foundation stones of heavy metal—a genre that continues to thrive and evolve, with many continuing to be influenced by Ozzy and Black Sabbath.
The band found allies in bands like Motorhead, Judas Priest, and Deep Purple, who carried forward the baton of heavy metal. A decade apart, they influenced bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer, who experimented with their elements and gave heavy metal a new shape and form.
After being fired from Sabbath in 1979 due to substance abuse issues, Ozzy launched a solo career, which became wildly successful. His debut album, Blizzard of Ozz (1980), featuring guitarist Randy Rhoads, delivered metal classics like “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley.” Across more than a dozen solo albums, Ozzy blended theatrics, melody, and mayhem, earning multiple Grammy Awards and a fiercely loyal fan base.
His association with guitar virtuoso Rhoads rewrote the rules of heavy metal solo success, a feat achieved by very few after parting ways with the main band. The association and success with Rhoads, which spanned two albums, Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981), was cut short after he died in a tragic plane crash while on tour with the band in Florida in 1982.
In 1992, Ozzy and his wife and manager, Sharon, founded Ozzfest after being turned down by Lollapalooza. Between 1996 and 2018, it was held regularly in the USA and saw the biggest and loudest names in rock and metal in attendance, such as Slipknot, Pantera, Marilyn Manson, Mudvayne, Godsmack, Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Disturbed, and Metallica, to name a few.
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Ozzy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024. He was also inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame twice, solo and with Black Sabbath, in 2005.
A big chunk of the heavy metal fraternity will also remember him as the lunatic metal frontman who once bit the head of a bat that was thrown at him at a live show in the early ’80s, mistaking it for a rubber toy. The 80s were a crazy era, and people like Ozzy ensured the madness was sustained, on and off stage.
Beyond music, Ozzy became a pop culture phenomenon in the 2000s with The Osbournes, MTV’s hit reality series that offered an unfiltered glimpse into his chaotic family life. The show made him a household name to a new generation and helped normalise rock stardom’s eccentricities.
In his final years, Osbourne publicly battled Parkinson’s disease and other health challenges. He released Patient Number 9 in 2022 to critical acclaim, proving his creative spirit never waned. He made sporadic appearances but ultimately retired from touring in 2023.
Ozzy leaves behind a towering legacy in metal history, a family who loved him dearly, and millions of fans who saw in him not just the Prince of Darkness but a survivor, an innovator, and a true metal frontman. Travel well, Prince of Darkness. Mama knows you’re coming home.
Read Also: Ozzy Osbourne, who led Black Sabbath and became the godfather of heavy metal, dies at 76
