So the unthinkable has happened. Today, Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince Of Darkness, passed away, aged 76.
Only hours ago, I was listening to Black Sabbath's "Master Of Reality" album, thinking: That's quite a statement by Ozzy. "Alright now!" And their songwriting is actually really nice, it has a great moderate pacing, it's heavy, and sometimes fast, but never hectic. The experience is more like a story that someone reads to you, than the sudden rush of energy one would typically associate with stressful heavy metal music.
For some time, many years ago, I used to be a huge Ozzy fan. "Blizzard Of Ozz", "Diary Of A Madman", and probably most of all "Bark At The Moon" were among the most played albums in my collection. I tried to play Randy Rhoads' guitar riffs and lines, and especially the "Ultimate Sin" tour live concert video, with Jake E. Lee's amazing guitar solo, had a massive impact on me.
I was also deeply impressed by Zakk Wylde's "Miracle Man" riff and solo, and the "No Rest For The Wicked" album. Later Ozzy albums didn't have that much effect on me - I had mostly moved on to listening to jazz and fusion music.
To this day, my Ozzy period is among the defining ingredients of my musical understanding. It's part of the essence of what defines heavy metal for me, and also part of what defines guitar playing for me. I spent more time on studying Randy Rhoads transcriptions, rewatching Jake E. Lee's live solo, and practicing Zakk Wylde's "Miracle Man" triad-picking, than on any other musician or band. I listened to a lot of Van Halen, Scott Henderson, and John McLaughlin, but I never studied these like I studied the Ozzy guitarists.
Especially Randy Rhoads is obvious standard literature for the heavy metal guitar player - but I'm wondering about the overall impact of Ozzy Osbourne's guitar players. There must have been tens of thousands of kids like me, going through the same experience of growing up, and learning how to play guitar, with exactly these records. Let's imagine that Ozzy Osbourne had made different choices, selected other musicians, had less success - oh wow, what a loss. Imagine there was no "Revelation (Mother Earth)" on "Blizzard Of Ozz", imagine there was a default bluesy-shreddy guitar solo on "Flying High Again", imagine Jake E. Lee's and Zakk Wylde's spectacular playing wouldn't have gotten massive exposure with Ozzy's success. That thought almost hurts.
So, besides the popularity Ozzy Osbourne has achieved with Black Sabbath, as a musician under his own name, as a celebrity on TV, and as a general pop culture icon titled the "Prince Of Darkness", his choices in music must have had, and probably still have, a big impact on guitar playing in general. His career was a platform for a handful of outstanding guitar players, and has certainly inspired countless kids to pick up a guitar and try their best.
Obviously, I never met Ozzy Osbourne. From what I've seen, he must've been a very nice guy. Losing him means losing one of the defining figures of heavy metal - and an ambassador of high quality guitar playing.
Thanks for the music & the memories, Ozzy. Rest in peace.
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (3 December 1948 - 22 July 2025)
