Metallica have paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, whom they credit for giving them their big break. The musician died on Tuesday morning at the age of 76.
“It’s impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to Metallica. Hero, icon, pioneer, inspiration, mentor, and, most of all, friend are a few that come to mind,” the band wrote in a statement on Instagram. “Ozzy and Sharon believed in us and transformed our lives and careers. He taught us how to play in the big leagues while at the same time being warm, welcoming, engaging, and all around brilliant.”
As drummer Lars Ulrich told Howard Stern in a 2023 interview, Osbourne “was known to bring out bands that were kind of on the verge of breaking” to tour with him. In 1986, Metallica had released Master of Puppets, and Ulrich said Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne “were kind enough to take us out and give us a shot.”
He said that five years prior, he and singer James Hetfield were still trying to “figure out what we were doing,” and then with the Osbourne’s invitation to tour, “we were out playing arenas in America.”
“It was such a transformative time,” Ulrich told Stern. “And it was our first go around in the big leagues, and hanging with Ozzy and being around that A-level energy and that sort of A-league, like we were in the we were in the majors.”
On that tour, during soundchecks they would play Black Sabbath songs, something the band heard Osbourne thought was them “taunting him,” but it was really because “we wanted him to come up and sing with us. That was like our big dream,” Ulrich said.
Of course, that dream did come true. They performed together during 2009’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event, where they delivered “Iron Man” and “Paranoid” together. More recently, Metallica performed during Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning farewell show in their hometown of Birmingham, England on July 5. The band covered Black Sabbath’s “Hole in the Sky” from 1975’s Sabotage and they also covered “Johnny Blade” from 1978’s Never Say Die!
“We are heartbroken and devastated by this loss and send our love and condolences to Sharon and their family, bandmates, and his very large circle of friends,” Metallica concluded in their tribute. “He left an incredible legacy and will be sorely missed.”
Black Sabbath paid homage to their leader and scores of artists from across genres and generations remembered the heavy metal pioneer, who collaborated and shared the stage with the likes of Slash, Elton John, Motörhead, and Madonna, as well as Busta Rhymes, Yungblud, and Post Malone.
