Ozzy Osbourne: The Voice That Shaped Heavy Metal

Photo by Dr. Zoidberg via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Beginning: The Black Sabbath Era

Ozzy has always been my favorite artist and that's a big part of why I wanted to write this blog. When I heard about his final performance, I felt inspired to look back on his life and the massive impact he had on rock and metal.

I got into rock music because of WWE. My brother and I used to watch old matches on Youtube. Even though we were just teenagers in the 2010s, our favorite wrestlers have always been old school icons, like Shawn Michaels, Edge, Batista, Kane, Triple H, and Jeff Hardy. Their entrance themes were the first time I really heard rock music, and it instantly intrigued me.

The first time I remember seeing Ozzy Osbourne was in an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. He was WWE’s guest host for the week and he opened the show with his famous line, “ ALL ABOARD”. A couple of years later, I came across his live performance on WWE SmackDown in 2007. He performed, “I Don’t Wanna Stop”, one of my favorite songs from Ozzy.

Ozzy was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021. In 2020, WWE began using “War Pigs” for one of the Pay-Per-Views, NXT TakeOver: WarGames. In 2022, “War Pigs” became the official theme song for the WWE Survivor Series WarGames and has been since then. In 2023, I attended Survivor Series at All State Arena, and you best believe I was screaming the lyrics.

Before the world knew him as the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne was leading a band that unknowingly gave birth to heavy metal: Black Sabbath. Ozzy was born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England, to a working-class family. Many people only think of Ozzy but forgets the rest of the band. In 1968, Ozzy teamed up with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward to start a band that would change the genre of rock forever. The band featured Ozzy as the lead singer, Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, and Bill Ward on drums. In 1970, they released their debut album, Black Sabbath, which many consider one of the very first heavy metal records. Songs like “Black Sabbath” and “The Wizard” quickly became popular. The opening title track, Black Sabbath, was even named the greatest heavy metal song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

I wasn’t alive when the album first released, but I discovered it in middle school. I remember I was in 4th grade because of one of my favorite teachers, Mr. Simpson. I remember we were working on vocabulary sheets and looking up definitions on our IPads, when I came across the album. I already knew of Ozzy because of the first Iron Man movie, which featured Iron Man by Black Sabbath at the end credits and WWE.

Just a few months later, they released their second album, Paranoid, which became one of their biggest successes. This album gave us some of Black Sabbath’s most iconic songs: “Iron Man,” “War Pigs,”, and “Paranoid.” These songs quickly became popular and even started to gain radio play. This was one of the first albums I ever listened to of Ozzy. I found this album from the Iron Man end credits. Iron Man, War Pigs, and Paranoid were the first songs I heard of Ozzy and are still my favorite today.

Five months after releasing their album, Paranoid, the band released a new album titled Master of Reality. The album reached top ten in both the United States and UK charts. The album was also certified gold in less than two months, it received platinum certification in the 1980s, and went Double Platinum in the early 2000s.

In 1972, Black Sabbath dropped Vol. 4. The album quickly achieved gold certification within a month and became Black Sabbath’s fourth consecutive release that surpasses one million sales in the U.S. Also in 1973, Black Sabbath released an album named Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Ozzy’s final album with Black Sabbath before getting fired was Never Say Die!. The album was released in 1978 and was Black Sabbath’s eighth studio album. Ozzy's final appearance with Black Sabbath in 1978 was at a show in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 1978, Ozzy’s relationship with Iommi fell apart, and later that year he was fired from Black Sabbath. The reason the group members provided to him was that he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues. Ozzy claimed in his book to only be doing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs that were neither better nor worse than what other members were doing.

The Blizzard Begins

In late 1979, after leaving Black Sabbath, Ozzy formed the Blizzard of Ozz under the management of the Ardens and Jet Records. The band was led by Ozzy on vocals, Randy Rhoads on guitars, Bob Daisley on bass, and Lee Kerslake on drums. In 1980, Ozzy would release his first solo album, “Blizzard of Ozz”, this was his debut as a solo artist after being fired from Black Sabbath over substance abuse. The album was a success, which was a big comeback for Ozzy. The album featured some classic songs like “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley”. The album had a unique melodic tone while still keeping the heavy metal.

This album has many of my favorite songs, some like Crazy Train, Suicide Solution, Mr Crowley to name a few. It was around 6th grade when I listened to this album. I really loved this album because of the guitarist. Randy Rhoads's solo in Crazy Train is an example of how great he was. Having my headphones on while listening to this album makes me feel like I'm floating.

In 1981, Ozzy released his second solo album, “Diary Of A Madman”. The album was a success and was certified platinum by the RIAA. This album had a tour named the Diary of a Madman Tour, which began on November 5, 1981, and ended August 8, 1982. They traveled all over the world, performing in North America, Europe, and even parts of Asia. Diary of a Madman was the last album recorded with the late guitarist Randy Rhoads. On March 19, 1982, while the band was touring in North America, Randy Rhoads was killed in a plane crash in Leesburg, Florida. After a two-week break, the tour picked back up with guitarist Bernie Tormé filling in for a few shows before Brad Gillis eventually took over on guitar.

Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, Ozzy continued to release many successful albums: Bark at the Moon, The Ultimate Sin, No Rest for the Wicked, No More Tears, and many more. I love many songs that came out of those albums, like “Bark at the Moon,” “The Ultimate Sin,” “Secret Loser,” “Shot in the Dark,” “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” “Hellraiser,” and many more. My personal favorite album is Black Rain, I’ve played that album over and over so many times. Some of my favorite songs on the album are, Not Going Away, I Don’t Wanna Stop, Black Rain, and 11 Silver.

Legacy Of A Madman

Ozzy’s influence on heavy metal was like no other. He paved the way for what heavy metals would become. Bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Pantera credit Ozzy for being their major inspiration. Even bands like Slipknot, lead singer Corey Taylor have mentioned that, “Sababath gave us the blueprint”. They wouldn't have existed without the influence of Ozzy. He helped countless bands rise in the metal scene. In 1996, Ozzy and Sharon launched Ozzfest, which became one of the biggest metal festivals in the world. It gave a platform to up-and-coming bands like Slipknot, System of a Down, and many others.

On July 22, 2025, the world lost one of the greatest voices. Ozzy Osbourne passed away peacefully at the age of 76. Ozzy had his final performance just a couple of weeks ago in Birmingham. The Prince of Darkness returned to his hometown one last time, surrounded by thousands of fans who love his music. Though he’s gone, Ozzy’s legacy will live forever through his music, the many generations of bands he inspired, and the fans who will never forget about the Prince of Darkness.