As the sudden passing ofOzzy Osbournesinks in with those in themusicindustry and fans all around the world, tributes continue to pour in. Musicians who worked one-on-one with the Prince of Darkness or took inspiration from his undeniable impact on music are wondering what a world without him is supposed to be.
In short,theheavy metal genrewouldn’t exist without Osbourne’s early years with Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler. The four rockers created an entirely new sound in Birmingham that would go on to change the face of music as a whole.
That being said,the list of rock bands and artists that wouldn’t exist without Osbourne is endless. The eight bands below are just a handful of those who were able to find their footing and carve out their own path thanks to songs like “Paranoid” and “Crazy Train.”
8Green Day
Ozzy Lives On In Their Album Art
After frontmanBillie Joe Armstrongposted a short yet genuine tribute to Osbourne on Instagram with the caption “No words. We love you Ozzy,” it became clear to many Green Day fans just how widespread the love for this legend always was.
Despite the band leaning more into punk territory with their music,their influences are as diverse as anyone else’s. The cover of their 1994 album,Dookie, is a prime example of this, with drawings depicting Angus Young, Patti Smith, and, you guessed it, Black Sabbath.
7Iron Maiden
The English Heavy Metal Band Owes It All To Sabbath
It’s a common theme for many heavy metal artists to highlight Black Sabbath’sParanoidas a major turning point in their lives. For Iron Maiden’s bassist Steve Harris,this was the first album that made him want to play in the first place.
The album introduced listeners to a heavier sound that thousands would try to emulate on their own. Iommi’s hulking guitar riffs mixed with Osbourne’s dominating vocal power and Ward and Butler’s seamless rhythm section created the blueprint for everything bands like Iron Maiden would hope to become in their own careers.
6Ghost
Modern Rockers Latched Onto Sabbath’s Ballads
A more modern example of Osbourne’s long-lasting influence is the theatrical Swedish rock band Ghost. Tobias Forge, the band’s frontman and primary songwriter who performs under the stage name Papa V Perpetua, was a part of the second supergroup portion of Back To the Beginning.
He joined Travis Barker, Nuno Bettencourt, Adam Wakeman, Rudy Sarzo, and Vernon Reid for a gripping rendition of Osbourne’s solo track “Bark at the Moon.” Forge describes Black Sabbath asone of the first heavy bands he started listening to,and stated his appreciation for the band’s more emotional ballads, especially as they pertain to Ghost’s own music, in an interview forKerrang:
Even on the albums regarded as heavy metal classics you have these mournful ballads with just a piano and a Mellotron. There’s a lot of keyboards, orchestral stuff, a lot of straight rock’n’roll and we wanted to channel that into Ghost, rather than just copying the riffs from Children Of The Grave or Symptom Of The Universe.
5Alice In Chains
’90s Grunge Royalty Inspired By Sabbath’s Dark Image
Another band that showed their appreciation for the legacy of Osbourne and Black Sabbath with a powerful set at Back To the Beginning is Alice In Chains. Rather than being drawn to their ballads like Ghost, these icons of'90s grungefound their own inspiration in the dark themes and subject matterof songs like “War Pigs” and “Iron Man.”
In 1991, Alice In Chains covered “Sweet Leaf” in a performance that captures these influences perfectly. The darkness is only elevated by their punchy guitar riffs and the impressive vocal delivery of their current lead vocalist, William Duvall, who managed to give a performance of “Fairies Wear Boots” on July 5 that celebrated Osbourne’s incomparable vocals in his own way.
4Pantera
The Members Share Deeply Personal Ties With Osbourne
If there’s an active band that holds the deepest ties to Osbourne, it’s Pantera. The Texas-formed heavy metal band features Zakk Wylde, a touring guitarist who auditioned for Osbourne in 1987 and was hired to replace Jake E. Lee. Wylde went on to play onNo Rest for the Wicked, No More Tears,andOzzmosisas a co-writer.
Pantera were on tour when the news of Osbourne’s passing broke. As an immediate tribute, they played “Planet Caravan” that night with a slideshow of images in the background. They’ve sinceannounced the postponement of future shows to allow Wylde and the members to grieve at their own pace. In a statement, they shared:
Ozzy wasn’t just a legend who shaped the very foundation of heavy metal and inspired Pantera from the beginning - he was family. A mentor, a brother, and a constant presence in our lives both on and off the stage. The bond we shared with him ran far deeper than music. In light of this profound loss, we need time and space to grieve - to be with our families, our crew, and each other as we process and honor the life of someone who meant so much to us.
3Van Halen
Their Name Was Almost Inspired By A Sabbath Song
Can anyone imagine the now legendary American rock band being named anything but Van Halen? If guitarist Eddie Van Halen had it his way,they might have been named after the track “Rat Salad” off ofParanoid. In the end, then-frontman David Lee Roth talked him out of it, but that would’ve been a pretty hilarious name.
Eddie Van Halen helped co-write “Evil Eye,” a song off of Black Sabbath’s 1994 albumCross Purposes, but an existing contract with Warner Bros. prevented Eddie from receiving an official credit.
During their club days, the Van Halen brothers often covered Black Sabbath songs with Eddie on lead vocals. In what must have been a bit of a dream come true, their band would go on to open for Sabbath on tour for eight months in 1978. Additionally, Iommi remained in contact with Eddie until his death in 2020.
2Nirvana
Their Biggest Album Was Heavily Inspired By Sabbath
The grunge scene found a lot of inspiration in Black Sabbath. Butch Vig, producer of Nirvana’s seminalNevermindin 1991, described Kurt Cobain’s fascination with the band and how he wanted the album to sound like Sabbath (Far Out Magazine):
I’d be balancing the drums and the guitar and Kurt would come and say ‘Turn all the treble off. I want it to sound more like Black Sabbath.’ It was kind of a pain in the ass.
Cobain hailed from Aberdeen, WA,a gloomy city where hearing a song like “Paranoid” might have felt like some kind of release. Knowing that there is someone out there in the world who has similar thoughts and feelings to you, no matter how far away, is a major reason many flock to artists like Nirvana and Osbourne.
It makes sense that Cobain would want his own music to evoke these feelings for others after experiencing them himself.
1Metallica
The Rock Legends Praise Osbourne & Black Sabbath Constantly
When Black Sabbath were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, they were celebrated with a performance by Metallica, a band that has gone on to become heavy metal icons in their own right. Despite this status that makes them one of the biggest rock bands in the world, they gave credit where credit was due.
In their speech to induct the Birmingham quartet, Lars Ulrich stated, “Obviously, if there was no Black Sabbath, there would be no Metallica. If there was no Black Sabbath, hard rock and heavy metal as we know it today would look, sound, and be shaped very, very differently.”
Ulrich and Metallica performed an incredible set at Back To the Beginning just before Osbourne took the stage for the final time, paying homage to Black Sabbath and the Prince of Darkness right to the very end.
