Ozzy Osbourne vs Ronnie James Dio: Who was the best Black Sabbath frontman?
Is there a science behind what makes a great frontman? The quick answer is no. If you look up the advice of some of the greatest performers in the world, their nuggets of wisdom will contrast and collide with one another to the point that any shred of consistency will be incomprehensible. Some would argue it is vitality, some would say be cool, some would say the voice is the most crucial part, and others would say it is second to the energy and performance. In conclusion, it’s up for debate. So, let’s debate.
The word influence is thrown around a great deal in music, to the point that now, when bands are called a significant influence, it can often fall on deaf ears. However, when talking about a musical outfit like Black Sabbath, using any word other than influential would be nonsense. The band are arguably the most accurate reflection of their surroundings in music, and the innovation they showed to overcome adversity when it looked as though the chips were down, as well as the energy put into their music and stage show, means they are a band that deserve all of the recognition they get.
Of course, the success didn’t come without some problems. Drugs wreaked havoc on the band, particularly with the frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, who was subsequently kicked out of the band because of the fact they made him unreliable and difficult to work with.
“Eventually we knew we had to bring in somebody else. Geezer and Bill would say to me, ‘Either Ozzy goes or we go’,” Recalled Tony Iommi, recounting when Ozzy was initially kicked out of the band, “At that point, Bill was becoming the businessman of the band, with his briefcase and his haircut, and he fucking goes and tells Ozzy, ‘Tony wants to get rid of you’.”
The band brought in Ronnie James Dio to fill Osbourne’s shoes, although their first outing didn’t go as planned. The first record they released was Heaven and Hell, a pretty lacklustre album that wasn’t received very well by fans or critics. “Ronnie was very excited about joining the band, but I think it was difficult for him to fill Ozzy’s shoes,” said Iommi.
Dio left the band a year later in 1982, and while many people thought that might be the last time he and Black Sabbath worked together, he returned a year later in a resurgence that was, in short, triumphant. One of the standout records they made was their first with Dio back at the mic, Dehumanizer, an LP that saw Sabbath return to their roots and deliver stellar heavy metal. “This is very much a classic Black Sabbath record,” said Iommi, “In fact, I didn’t expect it to come out quite this good.”
So, with both Ozzy and Dio having solid runs with the band, making good music and performing in massive arenas, it begs the question, who was the better frontman? This heated debate has plagued the tongues of Black Sabbath fans for decades, and with the argument only seeming to carry on, it’s worth us putting our two cents in as well.
The first thing that needs to be said is that being able to front a metal band is so much more than vocal ability (albeit the vocal ability is still important), but metal was more than just a sound; it was a lifestyle. People got tattoos based on their favourite bands, they dressed like those they aspired to be, it was a community and a show, and all of that pressure rested on the shoulders of the frontman. As such, whoever was fronting Black Sabbath had to have charisma in spades.
Realistically, it would be hard for anyone to say that Ozzy Osbourne isn’t the most charismatic out of the two. Granted, his on-stage antics have landed him in hot water occasionally, but the way he could command a stage and get an audience on his side was so otherworldly that it expanded beyond the realms of his music. Ozzy managed to gain mainstream success purely based on his personality alone, so to deny him the charisma points would be a travesty.
That being said, Ronnie James Dio has more of a vocal range, and when he hit the high notes, he did so in a much more assertive and aggressive way. It backed Black Sabbath’s tone and immensely lent itself to their sound. As such, there isn’t an answer for who the best Sabbath frontman is, as both contributed to the band in truly inspiring ways.
The fact is that Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio represent different points in Black Sabbath’s career trajectory. To rule one out is to deny yourself the entire Black Sabbath experience, so it doesn’t matter that much who might technically be the best; we should just be happy that we’re lucky enough to experience the band in its full form.
