System of a Down pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with Black Sabbath cover at MetLife Stadium concert
System of a Down covered Black Sabbath’s ‘Snowblind’ during their show at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on August 27th.
The performance marked their first show since Osbourne passed away, aged 76, at his family home in Buckinghamshire, England. Therefore, the rockers used the concert as an opportunity to honour their musical hero.
Following Osbourne’s death, System of a Down took to social media to share tributes to the rock icon from each band member. Frontman Serj Tankian wrote: “Ozzy was our musical Godfather inducting us into the world of Ozzfest as a young band. He was always funny with a disdain for hypocrisy, a quality I will forever admire and cherish.”
Meanwhile, guitarist Daron Malakian stated: “If you can see my face and my eyes in this pic you can see that I felt like I was in a dream. That’s because as a kid Ozzy was such a big deal for me he actually appeared in my dreams. I was only 22 or 23 yrs old when this pic was taken, so I was still a kid. But I was living my dream standing next to the guy I idolized my whole life. RIP Ozzy. You meant everything to me.”
Bassist Shavo Odadijan was left “heartbroken and speechless” by the news and sent his condolences to the Osbourne family. Lastly, drummer John Dolmayan shared on a light-hearted note, “He made fun of me for wiping sitting down, my fondest memory of this kind man who was an icon.”
They have previously covered ‘Snowblind‘ on numerous occasions, but the performance on the track at the MetLife Stadium was the first time they had aired the cover since 2002.
Before they played the track, Malakian told those in attendance, “We did a few Ozzfests. Some of you are old enough that you were there. Some of you weren’t even born yet. I want to thank Ozzy Osbourne. We want to thank Ozzy Osbourne.”
System of a Down’s tour is set to continue on August 28th at the MetLife Stadium ahead of further stadium dates at Soldier Field in Chicago and the Rogers Stadium in Toronto.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.