The band that made Ozzy Osbourne fire Zakk Wylde: “Putting off the inevitable”
When Ozzy Osbourne passed away, regardless of what kind of music you’re into, it was impossible to not feel somewhat impacted by the news.
The statement almost didn’t feel real once it was made. His family took to social media to confirm that Osbourne, after such a prolific career, was no longer with us. Yes, he was in bad health and had been for some time, but there was something so immortal about him, so otherworldly, that despite those health concerns, he seemed like the kind of man that would outlive all of us.
Alas, the news confirmed something which if anything was quite sweet: the Prince of Darkness was human after all.
Osbourne’s death certificate listed his occupation as “songwriter, performer and rock legend”. It was a touching detail, but he was so much more than that. He remains a name that is impossible to slot into one category of artist. The fact of the matter remains that he was someone that paved the way for any artist who wanted to veer on the side of the alternative. No longer did you need to fit within a specific boundary to become a mainstream artist, and it was Ozzy and co who made sure of that.
His first band, Black Sabbath, are a musical outfit deeply deserving of celebration. They were the band who launched each member’s career, and this new mindset that Osbourne championed couldn’t have found its feet without the band. That being said, once they parted ways and Osbourne pursued a solo career, he didn’t sell out, he continued to champion his eccentric style both musically and visually, continuing to pave the way for metal as a whole.
Of course, it wasn’t always easy for Osbourne when he was embarking on his solo career, as even the most charismatic frontman in the world will struggle to reach the benchmark of Sabbath alone. He needed good musicians behind him, talented drummers, guitarists and bass players who would be able to complement his vocal style as well as Black Sabbath did.
Unsurprisingly, everyone remotely rock inclined wanted to work with Osbourne, he just had to pick the right people to play with. He started with Randy Rhoads, an eccentric musician who adopted the same tapping style that Eddie Van Halen made popular. It was with Roahds that Osbourne was able to put together classic solo records such as Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Unfortunately, Rhoads passed well before his time, as at the age of 25, he died in a plane crash.
After Rhoads passed away, Osbourne started working a lot with Zakk Wylde. For many, this seemed like the perfect heavy metal match up, as Wylde was a widely respected guitarist who was capable of putting together incredibly intricate guitar parts and could solo unlike anybody else in music. They made some great tracks together and toured relentlessly, but Osbourne knew it was time to call it a day when his live shows started to sound like a carbon copy of Wylde’s other band, Black Label Society. It’s not an unfair assessment, Wylde has such a unique style of playing that anything he works on feels akin to Black Label Society. When the lines became too close to distinguish from one another, that’s when Ozzy knew it was time to part ways.
“I was beginning to sound like Black Label Society, you know?” Said Obsourne, “I’m not putting him down at all, I love his stuff, but I’ve been putting off the inevitable, thinking about it for two or three years, trying to find a permanent replacement. Zakk was OK about it.”
