After Osbourne’s death at 76, the heavy metal greats he inspired remember his pranks, generosity and quadruple brandies – and relive the tears at his farewell show
Brann Dailor, drums/vocals, Mastodon
My introduction to Sabbath was my mom’s band, who used to cover War Pigs – a pretty faithful rendition! But Ozzy felt more like my discovery, in 1981 or so. I was six years old, a neighbour had Blizzard of Ozz and I would just would stare at that album cover. I fell in love. The Randy Rhoads guitar solos, and then you would see footage of Ozzy and he looked as if he was having the time of his life up there. For a kid, he almost seemed like a cartoon character; the joy he was experiencing was infectious, but also the music was visceral. He became my favourite musician. I had a boombox next to my bed with the Tribute live album on at a low volume so nobody in the house would wake up, and I’d go to sleep to Ozzy every night.
There’s something about his vocal phrasing, a timbre that’s so perfectly matched with the music that’s playing underneath. He had the ability to emote and tell a story and draw you in, and the melodies he chose were really special. I don’t think he got enough credit as a singer – to the layperson he was this madman, and to them, the magic lay there and not in his abilities. But the way he sang was so unique and powerful. It’s so ingrained in my mind that when I listen back to stuff that I’ve done in Mastodon, when I sing, I can tell that it’s so heavily influenced by him. I like big, heavy riffs with an almost evil-sounding, dark, high-pitched vocal tonality: that’s Ozzy to a T.
