Ozzy Osbourne's primal, mournful wail shaped India's underground metal

India Today

23-07-2025

Doing a farewell show and then passing away weeks after is possibly the most metal way to bid goodbye. That's how John Michael 'Ozzy' Osbourne bowed out. Though the Godfather of Heavy Metal never performed in India, his haunting, menacing and eerie voice influenced the underground scene of the country in a big way.The legendary frontman of Black Sabbath, whose raw, haunting vocals and larger-than-life persona defined the essence of heavy metal, passed away last night, aged 76.advertisementThe mourning is global, from both the metal community and the mainstream. Fans in India have raised horns too for the Prince of Darkness, a moniker he earned for his eerie stage persona and the dark lyrics he wrote.
In his last show with Black Sabbath in July, Ozzy was frail from Parkinson's and speaking in stutters. But he still stood up for the crowd from the black throne, eyes lined in his signature kohl, long hair cascading down. And then came that voice, raw and dark.A crowd of 40,000 at Birmingham's Villa Park roared, headbangers went in a frenzy, and moshpits tore open in the crowd.It must be noted that this came after years of health struggles. Ozzy had in the last decade, undergone multiple spinal surgeries. So, when he grabbed the mic on stage in his signature stance, clutching it to keep from falling back, it was defiance in the most metal way.METAL COMMUNITY IN INDIA PAYS TRIBUTE TO OZZYFor metalheads around the world, including the small but tight metal community in India, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath were both gateways into the underground genre. This is especially true for millennial metal musicians from India, who are now giants of the country's metal scene.This was evident on Wednesday, as many of them posted tributes to the metal legend.Mumbai-based symphonic death metal band Demonic Resurrection's frontman Sahil Makhija AKA Demonstealer wrote on his Instagram handle, "I don't think there are enough words to describe what Ozzy means to the world of heavy metal. But he lived the most amazing life and he changed the world and the lives of so many people. Thank you for the music Ozzy! (sic)."Delhi-based metal vocalist and Inner Sanctum's frontman Shashank Bhatnagar also posted on his social media, "The King is dead. Long live the King. Rest easy, Ozzy. Thank you for creating us. Thank you for existing."Bhatnagar's words, "thank you for creating us" reflects the sentiment of the global metal community, as Black Sabbath is often credited as the founders of heavy metal, though there were several other bands with a 'metal sound' in the 1960s and 1970s in both the UK and the US.advertisementWhat's special is despite having a niche following in India, metal fans from the country were present at Ozzy's final concert, "Back to the Beginning", held on July 5 in his hometown Birmingham, as reported by The New York Times. The concert raised around $190 million for several charities.Black Sabbath never performed in India, but their influence, especially Ozzy's, continues to shape the metal scene here, where the genre is still carving out its space.THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PRINCE OF DARKNESS AND BLACK SABBATHBorn in Birmingham, England, Osbourne rose from a working-class upbringing to become a towering icon in heavy metal.In 1968, Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi formed Black Sabbath with bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. The band is widely credited with birthing heavy metal.While earlier bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple explored heavy sounds, Sabbath's music possessed a visceral "metal-ness" that felt pure.Iommi's crushing riffs, shaped by prosthetic fingertips he crafted after a factory accident severed parts of his fingers, created a dark, heavy tone that paired naturally with Osbourne's primal, mournful wail.Black Sabbath has sold over 70 million records worldwide. In its early days, albums like Black Sabbath (1970), which sold over 1 million copies in the US, Paranoid (1970), with more than 4 million US sales, and Master of Reality (1971), crossing 2 million units, laid the foundation for heavy metal genre.advertisementSongs like War Pigs, Iron Man, and Children of the Grave defined the genre further.The band's influence was so profound, it directly shaped thrash metal giants like Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer, who have all cited Sabbath's dark themes and heavy riffs as foundational to their music.Metallica's frontman James Hetfield once called Sabbath "the heaviest thing at the time", while Slayer's Kerry King credited Osbourne's vocal delivery for inspiring thrash metal's raw intensity.Ozzy didn't just forge a genre. He bled it into the veins of generations of metalheads globally. Today, metalheads are mourning the death of their very origins. The throne of metal may now stand empty, but that menacing voice will echo forever.- Ends