(Credits: Far Out / TIDAL / Sony Music Entertainment)
Mon 29 September 2025 21:00, UK
Having been the frontman of one of the most celebrated heavy metal acts of all time, you’d think that Ozzy Osbourne would have been happy to rest at simply being able to claim this.
He may have arguably created the genre with his band, Black Sabbath, and this would undoubtedly have been one of his most significant achievements. While he spent some years away from them, departing from the group at the end of the 1970s, he’d continue to be one of the most prominent figures in the scene for many years to come, establishing himself as a solo artist before returning to the Birmingham band for a second stint as their leader.
There aren’t many metal acts who would dismiss him as being of little importance, and most emerging artists to this day still acknowledge his importance by citing him as an influence on their sound. They may have first formed over 50 years ago, but some of the records that they put out in their early years were so groundbreaking that they haven’t aged in a way that ties them specifically to that era, making them quite frankly one of the most timeless acts to have ever existed within this realm as well.
Even though metal has moved on significantly in the years since, and there are newer acts who have been just as influential and revolutionary in the genre, they’re still looking up to him and Black Sabbath. One of the most celebrated acts to have emerged at the tail end of the 20th century is Slipknot, and they themselves have always noted how much Osbourne’s influence on metal still plays a vital role in influencing them.
However, the appreciation wasn’t entirely one-way traffic, and Osbourne himself was still on board with what was happening in the metal scene when they emerged. Thanks to his son, Jack, he became something of a fan of the Iowa group, getting them to play at Ozzfest in 1999, something that frontman Corey Taylor was undoubtedly thrilled about.
In an interview with Classic Rock Magazine in 2023, Taylor revealed that Osbourne’s fanaticism was evident from the first time they ever met. “I was sitting at a table with Jack and Kelly and Sharon,” he claimed, noting his pre-established connection with the rest of the family. “All of sudden, Ozzy comes bounding up: ‘Sharon, can you help me with my earrings?’ And Sharon goes: ‘Ozzy, this is one of the members of Slipknot, it’s Corey, he’s the singer.’ He looks at me and goes: ‘You’re the guys with nine members? I wanna be number ten!’ I was like: ‘Dude, you’re Ozzy, anything you want!’ It was like meeting Superman.”
While Taylor’s presence in the band would undoubtedly have meant Ozzy’s contributions would have been surplus to their requirements, you can’t help but think that the Sabbath frontman would’ve had the time of his life working alongside one of the most creative and challenging metal groups of the modern era.
Of course, he was only having a lark around and showing his appreciation for the new guard of metal, respecting where things had gone, but this interaction only goes to show just how important he continued to be to the metal community, and how much he relished hearing how future generations had taken things further.
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