The 25 Best Metal Bands of All Time, #23: Ozzy Osbourne
MetalSucks recently polled over a hundred of metal’s most revered musicians, critics, journalists, artists, publicists, and industry insiders to find out which 25 bands represent the very BEST in the history of metal. Today we continue the countdown with the solo oeuvre of the legendary…
Ozzy Osbourne
21 Votes
290 Points
As the above intro suggests, our only concern today is Ozzy Osbourne’s solo output. The fact that such a distinction even needs to be made — that more than one project involving any individual would necessarily be considered for a list like this one — speaks to the legacy of the guy.
Sure, kids today probably view Ozzy as either a) that guy who had a reality show on MTV in the mid-’00s, b) that old, bumbling coot who says stupid stuff in the press, or, at best, c) that old, bumbling coot that sang a bunch of songs my dad likes. Truth be told, none of those things are false.
But there’s a reason we all still care so much about Ozzy to this day: his catalog of solo releases is completely, undeniably unfuckwithable! Starting with 1980’s Blizzard of Oz, the man born John Michael Osbourne released a string of six albums — with three different lead guitarists, no less — that embodied the very sound of metal in the ’80s. Sure, the cool kids were listening to Metallica, the angry kids were listening to Slayer and the true mainstream rock fans were listening to… uh, Bon Jovi, I guess… but no man’s music better captures the vibe of what it was like to be a metalhead in the ’80s (and early ’90s!) than Ozzy’s.
The hits from that unstoppable string of six albums* read just as well as the playlist on a smoky dive bar jukebox as one on an arena rock hits radio station — take your pick. “Crazy Train,” “Mr. Crowley,” “Bark at the Moon,” “Shot in the Dark,” “Crazy Babies,” “Miracle Man,” all undeniable anthems. Dig just beneath the surface and you’ll find more: under-appreciated B-sides like “Lightning Strikes” and “Fire in the Sky” snuggle up cozily against their bigger, more popular counterparts.
And then there’s every single track on 1991’s absolutely perfect No More Tears, the last truly great Ozzy album. UNFUCKWITHABLE! Pure bliss all the way through, one of the best metal albums of all time, and don’t you even try and fight me on this one. You could make an argument that the genius on No More Tears was all Zakk Wylde — I’d listen, and you might even be right — but ultimately none of it would’ve worked through any vessel other than the fucking Ozzman.
Ozzy, we may poke fun at you from time to time (OK, often), but you’re a living legend for a reason. Keep on keeping on.
*Six albums! What other bands have made six great albums? The Beatles, maybe... that's it.
THE LIST SO FAR:
#24 – Napalm Death (22 Votes, 278 Points)
#25 – Lamb of God (29 Votes, 277 Points)
THE ILLUSTRIOUS PANEL OF VOTERS:
Chris Alfano – East of the Wall, Gear Gods
Paul Allender – White Empress, ex-Cradle of Filth
Rob Arnold – The Elite, ex-Chimaira, ex-Six Feet Under
Alan Averill (aka A.A. Nemtheanga) – Primordial
Chuck B.B. – Artist
Matt Bachand – Shadows Fall
Micke Berg – Below
Chuck Billy – Testament
Randy Blythe – Lamb of God
Paul Booth – Last Rites Tattoo and Art Gallery
Jake Bowen – Periphery
Terry Butler – Obituary
Liz Ciavarella-Brenner – Publicist, Earsplit PR
Blake Charlton – Ramming Speed
Richard Christy – Charred Walls of the Damned, ex-Death, ex-Iced Earth, ex-Control Denied, The Howard Stern Show
Monte Conner – President, Nuclear Blast Entertainment
Bruce Corbitt – Rigor Mortis, Warbeast
Doc Coyle – ex-God Forbid
Sergeant D. – MetalSucks, Stuff You Will Hate
Topon Das – Fuck the Facts, Merdarahta
Anso DF – MetalSucks
Peter Dolving – Rosvo, ex-The Haunted
Ryan J. Downey – Superhero Artist Management
Sacha Dunable – Intronaut, Bereft, Dunable Guitars
Vince Edwards – Head of Publicity, Metal Blade Records
Excretakano – MetalSucks
Exmortus
Extreme Management Group
D.X. Ferris – Slayer Scholar
Ryan Fleming – Black Table
Jon Freeman – Publicist, Freeman Promotions
Matthew Friesen – Culted
Ville Friman – Insomnium
Mike Gitter – Senior Director of A&R, Razor & Tie
Frank Godla – Metal Injection, Meek is Murder
Mike Greene – Director of Digital Marketing, Razor & Tie
Shane Handel – Set and Setting
Jeff Hodak – Head of Sales, Razor & Tie
Terence Hannum – Locrian
John Hoffman – Weekend Nachos
Mark Hunter – ex-Chimaira
Don Jamieson – That Metal Show
Daniel Jansson – Culted
John Jarvis – Pig Destroyer, Fulgora
Gaz Jennings – Death Penalty, ex-Cathedral
Patrik Jensen – The Haunted
Rick Jimenez – Extinction A.D.
Kassa – Below
Mirai Kawashima – Sigh
“Grim” Kim Kelly – MetalSucks
Zeena Koda
Erik Kluiber – Gypsyhawk
Eyal Levi – Unstoppable Killing Machine, Dååth
Jason Lekberg – IKILLYA
Adam Lindmark – Morbus Chron
Ryan Lipynsky – Serpentine Path, Unearthly Trance, The Howling Wind
Jonah Livingston – Ramming Speed
Bob Lugowe – Director of Promotions/Marketing, Relapse Records, Brutal Panda Records
James Malone – Arsis, Necromancing the Stone
Jose Mangin – Director of Music Programming, Sirius XM Liquid Metal
Bobby Mansfield – 16
Misha Mansoor – Periphery
Morgan McGrath – Live Nation
Mike “Gunface” McKenzie – The Red Chord, Stomach Earth, Nightkin
Vince Neilstein – MetalSucks
Eventansvarig Biostaden Nyköping – Below
Chris Ojeda – Byzantine
Casey Orr – Rigor Mortis, Warbeast
Rob Pasbani – Metal Injection
Anders Persson – Portrait
Chris Pervelis – Internal Bleeding
Karim Peter – Artist Relations, IndieMerchandising
Raphael Pinsker – Booking Agent, 3Thirteen Entertainment Group
Polar
Markus “Rabapagan” – Metsatöll
Josh Rand – Stone Sour
Emperor Rhombus – MetalSucks
Gus Rios – Gruesome
Tobias Rosén – Noctum
Axl Rosenberg – MetalSucks
Travis Ryan – Cattle Decapitation, Murder Construct, Nader Sadek
Saturn
Marc Schapiro, Branch Marketing Collective
Zach Shaw – The Syndicate
Patrick Sheridan – Fit For An Autopsy
Alex Skolnick – Testament
Brian Slagel – Chairman/CEO, Metal Blade Records
Mark Solotroff – Anatomy of Habit, Bloodlust!, BLOODYMINDED
Steve “Zetro” Souza – Exodus, Hatriot
Kevin Stewart-Panko – Decibel, MetalSucks
Black String – Vampire
Jason Suecof – Audiohammer Studios
Bram Teitelman – Metal Insider
Nick Tieder – No Jacket Required Marketing, Indegoot
Tone Deaf Touring
Aaron Turner – Old Man Gloom, ex-ISIS, Hydra Head Records
Brody Uttley – Rivers of Nihil
George Vallee – Head of Publicity, Street Smart Marketing
Dirk Verbeuren – Soilwork, Bent Sea, Scarve
Jens Vestergren – Below
Jake Wade – Columns
Kelly Walsh – Publicist, Prosthetic Records
Mike Wohlberg – The Fat Kid Illustration
Wookubus – The PRP
Zodiac
