I know I'm a few days late here, but RIP to the great Ozzy Osbourne.
Paranoid is the first album, of all music, that I remember being obsessed with. I was in 4th grade, and found myself hooked on it. I was terrified by the apocalyptic imagery of Ironman and Electric Funeral, and captivated by the social critique in War Pigs. As a child, it was my first introduction to the idea of skepticism by the populace, as to the true reasons for war. It would affect my perceptions for the rest of my life. I'd always been captivated by war history, and this gave me a new perspective. Fairies Wear Boots was a lighter hop into fantasy, and Planet Caravan was a relaxing instrumental. I remember my dad telling me about seeing them perform in Wichita when he was in high school, and the description of them being on a stage with red velvet curtains, while wearing all black. I spent hours listening to Black Sabbath on LP, and this was in the pre-internet era, where you either looked at the liner notes, happened to find an article about a band in a publication....or came up with your own interpretation. Those hours would affect me for the rest of my life.
I remember hearing the stories about the infamous bat, and Ozzy's partying. In my teenage years, I was lucky enough to attend one Ozzfest (1998), and was blown away. It was truly an experience like no other.
The argument could easily be made the Black Sabbath was in many ways the most influential rock band of all time. While the Beatles have been huge to music of course, and Jimi Hendrix reimagined what a guitar could be, and Led Zeppelin with its melding of rock riffs and blues ushered in decades of experimentation....Black Sabbath, to me, created metal. The darkness of that band, and its riff-heavy experimentation, has influenced every band I love. They were great at embracing the goth-heavy darkness with a tongue in cheek way at laughing themselves that pearl clutching church ladies have both missed and fainted at ever since, and I adore it. Iron Maiden and countless others continued that social critique, and still do. I love the dichotomy of the darkness of metal imagery, and the poetic sharpness, AND vulnerability, that Black Sabbath pioneered. To quote Full Metal Jacket, "I think I was trying to say something about the duality of man, SIR!"
I've been to probably over a hundred rock concerts in my life, as well as country and bluegrass and pop and blues and all other kinds. I love live music. And I have always felt safest at metal shows. There's a sensitivity there that outsiders may not recognize, but to me, is part of the true definition of metal. A scene that would look far different, if it would exist at all, without Ozzy, Black Sabbath, and their influence.
He led a life of successes, and open failures, and new beginnings. He always tried to do better, was honest about his mistakes, and fiercely demonstrated his love to family and friends, unabashedly. Those, to me, define what it means to be "metal". I am so happy he got his final (spectacular!) concert in Birmingham a few weeks ago, with the other three original members of Black Sabbath, and a complete lineup of the gods of rock, who gathered to show homage. It was the perfect bookend for one of the most fascinating characters of the past century. Goodbye, Prince of Darkness. We will miss you. Thank you for all you gave us.