Opeth broke out their cover of Black Sabbath’s 1971 track ‘Solitude’ in honour of the late Ozzy Osbourne during their set at Beyond The Fates festival.
Opeth has joined the ranks of countless other bands paying tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
On August 1, during their set at Beyond The Fates festival in Bergen, Norway, the band paid tribute to the singer by performing the 1971 Black Sabbath track ‘Solitude’.
Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22 at the age of 76, weeks after his final performance.
Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has never hidden his admiration for the late Prince of Darkness throughout his career. On July 24, the singer posted a tribute to his hero, writing: “John Michael Osbourne has left us, and it’s so incredibly hard to accept it. Even if I have braced myself for this inevitable fact since the 80s, it just feels completely unreal. He was like an ancient oak tree to me. A listed tree that people would visit and marvel at,” the singer shared.
“Ozzy came into my life in the late 70’s/early 80’s (I can’t remember exactly, I admit) when I heard ”Iron man” on a cassette player in Sörskogen/Huddinge/Stockholm. I was just a child, and “that” voice, in the beginning, scared the living daylights out of me.”
“Black Sabbath was my introduction to heavy rock/metal and has remained a lifelong companion since. I’ve read some posts from other musicians and can only concur. If it wasn’t for Ozzy and Black Sabbath my interest in music (as a whole) wouldn’t have taken off as it did. I became obsessed with them, and I suppose I still am.”
Åkerfeldt also shared that he did have a short encounter with his musical hero, however was too shy to do anything about it: “I’ve never talked to Ozzy myself. The closest engagement I had with him was when he shuffled past me at an award show and kinda bumped into me. I remember thinking ‘this might become my only Ozzy story’”.
“He felt that illuminated and untouchable just walking past. I kept looking for him around the room but I never got the chance to speak to him again. [Opeth] have played with Black Sabbath and Ozzy on a few occasions, but I’ve been too shy and starstruck to search him up. Besides, his entourage and private quarters made sure that no one would be able to come close.”
Opeth released their 14th album, The Last Will And Testament, last year. Several critics noted the album was a return to form as the band returned to their roots, giving us their darkest and most sinister-sounding metal record yet. The Swedish progressive metal band will also tour Australia and New Zealand in November to promote their new album. You can find tickets here.
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