Ozzy Osbourne, the co-founder and lead vocalist of BLACK SABBATH and widely credited as the godfather of heavy metal, died on July 22nd, 2025, at age 76, following a long battle with Parkinson's disease. His death came just seventeen days after BLACK SABBATH's emotional farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5th, where Osbourne reunited with founding members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward before more than 40,000 fans and a global livestream audience of millions. Osbourne co-founded BLACK SABBATH in 1968, and the band's self-titled 1970 debut and follow-ups like "Paranoid" and "Master of Reality" effectively invented heavy metal as a genre. After his 1979 departure from BLACK SABBATH, Osbourne launched a massively successful solo career and later became a reality television fixture with "The Osbournes." His passing marked the end of an era, inspiring mourning across the global metal community.
