Just one day after the world lost the godfather of heavy metal, Ozzy Osbourne, progressive sludge metal titans Mastodon paid tribute in the most fitting way possible: by channeling the spirit of Black Sabbath live onstage. During their performance at the Release Athens festival in Piraeus, Greece, the Atlanta-based band delivered a thunderous rendition of Black Sabbath‘s 1972 classic “Supernaut,” dedicating the performance to the late icon.
The cover wasn’t new for Mastodon — it first surfaced earlier this month at the Back To The Beginning concert on July 5 in Birmingham, UK. That event, which now holds even greater weight in the wake of Ozzy‘s death on July 22, was intended as the final live celebration of Black Sabbath‘s legacy, with Mastodon among the handpicked artists paying homage.
Before launching into the track in Athens, bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders addressed the crowd with heartfelt words that echoed what so many in the metal community are feeling right now. “We’d like to pay our respects to Black Sabbath. We’ll play a song for Mr. Ozzy Osbourne.
“Without them there is no Mastodon. Without Black Sabbath, without Ozzy, there is a lot of none of this. So let’s turn sadness into a celebration for about five minutes, Mastodon in Athens, Greece. One song from Black Sabbath, ok? This is a number they called ‘Supernaut’.”
In addition to the performance, Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor also paid tribute to Osbourne on his Instagram: “I love you Ozzy Osbourne thank you so much for all the music, all the mayhem, all of the endless inspiration, and for really just being yourself no matter what and teaching us that it was ok to do the same! Like many of you I became obsessed with Ozzy at a young age, there was just something about him that seemed like he was a kid onstage having the time of his life, it just looked like it was so much fun to be him.
“The combination of his voice and the guitar playing of Randy Rhoads was something I found so evocative at an early age, I can remember being in my room listening to the song Diary of a Madman on repeat because of the way it made me feel, it was tapping into emotions I didn’t know I had. I used to go to sleep to the tribute album every night, Ozzy was all I ever wanted to listen to and is pretty much still true to this day.
“I’m so incredibly grateful that we were there for Ozzy‘s final bow and that we were asked to perform. The world won’t be the same, but your music will live on forever and continue to inspire musicians of every genre to just be themselves! As I wrote on every folder I ever owned in school ‘Ozzy rulzzzzz forever!!’ Let the madness continue. RIP ???????????? our hearts go out to Sharon Osbourne and the Osbourne family.”
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