Scott Ian’s Black Sabbath origin story reads like many others – hearing the demon-summoning opening riff of “Black Sabbath” blew his mind, and he became hooked. It hanged his life irrevocably.
Unlike many others, however, Ozzy Osbourne went from hero to friend as Anthrax established themselves in the metal scene in the late ‘80s, and the band later helped the singer bow out – and raise a ton of money for charity – at Back to the Beginning.
They first crossed paths on Zakk Wylde’s debut tour, promoting “No Rest for the Wicked” in 1988. Anthrax were booked as support following the release of their fourth album, “State of Euphoria”.
“He could not have been nicer,” Ian tells Louder. “He’d pop into the dressing room every day and hang out. Ozzy was firing on all cylinders, and we got to tour with him all around the States, which was incredible.”
For Ian, it was a major point in a career that might never have happened, had Black Sabbath not left him spellbound when he was still a child.
“I had an uncle, Mitch, who is only 10 years older than me – he’d be 18, I was eight. I’d sit in his room and look through his comics and flip through his vinyl collection,” he says. “One day, I look at this album cover and I’m like, ‘What is this? What is ‘Black Sabbath?’ And he went, ‘Oh, that’s ‘acid rock’, which I still have no idea what that means.
“But he put it on, and the first song starts with the wind and the bell and the thunder, and then the riff kicks in. I’m sitting in my uncle’s bedroom, with black lights on, all these weird posters, listening to Tony Iommi playing the devil’s triad riff. I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god, this is scary.’ But I instantly became a Black Sabbath fan.
“I’d probably played almost every song off the first six Sabbath albums before Anthrax was even a band,” Ian adds. “And then, of course, Anthrax covered 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' as the B-side of the 'Indians' single [1987, with the 'Sweet Leaf' riff tagged on the end]. Sabbath runs so deep for me.”
In 2001, 13 years after Anthrax had toured the US with the Prince of Darkness, Ian’s favorite Ozzy memory played out, quite fittingly, on Halloween. It came at a time when the Jackson signature artist was hosting VH-1’s The Rock Show.
“We booked Ozzy,” he says. “I’m dressed in full Gene Simmons costume and make-up, but with my bald head and beard. Ozzy shows up with Sharon; he’s been doing promo all day, and I can instantly tell he just doesn’t want to be there.
“So he sits down next to me on a roadcase – and remember I’m dressed in Gene Simmons make-up – and he’s just silently staring at me. I’m getting one-word answers, and he’s giving me the stare of death. Now, I’ve known Ozzy for 13 years at this point, he knows me, and I’m literally sweating, like, ‘Oh my god.’”
Then the penny dropped.
“He starts staring at me really closely,” Ian continues. “And he goes, ‘It’s you! Scott! I thought it was just some asshole dressed as the guy from Kiss!’ Suddenly, it was all hugs and kisses. But I do remember Sharon standing at the side and shouting, ‘I told you it was Scott, Ozzy!’”
Reflecting on Ozzy's legacy, and their remarkable friendship, in the wake of the singer's passing, he said: “Peace, love, and gratitude to one of the giants, one of the actual architects of the genre, one of the originals.
“We were with him in Birmingham just over a week ago, talking about how incredible Back to the Beginning was. Ozzy was in a great mood, laughing and cracking us up. This heartbreaking shared experience is palpable, like a disturbance in the force.”
Meanwhile, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler believe that Ozzy “held out” to play one last show, and died when the job was done.
