Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G has shared his reasons for turning down multiple opportunities that came his way after joining the Prince of Darkness’s band.
The Greek hotshot replaced long-serving guitarist Zakk Wylde for 2010’s Scream, joining a long line of players including Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, and Alex Skolnick. The singer had cited a desire to pursue a different sound as the reason for the change, but Ozzy soon reunited with Black Sabbath, meaning much of his tenure in the band was fragmented. He officially departed in 2017, with Wylde returning to the fold.
He’s since launched a solo career and is set to release his fifth record, Steel Burner, on April 26. That pivot away from band life, he says, was purposeful. He’s even turned down some high-profile opportunities, because he was done with feeling “expendable”.
“It was a conscious decision for me after the Ozzy gig to not join other bands,” he tells The Metal Voice. “I've had offers to audition, potentially joining much bigger bands, of course, than mine. But I didn't wanna go into that situation again where you are an expendable guy, and you don't get to call the shots.
“I've done that a couple of times in my life,” he adds. “I had to sit down and really think [about everything] I do after Ozzy. [Whatever I do] is probably gonna be a downgrade anyway, so if you're gonna downgrade, you might as well do it on your own terms. And I really enjoy calling my own shots.”
Speaking on the Chuck Shute Podcast in 2024 (via Guitar World), he revealed the names of two bands that had enquired about his fretboard-burning services. Megadeth had looked to him as a potential replacement for the outgoing Chris Broderick in 2015, with his spot ultimately taken by Kiko Loureiro.
Four years later, he was invited to audition for Machine Head as the band looked to fill Phil Demmel's shoes. Once more, he wasn't for turning.
As he tells The Metal Voice, he realized that life in the fast lane with Ozzy, ultimately, wasn’t life in his fast lane.
“You're just working there,” he states. “You have a front-row seat to that lifestyle — you can stay at the Four Seasons every night, and you can fly private — but it's not about you. You're working for somebody else, and your job there is to make that person shine.
“So when you do your thing, it's gonna be a much smaller level, you fly commercial, as the rest of mortals do. But I personally don't have any problems with that, man. I believe in building your own empire.”
There’s no hard feelings, though, with Gus quick to praise Ozzy, the father figure, following his passing in July last year.
“He was just a very nice and very sweet guy, very warm-hearted,” he had said. “He broke the ice right away. I was nervous until I met him; once we started jamming, it felt right.”
Zakk Wylde has since claimed that Ozzy was eyeing another album in the vein of No More Tears before his passing, and has explained the all-important paint job he gave to his Grail Les Paul to avoid comparisons with Randy Rhoads when he first joined the band in the late '80s.
