Black Label Society honour Ozzy Osbourne with ‘Ozzy’s Song’

Black Label Society have dropped Ozzy’s Song, the emotional ballad that closes their new album Engines of Demolition and honours the late metal legend. 

The track never name-checks Ozzy Osbourne, but it doesn’t need to. Zakk Wylde sings about moments shared with someone he never thought he’d lose. “When all is said and done, I couldn’t ask for more. Enjoy the ride, before it’s gone,” he sings.

Wylde, who was Ozzy’s longtime lead guitarist, told Loudwire Nights that the music for the song was written back in 2022, long before Ozzy passed away last year. The lyrics only came after Wylde returned home from the Pantera celebration tour.

“But after we laid Ozzy to rest and when we came back, winding down the Pantera celebration run, I came home, I just sat in the library in our house looking at a book of Ozzy,” he said. “And I just sat and put the music on and wrote the lyrics right there. Obviously if Oz hadn’t passed away, I'm not writing those lyrics.”

To record the solo, Wylde reached for The Grail, his 1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom. It’s the same guitar he used when he first wrote Miracle Man for Ozzy - a fitting return. 

“It makes perfect sense because I wrote my first song on that and did all the records with Ozzy with that guitar. It only makes sense that I'd play the solo on this fiddle,” he explained.

As a huge Ozzy fan, this one really hit me in the feels. What a beautiful tribute to the Prince of Darkness, from one of his best mates.