Ozzy never disappears and he seems to lay low enough not to become a bore. He’s a vegan too so that’s a plus. His family has been a public spectacle for years and as far as hard rockers go- he ended up OK.
Despite snorting ants, eating bats and being the prince of darkness, he’s just a regular guy. His band Black Sabbath has been around for what seems like forever and is in the studio now with their eye on April for release of their next album. Can hard rockers ever lose touch so much that they become a parody? Yes, of course. In the case of Ozzy, I gotta say his comedic value is as appreciated as his music. Here he speaks to a New Zealand periodical about his work on the new album.
"What's different now is that none of us get drunk or stoned or any of that stuff," says Ozzy. "We're all clean, and all in control of ourselves, we're not intimidated by each other, there are no arguments, and it's the way it should be. But when we were kids we had egos. When you're 21 and you get some success it takes a while to get your head around. You have an ego, you have the spoils of success, the cars, the houses, the money, the alcohol, the drugs, the groupies, and all the rest of it, and if you go through all of that and you are lucky enough to survive you get married, you get divorced, you get married again, and it's a journey.”
"But we've done it all so what it boils down to now is the music,” explains Osbourne, “and that's what got us where we are in the first place. We have come through the other side, we're still able to work together, and that's where the enjoyment comes from. It's been a lot of fun making this record."
"It's been more than 30 years since I really seriously worked with the guys,” adds Ozzy. “We had a try a few years back but nothing came of it. But for some reason the timing is right and we've done about 15 songs. Black Sabbath is very unique in the respect that nothing is formulated. It's very unpredictable. I just hope the people who have waited all these years aren't disappointed."