OZZY OSBOURNE: I've never felt comfortable being called "metal" | Revolver

OZZY OSBOURNE: I've never felt comfortable being called "metal"

Prince of Darkness has reservations about the genre tag
ozzy_2022_credit_rosshalfin.jpg, Ross Halfin
Ozzy Osbourne, Los Angeles, 2022
photograph by Ross Halfin

Through his work in Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne is widely credited as one of the founding fathers of heavy metal. However, the Prince of Darkness apparently has serious reservations about his music being put under the same umbrella as bands like Metallica and Cannibal Corpse.

In a new interview with Spin, Osbourne revealed that he's "never felt comfortable" with being described as "metal," and that he moreso thinks of his own solo catalog as straight-up rock music. 

"Well, I've never felt comfortable about that title that they put on me — 'metal,'" Osbourne said. "Because Ozzy Osbourne plays heavy, but the bands that are [considered metal] are really heavy, and we're all put in the same category.

"When you get pigeonholed with a certain [genre], it can be very difficult to do something a bit lighter or an acoustic track or whatever you want to do. Back in the day, it was always just rock music. It's still just rock music."