Pearl Jam’s guitarist pays tribute to the Black Sabbath frontman, who passed away on July 22 at the age of 76.
Yesterday – July 22, 2025 – Ozzy Osbourne died at the age of 76. The legendary Black Sabbath singer, one of the pillars of heavy metal since the ‘70s, passed away surrounded by his loved ones. His death shook the music world and sparked a global wave of grief.
His family broke the news in an emotional official statement: “It is with sadness beyond words that we announce the passing of our beloved Ozzy Osbourne this morning,” they wrote. “He was with his family, surrounded by love. We kindly ask everyone to respect our privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee, and Louis.”
Among the first to post a tribute was Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, who shared a heartfelt message: “Sad to hear Ozzy died today. I discovered Sabbath in high school. ‘War Pigs’ was scary and mesmerizing at the same time. It was Ozzy’s voice that pulled me in, into this dark universe. It was an escape. Then when ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ came out, I became a fan instantly. Randy Rhoads was one of the reasons I started playing lead guitar. I was lucky enough to play on the song ‘Immortal’ on Ozzy’s last album. Thank you for the music, Ozzy. You made the ride of life better.”
His words say it all — Ozzy wasn’t just a musician. He was a portal to another world. A darker, louder, freeing one. McCready, just a curious kid back then, got hooked on War Pigs, and that bond stuck with him all the way through. No wonder he’s been quoting that Sabbath classic live, even recently during the Dark Matter World Tour, throwing it into the outro of Alive.
In 2022, McCready played lead guitar on Immortal, from Patient Number 9, Ozzy’s final studio record, produced by Andrew Watt — the same guy behind Dark Matter and Eddie Vedder’s Earthling.
That same year, Jeff Ament joined a Sabbath tribute organized by Vans, laying down some thick low-end on a heavy cover of Sweet Leaf with the one-off supergroup Harshmellow, featuring O. on vocals and guitar, Sarah Linton on guitars, and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. shredding lead. And who could forget that ukulele jam of Iron Man by Eddie Vedder 19 years ago at Reading Festival in UK? The video is here.
Ozzy wasn’t just a singer. He was a vibe. A whole damn universe. And since yesterday, anyone who ever loved him, followed him, or even just heard him… feels like a piece of them is gone too.
But like McCready said: “Thank you for the music, Ozzy. You made the ride of life better.” And no one’s ever gonna take that away.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Mark Lanegan, R.E.M., Radiohead, Cat Power, Dead Kennedys