OZZY: A Legend? YES! Past His Prime? Sad but True

 

As I entered the Ozzy Osbourne Show at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on 11/29, I could not have been more excited.  I was about to see the legend, the man, the Godfather of Heavy Metal, the Prince of Darkness: the one, the only OZZY OSBOURNE.  Not just that, but the opening act: Halford (in case you are unfamiliar, Rob Halford, now known as Halford, is the former lead singer of the legendary heavy metal band Judas Priest, who many consider to also be one of the founders of heavy metal).  This had all the makings of an epic night.

As I walked to my seats (seats oddly given to me for half price), I noticed the masses of empty seats in the stadium: the ENTIRE upper level was empty, about 50% of the mid-tier seats were empty, and about 15% of the floor seats.  At the moment, I chalked this up to nothing more than audience members waiting for the opening act to finish to arrive.  As the aging and bloated Halford belted through various Priest hits, such as "The Green Manalishi," I was saddened by this once great rock god now reduced to performing as an opening act to a half-empty arena...this is not the Rob Halford I remember.

 Rob Haford 20 Years ago:                                                                      Rob Today:

As Rob left the stage, there was about a 30 minute break before OZZY came out.  Ozzy finally enters the stage bearing a cross, cloaked in his Prince of Darkness black robes, and utters his famous words: "Let the Madness Begin!" followed by the first notes to "Bark at the Moon" and...then...nothing but disappointment.  This once revolutionary artist and one of the great voices of rock and roll, was now one step short of a wheelchair.  Forget about singing, the man can barely move.  It was truly saddening to me.  The next realization I came to about half way through his set was that the stadium was not filling up.  The stadium stayed empty throughout his entire set.  Where is the Prince of Darkness I remember?  As he reached "War Pigs," and "Iron Man," it was nearing time to leave.  It is one thing for Ozzy to desecrate his solo hits, but come on, do you really want to sully the good name of Black Sabbath.  Know when it's time to call it quits.  Ozzy, let me say this to you: The music you have given us over the years is priceless.  No one in their right mind will dispute that without you, heavy metal would likely not exist.  You are a legend, and a brilliant and revolutionary songwriter.  But, the time has come to hang up the silver cross and call it quits.  Go out on top.  Let fans remember you as a rock god and the the godfather, not the grandfather.

Click here to see Ozzy enter the stage and open the show with "Bark at the Moon."

Click here to see a clip of Ozzy performing the Black Sabbath hit, "War Pigs" at this show.


Ozzy in his Prime:                                                                                  Ozzy Today: