Metallica’s former bassist Jason Newsted talked about Black Sabbath icon Ozzy Osbourne during a recent conversation with The Palm Beach Post. The rocker recalled when the Prince of Darkness went crazy like a child and explained why.
Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most notorious rock and roll personalities. The way he misused drugs and alcohol caused him to suffer from their consequences throughout his life. Because of this substance abuse, he risked his relationship with his family, children, and band Black Sabbath.
Aside from that, Osbourne’s stage acts also gained him a notorious reputation. Although he had said that he is not a Satanist and is a Christian who even prays before going on shows, he was still associated with the devil due to his art and performances on stage.
According to Jason Newsted, Osbourne has a side of him not many people saw before. He witnessed Osbourne being cheerful and sound, which he thought was Osbourne’s essence no matter what his image was. His epiphany happened when Osbourne reacted to a Chihuahua wearing sunglasses like a child and started to show affection and love.
Here is how Newsted began describing Osbourne:
“He got his gear on two hours before stage time with Zeppelin jamming, like ‘Let’s go!’ That was the real person, and no matter what kind of stuff they tried to subdue him with, that was still the essence of that person.“
About Osbourne’s reaction to the dog, the bassist said:
“He lost it, like a child. He’s like, ‘Oooooh, baby!’ That’s the genuine person. There’s still this really big-hearted animal-loving dad in there, besides being the Prince of Darkness. He is that, too.”
After leaving Metallica, Newsted briefly toured with Osbourne during Ozzfest. After finishing up the tour in 2003, he was replaced by Rob ‘Blasko’ Nicholson, the bassist of Rob Zombie.
