Ozzy Osbourne, pioneering singer of pioneering proto-metal group Black Sabbath, has passed on to the great mountain of weed, cocaine, booze, LSD, metal, and good times in the sky.

Terence “Geezer” Butler says he is “so glad” he was able to perform a final time with bandmate Ozzy Osbourne – referring to the band’s reunion on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham.

In a social media post, Butler writes: “Goodbye dear friend – thanks for all those years- we had some great fun. Four kids from Aston- who’d have thought, eh?

“So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.”

It was a long strange journey for those four kids from Aston (in Birmingham, England). As the story goes:

Raised in a working-class family in Birmingham, England, Osbourne dropped out of school at age 15 and held several low-paying jobs. He also engaged in petty crime and at 17 was imprisoned for two months for burglary. After his release, he sang in a number of local rock groups, eventually forming the rock band Earth with guitarist Tony Iommi. To avoid confusion with another band of the same name, the group changed its name to Black Sabbath—after an old Boris Karloff movie. The group developed a grinding, ominous sound, based on the blues but intensely amplified, and drew attention with its tendency to reference the occult in its lyrics. In February 1970 Black Sabbath released its eponymous first album and quickly developed a following in both Britain and the United States.

Black Sabbath released albums each year through the mid-1970s, except 1974. After the tour for Never Say Die (1978), Osbourne left the band.

By the end of the 1990s, Osbourne had reunited the original members of Black Sabbath for a new album and tour, and in 1999 the band won a Grammy for best metal performance for the song “Iron Man.” In 2013 Osbourne made his first studio record, 13, with Black Sabbath after a 35-year absence. “God Is Dead?,” a single from the recording, earned the band another Grammy for best metal performance.

We thank you for all you have done and wish you well on your future adventures.

Tags: black sabbath, Heavy Metal, ozzy osbourne, proto-metal