Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne, 2012
British singer and musician Ozzy Osbourne fronted the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath beginning in the late 1960s. He later had a successful solo career.
heavy metal
music
Top Questions
What defines heavy metal music?
What defines heavy metal music?
Who are some pioneers of heavy metal?
Who are some pioneers of heavy metal?
How did heavy metal evolve in the 1980s?
How did heavy metal evolve in the 1980s?
What are some subgenres of heavy metal?
What are some subgenres of heavy metal?
What controversies surrounded heavy metal in the 1980s?
What controversies surrounded heavy metal in the 1980s?
News •
Birmingham gives an emotional farewell to Ozzy Osbourne as tearful family lead tributes
• July 30, 2025, 10:48 PM ET (AP)
Ozzy Osbourne, who led Black Sabbath and became the godfather of heavy metal, dies at 76
• July 23, 2025, 3:25 AM ET (AP)
heavy metal, genre of rock and roll music that includes a group of related styles—from thrash metal to deathcore—that are intense, virtuosic, and powerful. Driven by the aggressive sounds of the distorted electric guitar, heavy metal is one of the most commercially successful genres of rock music. (Read “10 Defining Moments of Ozzy Osbourne’s Career.”) Although the origen of the term heavy metal is widely attributed to 20th-century American novelist William Burroughs, its use actually dates well back into the 19th century, when it referred to cannon or to power more generally. It also has been used to classify certain ...(100 of 772 words)