Metallica is one of the most popular bands globally and Ozzy Osbourne recently spoke about his experience of meeting the band for the first time when he took them on tour in 1986. Osbourne also recalled how he thought that Lars Ulrich & Co. were “taking the piss” out of him by playing Black Sabbath songs.
Ozzy Osbourne opens up on the incident
Metallica’s legendary third studio album “Master of Puppets” was released in 1986 and it was one of the important milestones for the thrash metal genre itself. Just after releasing the album on March 3, Metallica embarked on an extensive tour, a significant portion of which included opening for Ozzy Osbourne who was promoting his fourth solo album “The Ultimate Sin”, released earlier during the same year.
The tour in question has since become a major legend in the broader metal mythos, since even though seeing Ozzy in the mid-’80s meant seeing him in his solo career’s prime, Metallica managed to draw at least as much attention even though it was “just” the opening act.
When asked how he first heard about Metallica, Ozzy told Metal Hammer in an interview recently published on the outlet’s website:
“Everybody used to stay at LA’s Sunset Marquis, so I ran into them there. Not long after, we had them out on tour with us. They came right out of their box; people loved them. They brought along a great following, which helped them take off down the line. They were all nice guys, so I was happy when my old bass player [Rob Trujillo] ended up playing with them.”
Ozzy continued, remembering how he thought that the four young musicians were “taking the piss” out of him by playing Black Sabbath in their dressing room: “They were opening the show. I remember walking past the dressing room and they were playing Black Sabbath – I had no idea they were big fans, I thought they were taking the piss!”
