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Mike Mettler: It’s been a mere 5 days since Ozzy Osbourne passed away at age 76 on July 22, 2025. On that day, I posted an abbreviated tribute to the man and his music here on AP, with the added kicker that we’d be posting more about him a little bit later. After conferring with my main LP reviewer Mark Smotroff, we decided to take a different approach with our deeper-dive AP tribute — and I’ll let Mark jump in here now to continue the tale of how we decided to go about this route.

Mark Smotroff: Thanks, Mike. Yes, Ozzy is gone — and wow, what a life he led. What a career. What an icon. And what a way to go out too — on a high note just a couple weeks after pulling all he had from within to play that final Back to the Beginning show in Birmingham, England, on July 5, 2025, for all his adoring fans, including a truly final set with his original Black Sabbath bandmates. Ozzy Osborne may have left the building (and may he forever rest in peace), but he won’t soon be forgotten here on Planet Earth.

Anyway, as Mike noted, when we were putting our heads together about how to pay tribute to the man and his music in as positive and as different-than-the-norm manner as possible, I came up with an idea that resonated with us both. Instead of recounting favorite albums, best pressings, and such, or merely offering a “listicle” of our favorite Ozzy moments, we decided to instead take a somewhat different tact by diving into some of the best Ozzy and Black Sabbath cover versions by artists from around the world of vinyl.

Now, while I certainly appreciate Black Sabbath’s music and some of Ozzy’s own solo releases, I can’t claim to be as deeply a huge fan of theirs in the same way I am for artists like Frank Zappa, XTC, and the Grateful Dead. So, in addition to the picks below from both Mike and myself, I reached out to a few of my more metal-leaning friends here in the U.S. and in Canada to have some of their own expert choices included in our covers mix as well. In all, we went with 15 select covers that best showcase how Ozzy and Sabbath’s music has both endured and inspired multiple generations of artists. Mike will share his Top 5 tracks first, then my three faves will come next, and then I’ll conclude with the remaining choices that came via suggestions from three of my metal lovin’ friends — Johann Blanc, Patrick Goodwin, and Ian McClelland. Thanks, guys, for your great pointers! Back over to Mike now to get things started.

MIKE METTLER
Before I dive into five of my own personal favorite Ozzy/Sabbath covers, I must first make note of one of the key tribute albums that finally made its way onto vinyl in recent years — Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath, which was originally released on CD in 1994 via Columbia, but was later expanded into 2LP form on heavy black swirl vinyl for RSD 2020 via Real Gone/Sony Music/Columbia. N.I.B. was subsequently repressed on Real Gone vinyl in 2021 for a wider release and then again in 2022, the latter repress being on purple vinyl. (A sequel installment in this tribute series, naturally dubbed Nativity in Black II, was released by Divine Recordings/Priority back in 2000, but it is currently on CD only.)

One particularly great N.I.B. track on vinyl is noted by one of our esteemed metal-minded colleagues later on in this story — and it’s a favorite of mine as well, without a doubt. But since I don’t want to spoil anything, I won’t go into it any further here — though I will express my N.I.B. LP love for both White Zombie’s sturm und drang attack of “Children of the Grave” (LP1, Side One, Track 2) and Ugly Kid Joe’s balls-out bite into the song “N.I.B.” (LP2, Side Four, Track 1). And with that, onward to my quintet of individualized picks.

Metallica: “Sabbra Cadabra.” All throughout their career, Bay Area metal masters Metallica would often blaze their way through covers in homage to their many musical heroes, serving them up as B-sides and/or on various EP compilations. For November 1998’s Garage Inc. 3LP set on Elektra, Metallica cut 11 new covers for LP1, then housed both of their earlier released Garage Days EPs plus other notable covers on LP2 and LP3.

One of those then-new covers, “Sabbra Cadabra” (LP1, Side One, Track 4), finds the four Metallica lads pounding their way expertly through this 6-minute tough-love track initially from Black Sabbath’s November 1973 Vertigo LP Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. If you know that particular Sabbath album fairly well, you’ll also hear Metallica slip in a brief midsection from another cool Bloody track, “A National Acrobat.”

Soundgarden: Into the Void (Sealth).” Another band frequently doing the covers thing for B-sides and extra tracks was Seattle grungemeisters Soundgarden, who initially cut the 1971 Masters of Reality track “Into the Void (Sealth)” for inclusion on their 1991 A&M single for “Jesus Christ Pose.” This foreboding song ultimately made its way onto vinyl in May 2015 on A&M/UMe’s massive 6LP picture-disc compilation box set Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path.

On ’Garden’s “Void” (LP4, Side 2, Track 3), vocalist Chris Cornell eerily mirrors Ozzy’s voice on all the verses, though you should be able to detect more of Cornell’s full-throated vocal style on some of the bullet-speed choruses and whenever he leans into extending vowels. (A minute-longer live version of “Void” that was cut at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle in 1992 appears on separate Cornell and Soundgarden multidisc CD/DVD box sets — and it’s as tough and gritty as you’d expect, though it’s not yet on official vinyl.)

Harshmellow: “Sweet Leaf.” From the 2021 Shadow of Reality covers album on the, er, nascent DC Shoes label — and on purple and black-swirl vinyl too, natch — comes this spot-on 5-minute tackling of the opening track on the above-noted 1971 Vertigo LP Masters of Reality, replete with the full stereo-panned opening nagging cough to boot. Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament holds down the low end, Otis Barthoulameu (a.k.a. “O”) handles the echo-laden lead vocals, and Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis turns in a blistering guitar solo. Note that Shadow had a limited run of 1,000 copies, as it was part of a Sabbath-related footwear/apparel promo tie-in (nuff said), and it is not all that easily findable out there in the marketplace, so happy hunting if you choose to seek it out.

Motörhead: “Hellraiser.” This punisher of a track was initially cut for Ozzy’s October 1991 No More Tears Epic LP with Lemmy Kilmeister guesting on vocals — and there’s an awesome 30th anniversary animated video for it too, which I have to share below!

Lemmy’s own band Motörhead served up a riveting, throat-wrenching go at “Hellraiser” on their own 1992 LP on WTG/Epic, March ör Die (Side 2, Track 1). Interesting tie-in: Ozzy sings on one cut at the tail end of the flipside, “I Ain’t No Nice Guy” (Side 1, Track 5), which also features Slash on guitar. March has subsequently been reissued on white vinyl via Back on Black in 2012 and other semi-official European import LPs in recent years, so this one is not as hard to find on wax as some of the other albums in this story might be.

Pat Boone: “Crazy Train.” Okay, okay, so this one is not yet on vinyl, sorry to say, but I just had to include it here as a bonus entry. Eternal clean teen idol and Ozzy’s onetime neighbor Pat Boone (91 years young, at the time of this post!) does such an amazing rendition of this signature solo song from September 1980’s Jet/Epic LP Blizzard of Ozz. You may be somewhat familiar with it as the abbreviated theme song for the hit 2002-05 MTV reality show The Osbournes, but this “Crazy Train” appears in its full 4-plus-minutes glory on Boone’s In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy 1997 covers CD on Hip-O Records. (It’s also the lead track on 2002’s The Osbourne Family Album CD on Epic.)

Honestly, it’s hard not to smile anytime I cue up this one, with its horn-laden intro and subsequent breaks, Andrew Sisters-style vocal punctuations (“Choo! Choo!”), and Boone’s own masterful lounge-singer runs that would certainly do latter-day tongue-in-chic stylists like Richard Cheese proud. I actually interviewed Boone about In a Metal Mood for a print story back in the day that isn’t currently available online, so this head-bopping walk down metal-memory lane reminds me to find it in my files and post it sometime in the not-so-distant future. Not only that, but please consider this my official plea to the powers that be to get this album on wax stat, daddio!!

And now, over to Mark for his and our other trio of special guests’ supernaut-special picks!

MARK SMOTROFF
The Dickies: “Paranoid.” I have owned this single pretty much since it was released in 1978 via its original 10-inch white EP form on A&M. A lot of people overlook The Dickies because of their comic approach to punk-infused new wave, but that was part of the joy of what they do, because they are fun!

They pull off Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” (the title track to their September 1970 sophomore LP on Vertigo) at such a fast pace that they pretty much pre-echo Dead Kennedys, as far as off-the-hook speed punk goes. And there is also Stan Lee’s guitar solo — which, in my book, makes him as much of a guitar hero as anyone of his generation. You can also find “Paranoid” on The Dickies’ February 1979 debut album on A&M The Incredible Shrinking Dickies as well, in addition to its inclusion on the fine hits compilation Great Dictations (The Definitive Dickies Collection), which was released on vinyl by A&M in 1989.

Charles Bradley: “Changes.” Another great artist gone too soon, Charles Bradley had a remarkable ascension to pop stardom, emerging seemingly out of nowhere from the universe of Sharon Jones’ Daptone label. He issued several terrific modern-retro soul slabs that resonated with audiences everywhere, but sadly, he passed away in 2017.

I came onboard the Bradley train around the time his stunning cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” appeared on his April 2016 Dunham/Daptone album of the same name. Bradley takes full ownership of this song — originally found on Sabbath’s September 1972 Vertigo LP Vol. 4 — in turn making it fit in perfectly with the rest of his album and his sound. (For what it’s worth, Mike tells me that Bradley’s “Changes” cover is also used as the theme song for the animated Netflix series Big Mouth, so there you go.)

Butthole Surfers, “Sweat Loaf.” For a second, I almost didn’t include this one, but after playing it back-to-back with Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” (which, as Mike noted earlier, is from 1971’s Masters of Reality), I simply had to add it in this is a pretty clear homage to the band, jamming on the song’s core riff. (And yes, the vowel change in the second word in the song’s title is quite deliberate.)

And man, does it slam! As far as modern hard-rocking metal-infused records go, the Surfers’ March 1987 Touch and Go LP Locust Abortion Technician is arguably one the most intense and assaultive 30 minutes of electrified heavy rock mayhem committed to vinyl. That their amped-up Sabbath twist opens the album says something. (Mike adds that there’s a minute-plus fade-in intro of sorts before the cover takes its full flight.)

And now, I will sail on, and narrate the seven (or so) selections from our trio of metal friends to continue with the covers cavalcade, with Johann Blanc’s two choices first!

Faith No More: “War Pigs.” This powerhouse Paranoid cover was recorded around the time of this Bay Area band’s third album on Slash/Reprise, June 1989’s The Real Thing, but it was initially only included on a later reissue as bonus CD track, which we share below for context.

The good news is, FNM also captured a live version of “War Pigs” on their February 1991 release Live at The Brixton Academy, which is available on import vinyl via Slash/London. That version was so good that it’s apparently how FNM drummer Mike Bordin got hired to be in Ozzy’s solo band for a stretch! At the time of this posting, there are still a couple of copies of that live album selling on Discogs in the $50-$65 range, which is cheaper than it goes for overseas.

You can also find FNM’s live version of “War Pigs” on the Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath 2LP set that was mentioned earlier in Mike’s segment of our review. For the record, sealed copies of the 2020 2LP reissue of N.I.B. can be found on Discogs for about $28 on up to as much as $150.

Lisa Loeb & Dweezil Zappa: “Goodbye to Romance.” Underscoring what a good songwriter Ozzy is, this lovely power ballad from Blizzard of Oz works well in the hands of other artists. Fortunately, the 2018 Ozzy tribute LP this version appears on, The Ultimate Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, is available on vinyl in Europe via Golden Core.

I love Dweezil’s guitar solo here on this arrangement, which feels like it could transform into a Mott The Hoople song at any moment, as I think it would segue brilliantly into their 1972 take on the David Bowie-penned “All The Young Dudes.” As you contemplate that segue for a moment, Patrick Goodwin’s trio of choices are up next.

The Cardigans: “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and “Iron Man.” Okay, that first selection made my head spin like a scene from The Exorcist after Patrick pointed it out to me! Now, while I have indeed enjoyed The Cardigans over the years on CD, I have to admit that I’d I never really looked too closely at the tracklistings or writing credits. My bad, as they say.

So, imagine my surprise in realizing I own a version of their fun early ’90s pop twist on this classic Black Sabbath title track from 1973! This bouncy cover initially appeared on The Cardigans’ February 1994 debut album Emmerdale, as well as on some versions of March 1995’s Life (both on Trampolene Records). The 2019 LP reissues for both Emmerdale and Life on the Stockholm label can be ordered from overseas via Discogs.

As I was doing further Cardigans research, I discovered that they also trippily covered the Paranoid classic “Iron Man” on their 1996 Mercury album First Band on the Moon (which was also later made available on vinyl in 2019 on Stockholm). Again, how could I have completely overlooked these fun covers? Clearly, I am way overdue on playing my Cardigans discs again — though maybe it’s high time I procured some of their albums on vinyl so I can also better study the fine print in the liner notes. Either way, mind sufficiently blown!

Pantera: “Planet Caravan.” The last, and quite heady track on Pantera’s March 1994 EastWest/Elektra album, Far Beyond Driven, covers one of the most unique songs on Paranoid. This is one cover you should be able to find fairly easily on vinyl, as Driven has been reissued and upgraded numerous times over the years.

That said, be forewarned that original EastWest pressings of Driven from 1994 can run between $150 and $400 on the collector’s marketplace! Either way, both Mike and Johann also gave us their respective thumbs ups for this intoxicating version of “Planet Caravan” as well, echoing Patrick’s initial suggestion.

Anthrax: “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.” This version of “SBS” appears on a particular December 1987 European version of the thrash band’s I’m The Man EP on Island/Megaforce (208 786). I can see why Patrick likes this cover so much, as he says it’s one of his favorite versions of the song — and indeed, it does rock hard.

While I’ve never been much of an Anthrax fan myself, I can hear when something is working — and this is a good ’un. Spoiler alert: Be sure to listen for a fun coda at the very end, which directly references one of the other songs that’s been covered (literally and figuratively) in our list.

Finally, to wrap things up, we get to Ian McClelland’s postscript pick.

Jet Set Satellite: “Children of the Grave.” Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, this group, which has had Top 20 hits in their home country of Canada, have really pulled off a solid cover of this power-driver from Masters of Reality.

The only bummer here is that this cover, which appears on JSS’s self-released September 2008 album End of An Era, doesn’t seem to be available on vinyl as of yet, but that is the plight of the independent musician. Maybe someday, this rousing run through “COTG” will get a proper reissue on wax — but, regardless, it is a fitting coda to our loving covers tribute to the late and forever great John Michael Osbourne.