The throne now stands empty.

The prince who once sat upon it is gone. The architect who built a fortress for misfits and ruled it as king, the man who reigned over darkness, radiated light, and led generations to face their inner demons through music, has departed. But what he leaves behind is a legacy worth tens of lifetimes.

On July 22nd, the world lost Ozzy Osbourne, the god of a genre that redefined rebellion. He wasn’t just a metal musician. He wasn’t just the frontman of Black Sabbath.

He was Metal incarnate.

I was in my first year of college when I started diving deeper into the world of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. Like most fans of rock or metal, I already knew the basics: Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs. At the time, I met a friend who was a huge Sabbath fan. He gave me a CD he had burned himself. It was illegal, sure, but I was young and broke. The CD had around a hundred songs by Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.

With a lot of free time between classes, and being the loner I naturally am, those songs became my closest friends. I listened to them every single day.

By then, I was already deeply into rock and metal. But Ozzy and Sabbath felt different. There was something spiritual in them. A kind of purity in the music that stood apart from everything else I had heard.

There are many great metal and rock bands. But if I had to describe the difference, I would say it is like drinking mineral water from a bottle compared to drinking it directly from the spring.

I know I wasn’t alone in this. Over the decades, countless fans have made Ozzy’s music their home and his songs their closest friends. For many dealing with anxiety, depression, or the crushing weight of isolation, his voice was more than sound. It was a weapon. A shield. A companion in the dark. Ozzy gave people the strength to face their demons, not by offering answers, but by screaming alongside them.

He will forever be remembered as the saviour of many. The metal and rock scene, the fans, the artists – every single one of us owes something to Ozzy Osbourne.

And now that he is gone, I do not feel like saying “Rest in Peace” or any of the other phrases people have been repeating for thousands of years when they lose someone. Because Ozzy is like no one.

The only words that feel right are: Thank you.