Wolfgang and his Mammoth bandmates heard of Ozzy’s passing during soundcheck – and knew that “just mentioning it wasn’t enough”
Wolfgang Van Halen has paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne with a beautiful and heartfelt performance of Mama, I’m Coming Home in Hartford, Connecticut.
The Mammoth bandleader had pulled out of Back to the Beginning due to scheduling conflicts, but from the other side of the Atlantic, while supporting Creed on a US tour, he paid homage to the man who helped forge the sound of heavy metal.
“It fucking sucks that we are in a world that doesn’t have Ozzy Osbourne anymore,” he told the crowd. “It was right before we went out to soundcheck that we found out, and we felt like we had to do something. Just mentioning it wasn’t enough.
“We’ve played through this maybe three times,” he adds, his voice breaking. “So please bear with us, and sing the fuck along with us.”
The weight of the song, and what covering it means to Wolfgang Van Halen, is clear throughout the performance, and his voice is absolutely superb throughout. The guitar solo he unfurls on his gorgeous green-colored EVH SA-126 Special isn’t half bad, either.
“Love you, Ozzy,” he says as the final notes are drowned out by a screaming crowd.
The guitarist had seemingly put the decades-long Eddie Van Halen-Randy Rhoads rivalry to bed last year when he joined Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, and Maynard James Keenan to cover Crazy Train at Ozzy’s Rock Hall induction.
After soundcheck that night, Wolfgang had shared an image of himself and a smiling Ozzy, looking like the royalty he is, on a pitch black throne. The shot was taken backstage at the Rock Hall ceremony.
“Legend,” his caption read. “Thank you for everything, Ozzy.”
Mammoth are currently readying their third album, The End, having released a blockbuster horror-themed music video for its opening track. But he says not all songs on the record will be as laden with shred.
“Not everything needs a guitar solo,” he believes. “That might be stupid for the son of Eddie Van Halen to say, but, for me, what brings me purpose with Mammoth is writing the songs.”
Elsewhere, the tributes to the Prince of Darkness have been pouring in, while Tony Iommi has spoken at length about what Back to the Beginning meant to Ozzy.
