Ozzy Osbourne on why he has “never felt comfortable” with being called “metal”

Ozzy Osbourne has opened up about why he has “never felt comfortable” with being labelled “metal”.

The Black Sabbath frontman was reflecting on the changing landscapes of rock and metal over the years when he offered his thoughts on falling under the latter genre.

“Well, I’ve never felt comfortable about that title that they put on me – ‘metal’,” he said in a new interview with Spin. “Because Ozzy Osbourne plays heavy, but the bands that are [considered metal] are really heavy, and we’re all put in the same category.

“When you get pigeonholed with a certain [genre], it can be very difficult to do something a bit lighter or an acoustic track or whatever you want to do. Back in the day, it was always just rock music. It’s still just rock music.”

The Prince Of Darkness also reflected on the longevity of his career, including his double Grammy win this year. “I’ve had one of the most amazing careers any artist can ever have. I mean, I started in 1968 and I’ve worked at it since then. It’s just been fantastic. I’ll get awards left, right and center, but I don’t know what to do with them,” he said.

“I’m not very good at receiving awards. I didn’t start off [trying to get awards]. I think I was nominated for four or five [Grammys] this year and won two. It’s a nice little touch at the end of the day, I suppose. It’s something to leave my kids.”

The musician has been winding down his live music career in recent years, after recently sharing that he may have to “accept the fact” that he might never get the chance to perform live again, despite remaining hopeful.

Osbourne had announced his retirement from touring in February, calling off his scheduled European and UK tour dates in the process. Later that month he said that he hoped to return to the stage at some point in the future.

The artist, however, recently stated that he thinks he has just “10 years left” to live.

The Prince of Darkness’ 13th studio album, ‘Patient Number 9’, came out in September last year, earning four-stars from NME in a review that described the record as a “fizzing piece of hard-rock magic”.