**How Do You Become the Prince of Darkness?**
Ozzy Osbourne wasn’t born the Prince of Darkness — he earned the title through a potent mix of raw talent, outrageous behavior, and unrelenting perseverance. Hailing from working-class Birmingham, England, Osbourne co-founded Black Sabbath in 1969, helping to shape a new genre with haunting riffs and doomy lyrics. Tracks like “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” and “War Pigs” laid the foundation for heavy metal, blending bluesy grit with dark, apocalyptic themes that echoed the industrial bleakness of his hometown.
Ozzy’s onstage persona was wild, chaotic, and dangerous. But by the late ’70s, drug and alcohol abuse led to his dismissal from Black Sabbath. Rather than fade out, Ozzy roared back with a solo career that would cement his legacy. With guitarist Randy Rhoads, he unleashed *Blizzard of Ozz* (1980) and *Diary of a Madman* (1981), showcasing his ability to evolve while staying true to metal’s core. Songs like “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley” fused technical mastery with theatrical flair, and a new generation of fans took notice.
Of course, Ozzy’s mythos wasn’t built on music alone. Biting the head off a bat, slurring through interviews, and stumbling through fame, he became a symbol of chaos and survival. Yet beneath the spectacle was a vulnerable, oddly endearing figure — one the world came to know better through the hit MTV reality show *The Osbournes* in the early 2000s.
Despite health scares, addiction battles, and countless career twists, Ozzy remains an enduring force in music. With five decades of influence behind him, he stands as a rebel, a survivor, and the undisputed Prince of Darkness — a title forged in riffs, rebellion, and relentless self-reinvention.
