Ozzy: Being in a band is dying art

Ozzy Osbourne says the rise of technology in music means bands are losing the ability to jam and shape ideas together.

And the Black Sabbath icon – who’s the subject of a free TeamRock iPad supplement – has first-hand experience of the phenomenon.

Ozzy tells Noisey.com: “The computer age is taking over and there’s a lot of trickery. I’ve actually seen guys in bands. You go, ‘Do you want to jam?’ and they go, ‘Jam? What’s that?’ Just playing anything together. They can’t do it. ‘I’ll have to consult my computer first.’ The art of being in a band is dying.”

The singer says he’s always proud when another musician is influenced by Sabbath – and he doesn’t just mean by the music.

He says: “I have people at Ozzfest going, ‘Man, if it wasn’t for Sabbath… we owe you so much.’ I go, ‘What part of this is influenced by Sabbath?’ I get where they’re coming from but it’s not the music, it’s what it says to the people.

“Metal has never had any rules. If you want me to do something, tell me not to. I’ve never played by any rules. My sole concern is to get on that stage and give the audience a great day out. I want to give my heart and soul when I play, and that’s God’s honest truth.”

Ozzy recently released his retrospective set Memoirs Of A Madman – after revealing that Sabbath are gearing up to record their final album next year.