🎸 The mid-1980s were a golden age for heavy metal, and Ozzy Osbourne, ever the connoisseur of raw talent, was always on the lookout for the next great thing. His appreciation for groundbreaking music wasn’t just limited to the axe-slingers in his own band—like the virtuoso Jake E. Lee—but extended to the acts he invited to share the stage. In 1986, right after unleashing the monumental “Master of Puppets,” Ozzy made a bold choice: he invited Metallica to open his massive tour.
According to former Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee, who was a fixture in the band during that period, the energy Metallica brought was a stark contrast to the polished sheen sometimes associated with arena rock. Lee recently offered his unique perspective on what made the Bay Area thrash pioneers so captivating, and why Ozzy, in particular, was drawn to their sound.
“Ozzy has an appreciation for talent, absolutely,” Lee confirmed, reflecting on the band’s formative years. But the key to Metallica’s appeal, as Lee saw it, was their unrefined ferocity. “There was nothing polished or pretty about them,” Lee noted. Unlike some of the more glam-infused bands of the era, Metallica delivered a sonic assault that was gritty, chaotic, and relentlessly heavy.
This raw, uncompromising approach was precisely what made them a compelling addition to the tour. Ozzy, whose own career was built on pushing boundaries and embracing the darker, heavier side of rock, recognized the genuine, explosive power surging from James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and the late Cliff Burton.
In the midst of a tour promoting their own material, the established legend was giving a massive platform to a band whose sound was fundamentally changing the landscape of heavy music. Lee’s observation underscores a crucial point about Ozzy’s legacy: his greatest strength has always been his eye for genius, his willingness to foster and embrace artists whose passion and power outweigh any concern for commercial polish. Metallica, with their untamed, masterful delivery, was the perfect example of that.