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On Tuesday evening, July 22, 2025, Ozzy Osbourne died at the age of 76. The news about the death of the “Prince of Darkness” triggered grief in the rock and metal scene worldwide, also with the co-founder of the Wacken Open Air, Thomas Jensen. In an obituary, the 58-year-old remembered the formative role that Osbourne played for him personally and for the world’s largest metal festival.
Osbourne shaped generation of fans
Osbourne, co -founder of the band Black Sabbath, is considered one of the key figures of the heavy metal. His music had shaped generations of fans and musicians: inside, Jensen told “Bild”. In particular, the solo album “Blizzard of Ozz” with songs such as “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley” impressed him as a teenager. “Without him, the music that means so much to all of us would not give us in this form,” said the Wacken founder.
Legendary appearance at Wacken Open Air
In 2011 Ozzy Osbourne performed for the first and only time at Wacken Open Air. Solo, not with Black Sabbath. Nevertheless, he also played classics of the band like “Paranoid” and “Iron Man”. Jensen remembered the appearance as one of the “greatest moments in the history of the festival”. Despite health problems, Osbourne was always present and authentic on stage, “raw, real, unstoppable”, as the festival team wrote in a statement on Instagram.
Osbourne 2011 on the Wacken:
Ozzy Osbourne thought the Wacken Open Air the day after his death with a black and white photo and a longer text on his official Instagram account. In it, the musician is described as a “force of nature” who “shaped legends and newcomers alike”. Co-founder Holger Hübner also has their say in the article: Osbourne’s music will continue to live at the festival-also in the upcoming edition, which begins on July 27, 2025.
The Instagram Post on Ozzy Osbourne:
Just 17 days before his death, Osbourne had been on stage with Black Sabbath one last time – at the farewell show with the name “Back to the Beginning” in his hometown Birmingham. Thomas Jensen was present at the concert and described it as a moving moment full of emotions. Despite his Parkinson’s disease, Osbourne played nine songs, five of them with his solo band, four with Black Sabbath. “A marathon run for someone in his condition,” says Jensen.