‘80s Metal Band Pays a Powerful Tribute to the Late ‘Godfather of Heavy Metal’

‘80s metal band Metallica just wrapped up their M72 World Tour on Sunday in London, and in an emotional on-stage moment, bassist Robert Trujillo paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.

One year ago, on July 5, Osbourne performed his final show at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. It wasn’t lost on the band that they were playing in England one year later.

“A year ago today was a very important event,” Trujillo said. “Back to the Beginning, Black Sabbath and so many other people. Someone just gave me this right now, and it’s pretty powerful,” Trujillo held up a sign and said, “It says, ‘Do It For Ozzy.'”

But Metallica didn’t just honor Osbourne with words. They also wanted to honor his legacy with music.

“So we’ve got a little bit of a mashup here,” Trujillo said. “Oh yeah. Ozzy, we love you and we miss you brother. So let’s do this. Let’s figure it out. It’s a mashup of our two favorite bands and you’re gonna get it in a minute.”

The metal band played Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral” from their album Paranoid, mashed up with Sex Pistols’ “Holiday in the Sun.” 

View this post on Instagram

Osbourne died nearly one year ago, on July 22, 2025. In the death certificate obtained by The New York Times, it said that the singer died of “(a) Out of hospital cardiac arrest (b) Acute myocardial infarction (c) Coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction (Joint Causes).”

“It’s impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to Metallica,” the band posted in a statement on Instagram after Osbourne’s death. “Hero, icon, pioneer, inspiration, mentor, and, most of all, friend are a few that come to mind. Ozzy and Sharon [Osbourne] believed in us and transformed our lives and careers. He taught us how to play in the big leagues while at the same time being warm, welcoming, engaging, and all around brilliant.”

Watch Metallica’s tribute performance on Instagram.