Earlier this year, I sat anxiously through five days of Ticketmaster queues, desperately wishing the 28,000 people (and bots) ahead of me would fall off the face of the Earth. Alas, I wasn’t one of the lucky ones, and I would spend the next few months accepting that I would never see one of my heroes, Ozzy Osbourne, perform live. It stung that I’d had a ticket to the No More Tears Tour before he cancelled it in 2019. The real devastation came with his death two weeks after the Back to the Beginning gig. I’ll now never get the chance; it’s an unexplainable feeling when you mourn someone you’ve never known.
Prior to the Sabbath reunion, I’d of course been aware of YUNGBLUD. There’d even been a very short stint in my life when I listened to their a cappella medley of Arctic Monkeys’ Are You Mine? and Drake’s Best I Ever Had on repeat, marvelling at the rough, smoky grit in their vocals. However, I’d always been indifferent to their original music.
Fast forward to the present day, and I’m being force-fed YUNGBLUD like the music industry depends on it — and quite frankly, it doesn’t. I would previously get drips and drabs of them online after Ozzy starred in their 2022 music video for The Funeral — very cool, we love a cameo. I can see how a kind of mentor/friendship would emerge from that encounter. It even made sense to me that YUNGBLUD would perform at Back to the Beginning (for the record, I think they did a great job covering Changes). What doesn’t add up to me is why people are acting like they’re the new torchbearer — when they don’t even make heavy metal music.
My Instagram feed is solely for music. I’m constantly crafting my algorithm to make sure I only get what I need to see and be aware of in order to anticipate new releases and whatever else may be going on in the music world — and I just cannot seem to escape the Northern musician. It really started to irritate me when a small jewellery company I’ve followed for a long time, who is also a big Sabbath fan, gave YUNGBLUD a ring they designed as a tribute to Ozzy. I thought, “Ugh, this guy is everywhere”, and just moved on. Then came the VMAs and their tribute to the Prince of Darkness with Aerosmith legends Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. I watched it and thought it was okay — a great tribute, and I love seeing rock ’n’ roll bring some energy to traditionally pop spaces. You can imagine my surprise when the trio announced a new single in the form of My Only Angel.
Considering I’ve been a long-time fan of Aerosmith, I went into the listening experience with an open mind — which is now locked with a missing key. I actually physically jumped at the first line. This is coming from someone who craves loud, obnoxious music. My first thought was, “YUNGBLUD, why are you shouting at me?!” Once I’d managed to acclimate my eardrums, I was confused by the excessive use of reverb. You can hardly recognise Tyler’s voice in the verses — has anyone told him that he doesn’t have to bring out music if he just doesn’t have it in him anymore? It’s okay, Steven — you’ve earned your stripes.
The lyrics and melodies are repetitive and boring; I would indeed cry if someone yelled at me that I was their angel. The music underneath is almost on a loop. And as for the guitar solo — was that a guitar solo? A bridge? Was I supposed to make the quintessential stank face when a piece of music really hits? I know Joe Perry is a monumental guitarist, but this track doesn’t even take off for me. It screams lazy. It feels like they just scribbled it down backstage at the VMAs and hit record the next morning. Dare I say… a money grab? I hate to think it of Steven Tyler, but we know what makes the industry walk this way.
Since Ozzy’s death, I’ve bought many magazines featuring tributes — two of which I read in the same afternoon. I started with Uncut magazine: “Full marks to YUNGBLUD.” Again, a sigh escaped me. And then later, in KERRANG!’s special edition memorial zine: “That his music has had such influence on both Judas Priest and YUNGBLUD.” This was my final straw moment — and the reason I’m spending my evening ranting via Microsoft Word.
I have nothing against YUNGBLUD; I was happily enjoying my little corner of the world, and I’m sure they’ll still be enjoying theirs. What confuses me is the constant bombardment. Is it too harsh to say they may be riding on the coattails of the death of Ozzy Osbourne? As a fan, I don’t think a torch can be passed. The impact Ozzy Osbourne had on music and television is so monumental that it should rest with him for eternity.
Maybe YUNGBLUD will release some dirty, intense heavy metal and I’ll come around to their music — but even then, they’ll never be Ozzy Osbourne. And that’s okay. I would simply appreciate not having the constant association. YUNGBLUD should stand on their own as an artist too. Since when did standing in someone’s shadow ever work out for anyone?
RIP Ozzy.