Former Ozzy Osbourne Guitarist Says Gig Was "Dead-End Job" for Him

Former Ozzy Guitarist Describes Gig as "Dead-End Job"

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G., who held the lead guitarist job in Ozzy's band from 2009 - 2017, says that while he loved being a part of heavy metal history, the gig with Ozzy had its drawbacks.

Gus says playing in Ozzy's band was a "dead-end job" in a way, no matter how glamorous. For Gus, signing on with Ozzy meant he had no say in his touring schedule, and only as much creative input in the studio as Ozzy wanted him to have. Gus says the years where Ozzy was busy with the Black Sabbath reunion were also hard on the members of his solo band because they couldn't commit longterm to other projects, not knowing when Ozzy was going to do schedule solo gigs.

"Honestly, it was a little bit of a relief [when Ozzy parted ways with me]," Gus told TrueMetal, "because I was just kind of tired of waiting around for all these years, not hearing anything [about a tour or a new album]. Of course, he was very busy with Black Sabbath, I understand that, but...in between all of that there were these one-off shows popping up, and I had to make myself available for all that, but there was never any...I didn't see stuff coming up for the future, you know?"

Few people would be okay with that kind of career limbo longterm. Gus G. went along with it for about eight years while he was also in the prime of his career, trying to establish himself. While Ozzy was out with Sabbath, Gus says he was never given any definitive information about how much time he would have for his own projects.

"In a way, it was a little bit of a dead-end for me, speaking personally," Gus told TrueMetal. "...[It] wasn't a creative thing for me."

Ozzy has been open over the years about the fact that his career is winding down. He's waffled on whether or not he wants to record new music and last fall he announced his No More Tours 2 farewell tour, which will wrap up sometime in 2020. While the heavy metal icon says he's not "retiring" entirely, he insists he's done touring after this long goodbye. 

Last year, Ozzy announced that he was letting Gus go his own way, and for his farewell he would reunite with his longtime sideman Zakk Wylde. Wylde returns to Ozzy's band in a much different place in his career than Gus. Wylde's first stint with Ozzy, beginning in the late-'80s, found the singer in a more creative place in his life. As a result, Wylde has a lot more equity with Ozzy than Gus ever could.

Wylde has writing credits on every Ozzy album from 1988 -2007. He owes his lone GRAMMY win to Ozzy's name. And the notoriety Wylde gained as Ozzy's longtime guitarist, allowed him to launch his career with Black Label Society, which just released its 10th studio album, Grimmest Hits

Get Ozzy's tour dates here

Gus G. jus released his third solo album, Fearless, and is about to get on tour to support it. Get his tour dates here


Photo: Getty Images


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