The godfather of heavy metal died Tuesday at 76.
SAN ANTONIO — It only took a few hours after the news of Ozzy Osbourne’s death for a tribute show to be scheduled in San Antonio, once regarded as the heavy metal capital of the world.
Paper Tiger, the popular St. Mary’s Strip music venue, shared on social media that it plans to host an Aug. 1 show “for all the fans and San Antonio tios” honoring the legendary Black Sabbath frontman who died Tuesday at 76 years old.
Covers of Ozzy and Black Sabbath’s most well-known songs, from “Iron Man” to “Sweet Leaf,” will be played by local band System of a Brown, backed up by a DJ playing more of the heavy metal icon’s hits before and after.
The free-to-attend show is sure to gather local metal fans just like witches at black masses. Just RSVP ahead of time here.
Ozzy has a particularly notable relationship to San Antonio, where his infamous public urination arrest on the Alamo grounds in 1982 came the night before a show at HemisFair Arena. He returned to the Alamo City multiple times in subsequent years, apologizing for his actions and putting himself back in Texas fans’ good graces.
Still the Prince of Darkness remained widely loved by San Antonio music fans, who, in the wake of his passing, said his influence runs deep in the city’s musical identity.
“Our heavy metal section would be a third of its size if Black Sabbath hadn’t existed,” said Steven Alejandro, manager at Hogwild Records. “They created a genre that inspired generations.”
“Why metal has taken such a foothold in San Antonio is because, if you look at the British metal bands, they were all working-class kids,” Alejandro added. “Their choice was work in a factory or learn how to play the bass,” he said. “San Antonio has long been a working-class city, so there’s something in that music that spoke to our ethic.”
Chances are you’re likelier to hear someone blaring “War Pigs,” “Paranoid” or any iconic Black Sabbath riff as you drive around San Antonio this week-—the man may be gone, but the musical legacy remains to occupy your brain.
