Grief has a way of stripping away the rock-and-roll armor, leaving behind only the raw, unfiltered truth of a lifelong brotherhood. As the music world approaches the solemn one-year anniversary of the passing of the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, on July 22, the sting of loss remains devastatingly fresh for those who built the very foundations of heavy metal alongside him.
During the July 2026 episode of LA Radio Sessions with Mike Stark, Black Sabbath’s legendary founding drummer, Bill Ward, dedicated his airtime to honoring his late bandmate. The broadcast was a masterclass in profound vulnerability, capturing the heavy, enduring sorrow of a man mourning not just a global icon, but his absolute best friend.
“I Miss the Hell Out of Him”
Faced with the daunting reality of the upcoming anniversary, Ward didn’t hold back the immense weight of his heartache. For the 78-year-old drummer, the passage of time hasn’t diminished the absence of Ozzy’s towering spirit.
“Ozzy forever. That’s what I wanted to say today. [He is] dearly missed,” Ward began, his voice carrying the collective grief of millions of metal faithful. “We’re in the month now, the anniversary, of his passing, and I wanna say his music was just brilliant. Whatever he’s participated in musically, it’s all been brilliant. His voice is eerie. It’s scary. It’s passionate. It can cross all boundaries. It’s timeless.”
As Ward continued, the narrative shifted from the legendary frontman of Black Sabbath to the inner circle of the four kids from Aston who changed the world forever. Ward laid bare the depth of their personal connection, placing Ozzy among the tightest, most sacred pillars of his life.
“I miss the hell out of him,” Bill confessed. “He was one of my best friends. I’ll say just one of my best friends, ’cause my mum was another one of my best friends. My brother was another one of my best friends, but Ozzy was like a brother, and he was one of my best friends.”
The Quiet Battle Against Tears
Grief is an unpredictable beast, and Ward openly admitted that finding the composure to speak publicly about Ozzy required every ounce of emotional strength he could muster.
“If we’d had done this show a few months ago, I’d have been crying my eyeballs out,” Ward admitted with striking honesty. “I think I’m at a place now where I’ll cry after the show, but I’m doing my best to get through the show and not cry so that I can say good things about him. I never wanna let him down, ever. And I love him all the time. I love him every single day. I miss him every single day, and I loved him every day when he was alive, and I love him every day now.”
A Fragile but Defiant Era for the Godfathers of Metal
Ward’s deeply emotional broadcast comes on the heels of his own highly personal health update. Just days prior, the pioneering sticksman took to social media to transparently share that he has become more reliant on a wheelchair over the past 18 months due to severe mobility limitations.
Yet, much like Ozzy did throughout his long battles with Parkinson’s and coronary artery disease before succumbing to a sudden heart attack last July, Ward paired his vulnerability with fierce defiance. Insisting he is “not in retirement or ill or giving up,” Ward reminded fans that his creative fire still burns white-hot: “My talents and ambitions, and my unyielding need to be artful, and to play drums, is still as strong as it was so many years ago now.”
The Final Bow: Back to the Beginning
The emotional weight of Ward’s words is amplified by the historic, bittersweet reunion that preceded Ozzy’s passing. Just over two weeks before his death, Ozzy reunited with Ward, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler for a triumphant final performance at the “Back To The Beginning” charity concert in their native Birmingham.
That night, after completing a ferocious solo set from his black throne, Ozzy was joined by the original lineup to tear through four definitive Sabbath classics: “War Pigs”, “Iron Man”, “N.I.B.”, and “Paranoid”. It was a poetic closure to a volatile, beautiful 50-year history—marking the final time the four architects of heavy metal would ever share a stage.
Ozzy’s private funeral on July 31, 2025, drew an elite, intimate gathering of 110 close friends, family, and peers—including his Sabbath brothers alongside rock royalty like Zakk Wylde, Robert Trujillo, and Rob Zombie. But as Bill Ward’s heavy words prove, the formal goodbyes were only the beginning of a long road of mourning.
Through the tears, the memories, and the music that will outlive us all, Ward’s message remains a definitive baseline for the heavy metal community: Ozzy forever.
