Rock Legend Shares How Ozzy Osbourne Helped Him Become A Metal Icon

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Rock Legend Shares How Ozzy Osbourne Helped Him Become A Metal Icon originally appeared on Parade.

Let’s face it: the entire metal world owes a debt of gratitude to Ozzy Osbourne. As a member of Black Sabbath, Ozzy helped pioneer the sound we now know as heavy metal in the 1970s, creating a genre that has banged heads for decades. As a solo artist, Ozzy flew the metal flag proudly in the 1980s and beyond. But for one person—Robert Trujillo, the bassist for Metallica—Ozzy had a direct impact on making him an icon.

Specifically, Ozzy helped inspire Trujillo’s iconic “crab walk,” his signature performance that sees the bassist get low to the ground while playing thunderous riffs.

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Before he joined Metallica in 2003, Trujillo played bass for the legendary crossover band Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves, a side project with ST’s lead singer, Mike Muir. Trujillo told Metal Hammerthat he first crossed paths with Ozzy in the early 1990s, when Infectious Grooves was recording in the same studio as the “Prince of Darkness: when he was working on No More Tears.

“Ozzy was always going missing, and they’d be looking for him in this big studio complex. He’d always end up in our control room, hanging out,” said Trujillo. This bond between Ozzy and Robert ultimately ended in a job. Osbourne invited Trujillo to audition for his solo band in 1996, and he got the job.Little did Trujillo know that the gig would transform him forever. In the early days, Robert heard that Ozzy would get physical on stage, that he might bite him or pull his hair.

During a show in Las Vegas, Ozzy went into his schtick, and Trujillo was ready. “We go intoIron Man, that main riff, and Ozzy and I kinda start stomping in each other’s faces, and getting lower and lower like two sumo wrestlers,” he said. “And that’s how the crab walk was born – it was Ozzy and I dancing together to the‘Iron Man’riff.”

Trujillo will get a chance to crab walk in tribute to Ozzy at Back to the Beginning, Osbourne’s final performance. Both he and Black Sabbath will play one last time on July 5, with a bill featuring Metallica, Mastodon, KK Downing of Judas Priest, and many more.

Related: Ozzy Osbourne Shares Rare Rehearsal Photo With Black Sabbath 'Legends' Ahead of Final Show

Rock Legend Shares How Ozzy Osbourne Helped Him Become A Metal Icon first appeared on Parade on Jun 29, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.