The Dave Grohl Riff He Wrote for Ozzy, But Used for Himself

Dave Grohl revealed that he once had written some music for Ozzy Osbourne, but after it was initially passed upon he repurposed it for his own usage.

While speaking with Kerrang! Radio, the Foo Fighters frontman revealed that he decided to present something to Ozzy and the Osbourne family during a period in which Sharon Osbourne had reached out to other musicians to write songs for the legendary vocalist. Though Grohl didn't pin down exactly when this happened, where the music ended up suggests it probably occurred in the early 2000s.

What Did Dave Grohl Say About the Music He Wrote for Ozzy Osbourne?

"I wrote this instrumental that was like super ... it was almost like a Melvins song. It was like super duper heavy," recalled Grohl. "And I thought this could be so cool if Ozzy sang over it."

But, as Grohl reveals, "They never picked it. They never used it. But I ended up using it for this record that I made. It was called Probot."

What Was Probot?

Issued in February 2004, the Probot album was Grohl's musical path to exploring his heavier influences. It was released independently of Foo Fighters and was said to be a bit of a reaction to the more melodic and mellower side of the band's 1999 album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose.

With Grohl coming off tour itching to do something heavier, he started writing heavier riffs and then would add drum and bass arrangements as well. ""I didn’t even call them songs because they were bare instrumentals with no intention of putting vocals on them and no direction as an actual song," Grohl told Entertainment Weekly at the time.

After completing his creative burst of instrumental pieces, he decided to reach out to some of the metal singers he idolized growing up, allowing them to then add to the musical base he had created. The corresponding album would then feature such guests as Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, Max Cavalera of Sepultura, Snake of Voivod, Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost, King Diamond, Cronos of Venom and Eric Wagner of Trouble among others.

Where Did Dave Grohl's Ozzy Riff End Up?

The sludgy, heavy instrumental eventually became a song called "Tortured Soul" that ended up on the Probot album.

"The singer of a band called Trouble [Eric Wagner], a legendary metal band called Trouble, he sang on that track and it almost kind of has an Ozzy feel to it," shared Grohl.

The Foo Fighters leader concludes, "It never became an Ozzy song, but it has a killer riff, man."

Though the song was not picked as one of the album's singles, Grohl and his Probot band did perform it live on MTV2's Headbangers Ball back in 2004. Hear the studio version below.