Rock + Metal Bands Pay Tribute to Ozzy Onstage - See the Dedications + Cover Songs

The rock and metal world started to process the death of Ozzy Osbourne Tuesday night (July 22) through musical tributes taking place on stages around the world. Let's take a closer look at how the music world decided to pay tribute and show their respect for the metal pioneer, Ozzy Osbourne.

Alice Cooper + Gojira Learned of Ozzy's Death in Real Time

In an Instagram posting, Alice Cooper shared that he and his band learned of Ozzy's death just prior to hitting the stage in Cardiff, Wales. Before taking the stage, in video shared below, you can see the band going through their usual pre-show ritual, but this time shouting out Ozzy's name as their motivator before hitting the stage.

Cooper commented, "“Well, we all know that time is going to take us rockers, but when the giants fall, it’s really hard to accept. Even though everybody saw it coming with Ozzy, it just took our breath away when it happened. So Ozzy and family - your records and your music and your legend and all that you brought - the humor to the rock business - will live on forever and we’re gonna miss you man.”

The band dedicated their performance last night to Ozzy's memory while sharing the news with the crowd, some of whom were just learning of the singer's passing in real time.

The news was also hitting Gojira as they were playing in Istanbul. “I just heard that – and I don’t know if this is confirmed – Ozzy just died,” vocalist and guitarist Joe Duplantier told the audience, while stopping down a performance (per NME). “Ozzy Osbourne just died. So I’m sorry, this is crazy. This one is for Ozzy! It’s called Flying-fucking-Whales!”

The band later took on Black Sabbath's "Under the Sun" and "Every Day Comes and Goes" as yet another nod to Ozzy's historic career.

“Of course this one goes to Ozzy Osbourne,” Duplantier said. “We will remember Ozzy. He might have died, but he will live forever – and we all know that. This song is called ‘Under The Sun’.”

After the show, the band posted, "Unmatched energy from Istanbul last night! Thank you everyone for showing up and standing in line 'Under The Sun'! Ozzy, this one was for you."

Gojira Perform "Flying Whales" in Istanbul After Announcing Ozzy's Death

Gojira, "Under the Sun" (Black Sabbath Cover) Live in Istanbul

What Other Tributes Came From the Rock + Metal World?

While playing in Hartford, Mammoth's Wolfgang Van Halen stopped down toward the end of their set to address the passing of Ozzy Osbourne. After leading the crowd in "Ozzy" chants, he shared, "That fucking sucks that we are in a world that doesn't have Ozzy Osbourne anymore. It was right before soundcheck that we found out. And it was like, 'Well we have to do something, just mentioning it isn't enough.' We've played through this maybe three times so please bear with us and sing the fuck along with us."

The band then delivered a heartfelt rendition of Ozzy's "Mama I'm Coming Home" as the penultimate song of their performance for the night. Fan-shot footage can be viewed below.

Mammoth, "Mama, I'm Coming Home" (Ozzy Osbourne Cover at Hartford's Xfinity Theatre)

Machine Head were in Linz, Austria where they were kicking off the opening night of their European tour. It has been commonplace for the band to use the intro of Ozzy's "Diary of a Madman" at shows, but on this night the Ozzy tributes were a bit extended.

The first two songs of the night were covers of "War Pigs" and "Children of the Grave" from Black Sabbath, with the fans fully committed to the nod of respect the band was giving.

On video shared by the band, Robb Flynn commented, "We found out that Ozzy had passed away from Sky news 20 minutes before we walked on stage to the opening night of our European tour. In a state of sadness and shock we made the decision to forgo our usual opening setlist."

"Following our intro of Ozzy's 'Diary of a Madman' (that we've opened every Machine Head show with for the last 30+ years) we started the show with two Black Sabbath songs. 'War pigs' and 'Children of the grave,' everyone sang, everyone knew tonight meant something, there wasn't a dry eye in the house." See footage below.

Machine Head Pay Respect to Ozzy Osbourne in Linz, Austria

In New York City, Ghost were playing a huge show at Madison Square Garden. About seven songs into the set, Tobias Forge addressed the crowd. He shared, "It's one of them days, huh. We're gonna dedicate tonight's show to the memory and the life and laughter of Ozzy Osbourne," as loud Ozzy chants rang throughout the crowd.

"For being the Prince of Darkness, he sure gave us a lot of light. So we're gonna tap into that tonight and carry it forward through a time of darkness," the singer added in video shared in a since-deleted Facebook post before launching into "The Future Is a Foreign Land."

Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, Pantera took the stage with heavy hearts. Guitarist Zakk Wylde had a long connection with Ozzy over the years and Pantera were among the acts invited to play Ozzy's Back to the Beginning concert just a few weeks back.

Keeping it brief, Philip Anselmo told the audience, "This is for Ozzy and his family, Black Sabbath, and everybody," before the group shared their cover of Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan." See fan-shot footage below.

Pantera, "Planet Caravan"

And legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Who dedicated their show opening performance of "I Can't Explain" to Ozzy during a performance in Milan, Italy.

Ozzy's Impact Transcends With Tributes Outside the Hard Rock + Metal World

Ozzy Osbourne's music was transcendent. Some of the tributes coming in from stages around the world weren't necessarily from hard rock and metal bands. In fact, Dave Matthews, who once appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch as Ozzy Osbourne, made several nods to Ozzy throughout the band's performance in Gilford, New Hampshire Tuesday (July 22).

At one point, Matthews stopped down the set to tell the crowd that the band had just been talking about Ozzy before they heard the news of his death.

"We were talking about one of my heroes and laughing and all of that and then it popped up on all of our phones that our dear Ozzy Osbourne had died and I just wanted to send love to all his people and all his family."

Then, when it came time for the encore, Matthews returned to the stage alone with a guitar. "As you kind of know, you fall in love with music. I guess because time passes we always end up losing some of our heroes. I'm gonna do my best on this tune," as he sang "Changes."

READ MORE: Ozzy Osbourne Dies at 76 - Rockers Pay Tribute

After his performance, bassist Stefan Lessard then did a noodle of "Crazy Train" riffs before the band concluded their show for the night. See fan-shared footage below.

Dave Matthews Band Covers Ozzy Osbourne's "Changes" and "Crazy Train" in Gilford, New Hampshire

"Changes" was also the song of choice for Coldplay. The band dedicated their performance of the Black Sabbath ballad during their performance Tuesday (July 22) in Nashville.

"We'd like to dedicate this whole show to the incredible genius, talent, and character called gift to the world who was Ozzy Osbourne. We send our love to his family." shared Chris Martin ahead of the performance. After the touching tribute, the singer remarked, "Ozzy, we love you, wherever you're going."

Meanwhile, during Lady Gaga's performance in San Francisco, at one point Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" blared out during her Mayhem ball show as dancers triumphantly bounded around onstage

"Crazy Train" also rang out during Cyndi Lauper's performance Tuesday night before the singer dedicated "Time After Time" to Ozzy during her Raleigh performance. "For Ozzy," she noted just before starting the song.

Ozzy Osbourne, Dead at 76

The news of Ozzy Osbourne's death started circulating Tuesday afternoon (July 22), just weeks after performing at his Back to the Beginning farewell concert.

The legendary singer will be remembered for his years fronting Black Sabbath, a successful solo career and his stint as a reality TV star.

"It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning," his family said in a statement on Tuesday (July 22). "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis."

Ozzy had just performed on July 5 in Birmingham, England at the Back to the Beginning concert, where both he and Black Sabbath played the final shows of their respective touring careers.