Wolfgang Van Halen and his band Mammoth are among the latest figures to configure tributes in response to the passing of heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. The band is currently on tour opening up for Creed and were so moved by the star’s death that they felt they had to begin their set with a rendition of one of his songs. For this somber task, the band pulled out the fitting Ozzy deep cut, “Mama, I’m Coming Home”.

According to Consequence.net, Van Halen’s exact statement around his decision to cover the song went as follows “[it] fucking sucks that we are in a world that doesn’t have Ozzy Osbourne anymore, And it was right before we went on soundcheck that we found out. And I thought, ‘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 proceeded to bust out an impassioned cover of one of Osbourne’s most emotionally resonant songs to an audience which seemed positively touched by the tribute. 

Mammoth is now among the growing list of figures who have found ways to pay their respects to the late superstar as the wider world comes to terms with the passing of an undeniable icon and one of the most important figures in the history of metal music, point blank. 

Watch the video of Mammoth’s cover of “Mama, I’m Coming Home” here: