THE BEAUTIFUL DEATH OF OZZY OSBOURNE – HOW METAL TEACHES US TO LIVE

PRE-ORDER. PUBLISHED 4th JUNE 2006

Pioneering metal writer Keith Kahn-Harris presents a moving, visionary exploration of Ozzy Osbourne, and of metal music and culture: the potent legacy Ozzy left us.

What is a ‘good death’?
How about this: After years of terrible health, you gather friends and admirers for one last, glorious party. A couple of weeks later, you slip away, surrounded by your loving family. Then, the world comes to mourn. That is how Birmingham’s favourite son, Ozzy Osbourne, died.

By his death in June 2025 – at an age few believed he’d reach – Ozzy was much-loved, far beyond the metal world. Once a feared, demonic figure to some (and a joke to others), his Back to the Beginning farewell concert with Black Sabbath (plus special guest bands and musicians) at Villa Park stadium in Birmingham raised millions for charity.

In concise, arresting chapters moving from Death to Life via Art, Politics, Sex, Bodies, Voice, Family, Myth and more, Kahn-Harris explores how Ozzy – of all people! – attracted such generosity of spirit. The answer, he finds, is deeply embedded within the story and culture of metal – and has lessons for us all.

About the author: Keith Kahn-Harris is an academic, writer and sociologist. His music publications include Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge (2006), and he is co-editor of Heavy Metal: Controversies and Countercultures (2013), Global Metal Music and Culture: Current Directions in Metal Studies (2016), and Heavy Metal and Disability: Crips, Crowds, and Cacophonies (2024).

Hardback / 9780008819804 / HarperNorth / 14.1cm x 22.2cm / 224 pages