METALLICA on the Passing of OZZY OSBOURNE: "We are absolutely heartbroken and devastated by this loss."

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The San Francisco Bay Area metal legends took to their social media to write:

"OZZY RIP. It's impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to METALLICA. Hero, icon, pioneer, inspiration, mentor, and most of all, friend are a few that come to mind.

Ozzy and Sharon believed in us and transformed our lives and careers. He taught us how to play in the big leagues while at the same time being warm, welcoming, engaging, and all around brilliant.

We are heartbroken and devastated by this loss and send our love and condolences to Sharon and their family, bandmates, and his very large circle of friends. He left an incredible legacy and will be sorely missed."

In a recent interview with Heavy Consequence, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett reflected on the band's participation in "Back To The Beginning", calling it:

------ "It's a real opportunity to say thank you to Ozzy and Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, 'cause they fricking wrote the book on the genre. They developed it, they fleshed it out so that we can use what they did as a stepping stone to other ways to do this."-------