Ozzy Osbourne, one of the last sacred monsters of heavy metal, has died at the age of 76.

Following the deaths of Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister (1945-2015) and Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010), hard rock has lost one of its last greats and one of its most iconic voices. Ozzy Osbourne, nicknamed "Madman." ("the mad man"), "Prince of Darkness" ("prince of darkness"), or more familiarly "Ozzy", died at the age of 76, his family announced in a statement on Tuesday, July 22. "It is with a sadness beyond words that we must announce that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne passed away this morning. He was surrounded by his family and love," wrote his wife, Sharon, and his children. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for several years.

He was the lead singer of the British band Black Sabbath, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1970s, along with fellow countrymen Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. While highly popular but critically scorned in its early days, the Birmingham quartet nonetheless pioneered a wide range of styles, from heavy metal to stoner rock, doom and death metal, and grunge. Kurt Cobain often compared Nirvana's music to "a mix of the Beatles and Black Sabbath."

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