VENOM Puts Together BLACK SABBATH Medley To Honor OZZY OSBOURNE

Venom wouldn't exist if it weren't for Black Sabbath – and while yes, that argument is equally as valid for any metal band out there – but frontman Conrad "Cronos" Lant explained to Metal Hammer that "those early [Black] Sabbath albums really did something to me," because "in the late '60s, early '70s, it was Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath."

And he was inspired not only as a musician, but as a frontman and entertainer: "I always wanted to carry the [Ozzy Osbourne] thing to the nth degree."

He went so far as to be constantly "reading up on Satanism and demonology and witchcraft. I went out with a girl who was in a witch coven and that sparked something in me."

So, after the introduction to Black Sabbath and then a coven, Cronos was off like a light, "I loved [Black Sabbath], but I realized that they'd only touched the tip of the iceberg. This could go so far. Ozzy was singing about being chased by the Devil. I thought: I'll be the Devil!"

With that in mind, it was only a matter of time before Venom paid their respects to the Prince of Darkness, who passed at the end of July.

This past Saturday (9th August), at Hellsinki Metal Festival in Helsinki, Finland, Venom performed a medley of "Children Of The Grave" and "Symptom Of The Universe," honoring the Black Sabbath frontman.

You can check out fan-filmed footage of the medley above.

In recent news relating to Ozzy, the BBC is due to debut a one-hour documentary that follows the last few years of the late Prince of Darkness as he returned to his home in England with his wife, Sharon Osbourne, and dealt with his Parkinson's diagnosis, before eventually putting on his last show at Back To The Beginning.

Appropriately titled Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, it's due to hit BBC One and iPlayer at 9 p.m. (GMT+1) next Monday, the 18th of August.