About the Song
In 2005, Ozzy Osbourne released Prince of Darkness, a sprawling four-disc retrospective that pulled back the curtain on decades of chaos, creativity, and cultural impact. Tucked within the collection was his gripping take on “Sympathy for the Devil”, the iconic 1968 track by The Rolling Stones. Long viewed as one of rock’s most provocative anthems, the song found a fitting interpreter in Ozzy — a man whose own career had long flirted with the image of the outsider, the misunderstood, and the mythologized “dark one.”
Ozzy’s rendition of “Sympathy for the Devil” doesn’t aim to outdo the Stones — instead, it reimagines the track with his unmistakable sonic signature. The arrangement trades the original’s samba swagger for a heavier, more deliberate atmosphere. Guitars are crunchier, the rhythm section broods, and Ozzy’s vocal delivery leans into the theatrical, blending menace with melancholy. His version feels less like a devil’s celebration and more like a confession in the mirror — weary, aware, and resonant with decades of lived experience.
While Mick Jagger’s original portrayed the devil as a smug narrator of human cruelty, Ozzy’s version paints him as a witness — still sardonic, but now shadowed by the weight of centuries. It’s a subtle shift in tone, but a powerful one. For listeners familiar with Ozzy’s history — from Black Sabbath’s early moral provocations to his later struggles and reflections — this cover plays like more than just homage. It’s an artist confronting the image others cast on him, and in doing so, reclaiming it with depth and control.
This cover also demonstrates the enduring versatility and relevance of Ozzy Osbourne as a performer. Even in reinterpretation, he brings fresh perspective, making the song feel both familiar and newly dangerous. It’s a reminder that, despite the spectacle, Ozzy has always understood the theater of rock and the poetry of moral ambiguity.
Whether you come for nostalgia or curiosity, Ozzy’s “Sympathy for the Devil” delivers — not just as a cover, but as a powerful reflection on what it means to be cast as the villain, and still keep singing.