Ozzy Osbourne had the rare experience of staring straight into the abyss when he met a fast food-themed Black Sabbath tribute parody band called Mac Sabbath. In a previously unreleased clip from his show, Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour, the Prince of Darkness takes in a bizarre performance by the eye-popping fry-guys.
In the video, Ozzy, his son Jack and Jack’s daughter Pearl all sit down in front of a red-and-yellow curtain. “What the fuck is this?” Ozzy asks. The curtain falls and a band kicks into what sounds like “Iron Man” — except that the band in question are all dressed like versions of happy meal characters on bath salts. “I am frying pan,” the clown Ronald Osbourne proclaims, holding out a fiery pan, as band members Slayer MacCheeze, Grimalice and the Cat Burglar kick into one of Sabbath’s greatest hits. Ozzy just laughs and laughs, as the scene becomes more and more surreal. When it’s done, Ronald greets each of the Osbournes. “Where are you guys from?” Jack asks. “Originally from Birming-hamburger,” Ronald answers without skipping a beat.
“Being Ronald Osbourne, the front-clown for Mac Sabbath, isn’t easy,” the lead singer tells Rolling Stone. “I have to meet all these fry-by-night ‘Drive-through metal’ icons like Burger King Diamond, Cinnibon Jovi and KFCC DeVille, look them in the eye and pretend like my indigestion is not acting up. Today is quite different. Today I met Ozzy Freaking Osbourne. Some big clown shoes to fill.” He adds, superfluously, “You might not believe this, but without Black Sabbath, Mac Sabbath would not exist.”
Ozzy was suitably impressed. “To be honest with you, I was just watching the clownery,” Ozzy says at the end of the clip. “It’s fun. … If you can’t stand the laugh, don’t fucking do it.”
Mac Sabbath will be headlining a show with the Dickies at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theater on December 28th.