AVANTASIA's TOBIAS SAMMET On Deaths Of OZZY OSBOURNE And ACE FREHLEY: 'It Feels Like A Part Of My Childhood Leaves With Them'

In a new interview with Chile's SonarFM, AVANTASIA mastermind Tobias Sammet was asked if he was personally affected by the recent losses of Ace Frehley and Ozzy Osbourne, "either as someone who grew up with that lineage or as an artist who spent decades reshaping what metal can be." Tobias responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Absolutely. Because whenever somebody leaves that has played a huge part or a huge role in your childhood, as was the case with both Ace Frehley and Ozzy Osbourne, you always realize — I mean, I don't wanna sound too sentimental, because it may be devastating, way more devastating for the people close to those stars who knew them as persons, as fathers, as husbands, as family members and close friends — but for me, it always feels like a part of my childhood leaves with them. Because I remember both Ozzy Osbourne and a Ace Frehley in particular — those two losses this year were really affecting me personally as a music lover and as somebody who was looking back at his childhood, realizing they were there always. I mean, Ace Frehley, he was an original member of KISS, and KISS has been a huge part of my life. Without those guys, I probably would never have picked up a microphone or entered a stage myself. It was the dream of living my life independently from the mainstream world, so to speak, and doing my thing, doing the greatest thing in the world — music — and being on a stage and becoming a rock musician, a traveling troubadour. And, yeah, Ace Frehley was there. 'Shock Me', 'Cold Gin', 'Rock Bottom'. 'Rip It Out' — those songs are the soundtrack of my childhood. And also Ozzy Osbourne, he was there. He was, to me, the epitome of heavy metal, of what heavy metal is all about, with a sense of humor. It was scary. Whatever Ozzy did was unpredictable, in a way. He was different. He was a rebel, a rock and roll rebel, as he sang himself. And at the same time he was taking it with a certain bit of humor. He was always tongue in cheek, and you could always sense that between the lines he was taking the piss, and that was something that I really adored about Ozzy. And, yeah, whenever somebody with that impact leaves, as I say, a part of your childhood goes, and those two losses affected me personally."

Tobias continued: "Last year [we lost] Tony Clarkin of MAGNUM, which was even much worse for me personally, because I knew Tony and, and I have a very special relationship to the whole MAGNUM camp, that was — it was devastating, but it is what it is. It doesn't really ease the pain much, but they have left us a great legacy. And whenever I put on MAGNUM music today, it still gives me great comfort that he has had that impact on the world and he had lived a great life and created great music for us. And nowadays I can listen to MAGNUM without being sad, but rather celebrate Tony's legacy."

Ozzy died on July 22 of a heart attack, his death certificate revealed. The certificate also reportedly said the 76-year-old musician suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.

Ace, whose real name was Paul Daniel Frehley, died on October 16 of blunt trauma injuries to his head due to a fall. The Morris County Medical Examiner revealed the cause of death in a report obtained by TMZ. Ace's manner of death was ruled an accident. He was 74 years old.

Clarkin died in January 2024 at the age of 77. The news of his death came just weeks after it was announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare and incurable spinal condition. As a result of his diagnosis, MAGNUM canceled its previously announced spring 2024 tour.

AVANTASIA's tenth studio album, "Here Be Dragons", was released in February via Napalm Records. The 10-track offering was written and composed in its entirety by Sammet himself, produced and recorded by Sammet together with Sascha Paeth, mixed by Paeth and mastered by Michael Rodenberg. The cover art was once again created by acclaimed British fantasy artist Rodney Matthews.

Photo credit: Kevin Nixon