Watch: SYSTEM OF A DOWN Pays Tribute To OZZY OSBOURNE With Performance Of 'Snowblind' At MetLife Stadium

SYSTEM OF A DOWN paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne by performing a cover of the BLACK SABBATH classic "Snowblind" during the Serj Tankian-fronted band's concert last night (Wednesday, August 27) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Prior to launching into the track, SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian told the crowd: "When we first started out, they put us on the road and we toured. And New York [and] New Jersey are some of the first places we toured in the United States. And there was one tour that never did more for SYSTEM OF A DOWN: the Ozzfest. We did a few Ozzfests. Some of you are old enough that you were there. Some of you weren't even born yet.

"I wanna thank Ozzy Osbourne. We wanna thank Ozzy Osbourne."

Amid loud chants of "Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!", Daron added: "We're gonna do a number now about cocaine. It's called 'Snowblind'."

SYSTEM OF A DOWN's rendition of "Snowblind" at MetLife Stadium marked the band's first performance of the track since 2002.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN's cover of "Snowblind" originally appeared on 2000's "Nativity In Black II" compilation, the second of a series of a series of BLACK SABBATH tribute albums.

Malakian previously told Metal Injection that the members of BLACK SABBATH liked SYSTEM OF A DOWN's version of "Snowblind" so much that they requested that the Armenian-American nu-metal band play it onstage when SYSTEM OF A DOWN was supporting the Birmingham metal originators.

"We got a chance to open up for SABBATH in Birmingham [in December 1999], which that was supposed to be their last show, years back," he recalled. "And we used to do the SABBATH cover of 'Snowblind'. And Shavo [Odadjian, SYSTEM OF A DOWN bassist] comes to me and he goes, 'Hey, they want us to do the SABBATH cover.' And I go, 'We ain't doing a SABBATH cover before SABBATH.' I'm, like, 'Are you fucking crazy?' And I was, like, 'No, man. We can't do that. We're going to get booed off the fucking stage. And it's not going to — it's not a good look. It's arrogant.' And then [SABBATH drummer] Bill Ward comes to our dressing room and he goes, 'You guys gotta do it. You gotta do it, man.' And I'm looking at him and I'm, like, it's fucking Bill Ward, man."

He continued: "Anyone who knows me knows that I'm more — I love VAN HALEN, but my favorite part of VAN HALEN is Alex [Van Halen]. I love drummers. I always wanted to be a drummer. The guitar was by accident. But anyway, I was, like, 'Okay, if he's saying it, and he's saying all the rest of the band wants us to do it, [we'll do it].' So we did it. We played 'Snowblind', and our version is so fucking different. It was the SYSTEM OF A DOWN version of 'Snowblind'. So there was that."

During the same chat, Daron spoke about the influence SABBATH and Ozzy's music had on him during his formative years. He said: "First riff I ever learned was 'Iron Man' when I was a kid, and I was obsessed with Ozzy Osbourne when I was six or seven years old — just obsessed. He'd appear in my dreams having dinner with my parents and me when I was a kid. And he was this larger-than-life, crazy guy. And in the '80s, you had the whole satanic panic kind of thing."

Regarding BLACK SABBATH's legacy, Malakian said: "What could you say about SABBATH that hasn't been said a million times? Obviously they're the beginning of metal. You can bring in DEEP PURPLE, you can bring in LED ZEPPELIN, you can bring other bands, but the darkness, the heaviness that's that originates from SABBATH."

Referencing last month's "Back To The Beginning" event, which marked Ozzy and SABBATH's final performance, Daron added: "We weren't a part of the whole thing, and I was texting Shavo the other day. I was, like, 'We should have been fucking a part of this. What the fuck?' But they mean a lot to me just like they do to a lot of other people."

During an appearance on a recent episode of the "Beardo & Weirdo" podcast, hosted by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael and comedian Craig Gass, SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer John Dolmayan spoke about where he was when he found out about Ozzy's passing. John said: " I was probably setting up for Comic-Con and the condolence texts started to come in to me. And first of all, I didn't know anybody knew what my feelings were towards Ozzy or the family, and I didn't know what they were talking about, because I was setting up for Comic-Con in San Diego, and then I looked on Instagram and, of course, it's the barrage of [posts about Ozzy]…"

John continued: "You always think, like, 'Okay, maybe it's false,' because it was so soon after the last show that [Ozzy and BLACK SABBATH] did that it was, like, 'Okay, maybe this is bullshit,' or, 'Maybe he went to the hospital. Hopefully he's okay.' And then I got the confirmation from my manager."

Reflecting on his initial reaction to the news of Ozzy's death, John said: "It's one of those things where you know that he is older and he had a lot of health issues over especially the last five years. And I always feel like no matter what it is, the feelings that we have about somebody that passed are the feelings where we're dealing with the fact that we are also mortal and we only have a certain amount of time left. I try to reflect more on the amazing times that I had with somebody, 'cause they're gone. And the only thing left are the memories you have of them. And I try not to get sad, but more uplifted by the fact that, number one, I was lucky enough to know him. Number two, he made a bunch of incredible music. [Ozzy and his wife and manager Sharon] created a really cool and fun tour [Ozzfest] that is a staple from many people's youths and a fond memory for them, whether they were attending or where they were performing on it. Tens of thousands of people have positive memories from those shows. And he was a big influence on all the members of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, and we're all saddened in our own way. I know Daron [Malakian, SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist/vocalist] in particular was really grief-stricken by it and cried many times. He's a much more sensitive than I am when it concerns things like this. I look at it in a more pragmatic way. Life is finite. We're all gonna die. And my kids are gonna have to experience this one day. And my loved ones are gonna have to deal with the loss of me one day, and all these things. And we're all trying not to get too saddened by it, but you have your moments where you think, like, 'Fuck, I wish I had spent a little bit more time.' Or we kind of lost touch for a long time, 'cause SYSTEM went one way and then we broke up, then we got back together and you have kids and all these things. But I still keep in contact with [Ozzy and Sharon's son] Jack, and I did reach out to Jack, who I look at as kind of a little brother, and I sent him a private message of condolences. And he responded right away."

Dolmayan added: "So, the world is saddened by it and the fans are saddened by it, but there is a private matter here. These people lost their father, and Sharon lost her husband of four decades or however long they were married, and they're the ones that are going to have to grieve, and we have to give our sympathies to and our support to, if they need it."

Asked if he remembers hearing BLACK SABBATH's or Ozzy's music for the first time, John said: "I think I actually heard [a solo album from] Ozzy before I heard SABBATH, if my memory serves me correctly. And it was the live album ['Tribute'], the one with [a photo of] Ozzy lifting [late guitarist] Randy Rhoads off the ground. That was the first time I heard any of Ozzy's solo career. But I think maybe I'd heard one or two SABBATH songs before that. This was also before I played drums. I didn't start playing till I was 15, and I think I was like 13 or 12 around that time. It's a little foggy, 'cause the years go by pretty quick and we can't remember everything."

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.