The Shred Guitarist Invited to Ozzy Audition Before Zakk Joined

From 1983 to 1987, guitarist Jake E. Lee was an integral part of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, so naturally, Ozzy (alongside wife/manager Sharon) searched far and wide for a suitable replacement following Lee’s departure.

Unsurprisingly, one of the candidates was Impellitteri founder Chris Impellitteri, and in in a new chat with Guitar World, the revered neo-classical shredder revealed both the circumstances that led to his audition and why he decided against joining if offered.

About the Audition

Per Guitar World, Impellitteri says that he received a call from the Osbournes between the time Lee was about to be fired and when Zakk Wylde ultimately got the job (so, sometime in 1987). “Let me not exaggerate . . . because it’s been so many years,” Impellitteri clarifies, adding:

What I remember – and I don’t know if Jake [E. Lee] was still in the band – that I was living in an apartment and I had roommates. I came home one night from rehearsal, and my roommate goes, “Oh, you’ve got to listen to this message,” which said, “This is Sharon Osbourne. Me and Ozzy have been checking you out, and we really love your guitar playing. We want you to come down and audition.”

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Why He Couldn’t Join If He Wanted To

Although Impellitteri was flattered by their interest in him – and he did show up for the audition – he knew that his recent signing with a label would prevent him from officially entering Ozzy’s band.

He explains: “I talked to Sharon, and I think Ozzy, probably three to five times. There was some back and forth. The problem was that I’d already signed a deal with Relativity [Records]. I had an attorney at the time named Peter Paterno and he was frustrated and goes, ‘Chris, why didn’t you do the gig?’’

Impellitteri also specifies that despite never formally being offered the gig (he was just asked to “come down and play with them”), he knew that Ozzy and company were “very interested” in him. After playing a couple of songs with Ozzy, Impellitteri chose to honor his contract with Relativity and forge ahead with his own project.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Still, Impellitteri thinks that if he did wind up with Ozzy, he might’ve steered him in a different trajectory: “If you listen to the new [Impellitteri] record, War Machine, I promise you that a lot of the stuff we do has elements of Randy Rhoads.”

He contemplates:

Let’s say everything worked out with Ozzy, and I joined, right? I don’t think I would have wanted to do a record in the direction that he went [with 1988’s No Rest of the Wicked]. And by the way, those records with Zakk [Wylde] are amazing and Zakk’s a phenomenal player. I really love him.

I would have wanted to do something more like Blizzard of Ozz or Diary of a Madman. At that point in his career, Zakk and those songs elevated Ozzy, so imagine if you had this little brat kid like me, going, “No, no, no, we’re going to do another Diary of a Madman.” [laughs]. Would that have been a positive thing for Ozzy or a negative? That change was orchestrated as the landscape was changing and Ozzy, who was already big, became even bigger.

Suffice it to say that things worked out for everyone involved.

Impellitteri + Ozzy in 2024

Speaking of Impellitteri’s latest LP – War Machine – it released earlier this year via Frontiers Music SRL and features Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph.

As for Ozzy, his bat plushie made our list of 20 toys for kids (and their parents) who listen to metal, and he recently revealed a unique idea for one final Black Sabbath reunion show.