Five Black Sabbath Albums Debut Following Ozzy Osbourne’s Passing

Black Sabbath lands eight albums on U.K. charts following Ozzy Osbourne’s death, including five debuts and a top 10 surge for Greatest Hits. UNITED STATES – DECEMBER 06: MADISON SQUARE GARDEN Photo of BLACK SABBATH, Tony Iommi & Ozzy Osbourne performing live onstage (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)

Redferns

This week in the United Kingdom, the music charts are all about Ozzy Osbourne. The rock legend passed away earlier this month, just weeks after performing his farewell concert. At the time, fans didn’t know that the singer-songwriter would pass away less than a month after his last performances — and it’s possible that Osbourne and his family didn’t know either.

The shock of his death has resulted in an outpouring of grief and support for Osbourne. Both his solo work and releases from Black Sabbath invade the Official Charts Company’s rankings this week. The focus appears to be on complete collections, as multiple projects released by the group not only return to some rosters, but also debut.

Eight Black Sabbath Albums Chart

Eight different Black Sabbath albums appear on at least one chart in the U.K. this frame. Five of them manage to debut, though none launches on more than one ranking, despite several appearing on multiple tallies at once.

On the current edition of the Official Albums Downloads chart, Black Sabbath scores a trio of “new” projects. Master of Reality opens highest, starting at No. 34. Black Sabbath Vol. 4 and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath also appear on the list of the most downloaded full-lengths and EPs across the nation for the first time, coming in at Nos. 60 and 73, respectively.

Greatest Hits Surges to New Peak

The band’s simply-named Greatest Hits compilation is one of the biggest winners this frame, as it soars into the top 10 on the Official Albums Downloads chart, hitting a new peak of No. 4. That same project also opens on the Official Albums Sales list, launching at No. 68, giving Black Sabbath its eighteenth placement on that tally.

Streaming Gains for Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath doubles its total career wins on the Official Albums Streaming chart, which didn’t exist until decades after the group became grandfathers in the heavy metal side of rock. Paranoid, one of the outfit’s most famous studio releases, barely manages to reach the list of the 100 most-streamed collections throughout the U.K., as it begins what may turn out to be a short run at No. 100.