Last year, guitar god Zakk Wylde was welcomed back as Ozzy Osbourne’s lead shredder. This left Gus G. without his big money gig, but in a new interview, Gus admitted “It was a little bit of a relief” to be given his walking papers.

Gus G. played with Ozzy’s band for a respectable eight years, recording 2010’s Scream album with the Prince of Darkness. Though Gus didn’t quite get the accolades of Randy Rhoads or Jake E. Lee, fans still praised the Greek shredder’s chops, especially those who followed Gus G. with Firewind.

While speaking to TrueMetal.it, Gus discussed his reaction to learning he was no longer Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist. “Honestly, it was a little bit of a relief, because I was just kind of tired of waiting around for all these years, not hearing anything," Gus says. "Of course, he was very busy with Black Sabbath, I understand that but … in between all of that there were these one-off shows popping up, and I had to make myself available for all that, but there was never any … I didn’t see stuff coming up for the future, you know?"

Though G. made it clear how much he loved playing with Ozzy, the guitarist called the job “A little bit of a dead end for me” and said that “it wasn’t a creative thing for me.”

As for Ozzy Osbourne himself, G. says, “I didn’t expect that he would be such a down-to-earth guy, so normal compared to his size, to how big he is as an artist, the big lifestyle, the big machinery around him," he said. "He was a very simple man, actually.”

Make sure to see Ozzy live while you can, because this farewell tour may be the real deal. For all of Ozzy’s ‘No More Tours II’ dates, click here.

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