Dave Grohl Wrote Heavy Riff for Ozzy Osbourne That Became Probot Track

Dave Grohl created a heavy instrumental riff intended for Ozzy Osbourne in the early 2000s, which went unused. The Foo Fighters frontman later reworked this creation into material for his metal side project Probot, where it transformed into "My Tortured Soul" on the February 2004 release.

Sharon Osbourne had contacted musicians to write songs for Ozzy. Grohl submitted his work, but the Osbourne family declined.

"I wrote this instrumental that was like super ... it was almost like a Melvins song. It was like super duper heavy," said Grohl in a radio interview, as reported by NME. "And I thought this could be so cool if Ozzy sang over it."

"They never picked it. They never used it. But I ended up using it for this record that I made. It was called Probot," he added.

The Probot album gave Grohl a chance to probe heavier influences outside Foo Fighters' usual territory. This project arrived after the band's 1999 album There Is Nothing Left to Lose, which leaned toward a more melodic sound.

Grohl began writing heavier riffs once touring wrapped. He layered drum and bass arrangements onto the compositions.

After finishing the instrumentals, he contacted metal singers who had inspired him during his youth. The album featured Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, Max Cavalera of Sepultura, Snake of Voivod, Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost, King Diamond, Cronos of Venom, and Eric Wagner of Trouble. Wagner performed vocals on "My Tortured Soul," the track initially conceived with Osbourne in mind.

"It never became an Ozzy song, but it has a killer riff, man," he said.

Grohl and his Probot band played the song live on MTV2's Headbangers Ball in 2004. The track wasn't released as a single from the album. He'll front the Foo Fighters on tour this year, with all dates and ticket links available on their website.