Ozzy Osbourne, the gloomy, demon-invoking lead singer of the pioneering band Black Sabbath who became the throaty, growling voice — and drug- and alcohol-ravaged id — of heavy metal, died Tuesday, just weeks after his farewell show. He was 76.

Whether clad in black or bare-chested, the singer was often the target of parents’ groups for his imagery and once caused an uproar for reportedly biting the head off a bat. Later, he would reveal himself to be a doddering and sweet father on the reality TV show “The Osbournes.”

Black Sabbath’s 1969 self-titled debut LP has been likened to the big bang of heavy metal. It came during the height of the Vietnam War and crashed the hippie party, dripping menace and foreboding.

Earlier this month, the original Sabbath lineup reunited for the first time in 20 years for what Osbourne had declared would be his final concert. “Let the madness begin!” he told 42,000 fans in the U.K.

Osbourne made several stops in Maine over the years, drawing mixed reviews. A Portland Press Herald concert review published Feb. 2, 2008, noted Osbourne was turning 60 at the time but that his performance “proved that fans have nothing to worry about. Osbourne is still crazy, and loving every minute of it.”

An Evening Express review published Sept. 24, 1986, noted that Osbourne could barely be heard amid “the wall to wall guitar and various other electronic noises (that) discourage even literate Osbourne fans from paying attention to the words.”

A 1981 concert review in the Press Herald, which misspelled Osbourne’s first name, lamented that the singer “has failed to realize that Black Sabbath folded mainly because only 15-year-olds are still taken in by that sort of pretentiousness.”

Here’s a sampling of archived photos and articles on Osbourne’s visits to Maine.

View 8 photos

This story contains reporting from the Associated Press.