The Anti-War and Environmental Summon Behind the Song Ozzy Osbourne and Jake E. Lee Co-Wrote, “Killer of Giants”

When guitarist Jake E. Lee joined Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 1982, he was hired to replace Brad Gillis, who temporarily filled the space following the death of lead guitarist Randy Rhoads. Within his short time with the band, before he was fired in 1987, Lee appeared on Osbourne’s 1983 album Bark at the Moon and co-wrote the title track with Osbourne and Bob Daisley. He also worked on the band’s follow-up in 1986, The Ultimate Sin, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

The Ultimate Sin was entirely co-written by Osbourne and Lee, except for the lead single, “Shot in the Dark,” which credits Phil Soussan as a co-writer. Though Lee was only with the band for five years, he was equally proud of both albums and one song, “Killer of Giants,” the apocalyptic anthemic ballad he co-wrote with Osbourne for The Ultimate Sin.

“It’s hard for me to differentiate between the two albums as far as what I like most,” said Lee about the two Osbourne albums he worked on. “I will say that, for me, ‘Killer Of Giants’ [on ‘The Ultimate Sin’] was one of the highlight achievements for me, as far as songwriting. Musically, I always loved that song, and the whole intro to it. I think there’s like a minute and a half to two minutes where nothing actually repeats itself; it’s just a constantly moving forward piece of music.”

Lee continued, “It’s almost orchestral. I can’t say which album I like better, but ‘Killer Of Giants’ is, musically, one of the best songs that I’ve written.”

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‘Mountains of Madness’

“Killer of Giants” is a direct address to the detriments to humans and the finality of war, the use of weapons, and how protests are often unheard of and have little effect on its continuity.

If none of us believe in war

Then can you tell me, what the weapons are for?

Listen to me, everyone

If the button is pushed, there’ll be nowhere to run, oh

Giants sleeping, giants winning

Wars within their dreams

Till they wake when it’s too late

And in God’s name blaspheme

Killer of giants threatens us all

Mountains of madness standing so tall

Marches of protest

Not stopping the war

Or the killer of giants

The killer of giants

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Mother Nature

Along with its anti-war sentiment, “Killer of Giants” also cites the other giants that suffer and the destruction of the environment—Mother Nature / People state your case without its worth.

Mother nature

People state your case without it’s worth

Your seas run dry

Your sleepless eyes

Are turning red alert

Killer of giants threatens us all

Mountains of madness

Standing so tall

Rising so proudly

It has nowhere to fall

This killer of giants

This killer of giants

No Overdubs

When released, Lee’s more orchestral guitar parts were so intricate that some believed that he overdubbed the recording, but the guitarist captured the sound with a little play on octaves. “I did the tap on octaves and slides,” recalled Lee in a 2023 interview with Ultimate Guitar. “If you watch me play live, I do the tap on octaves. But I remember when it first came out and people were tabbing it out. They always said that I overdubbed it.”

The guitarist was always angry with the perception that his solo was overdubbed. “It was a hard thing to do, and I learned to do it and I played it like that on the record,” said Lee. “And then they just said that I obviously overdubbed it, which I didn’t. So I’m happy that people have dug in and played the solo the right way.”

He added, “Anyway, long story, but ‘Killer of Giants,’ it’s probably one of my most favorite, proudest moments of anything I’ve done.”

Photo: Jake E. Lee (l) and Ozzy Osbourne (Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)