Black Sabbath announce farewell concert at Villa Park with Metallica and Slayer
Black Sabbath‘s original line-up, featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Tony Iommi, have announced their first show in 20 years which will take place at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5th. The concert will mark Osbourne’s final concert before retiring.
The event is titled Back to the Beginning and will also feature sets across the day from heavy metal titans, including rock gods Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon.
“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Osbourne said in a statement. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
Other artists set to appear at Back to the Beginning include Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), David Draiman (Disturbed), Duff McKagan and Slash (Guns ‘n Roses), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Jake E Lee, Jonathan Davis (Korn), KK Downing, Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Sleep Token ii (Sleep Token), Papa V Perpetua (Ghost), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Wolfgang Van Halen and Zakk Wylde.
Morello is also acting as the musical director for the event and confidently said in a statement, “This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever.”
All profits from the show will be shared equally between the following charities: Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.
Talk of a Black Sabbath reunion was sparked last year when Osbourne said on his podcast, The Madhouse Chronicles, that the band’s story is “unfinished”. He added: “If they wanted to do one more gig with Bill, I would jump at the chance.”
This led to Iommi throwing his weight behind the idea during an appearance on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk. “That’d be a nice thing to actually do, but whether it happens will be another thing. But we’ll see. I mean, who knows,” he said.
Butler also shared this sentiment, remarking, “Of course there’s an interest, but there’s a big but — you’d have to speak to Bill about it. Everybody wants to do it (but I don’t know if he is) capable.”
Nevertheless, due to the circumstances surrounding Ward’s exit from the band and previous comments made by the drummer, it was uncertain whether he’d want to play with Sabbath again.
Previously, in 2023, Ward rejected claims made by Butler that he was invited to perform in Birmingham for their previous farewell show in 2017.
Thankfully, Ward was open to the idea of one last hurrah with Black Sabbath, and last July, he wrote on X: “Bill Ward checking in regarding all the updates on a possible Sabbath show in England. I’m in for playing some of everyone’s old favourites. Loved playing them then, I’d love to play them one last time.”
Ward also quashed fears about his health, adding, “I’m not going to talk about my health publicly except to say, everyday I’m pretty good for 76 years old, I’m active musically every day, and I have a very busy and gratifying life. Love you all, all the fucking time.”
Osbourne’s health was another worry that could have prevented Black Sabbath from performing live for the final time. While the heavy rock icon has ruled out touring in the future, he maintained that a return to his beloved Villa Park would be his dream farewell from the stage, which now looks set to become a reality on July 5th.
In January 2024, Sharon Osborne first revealed plans for a Villa Park show during a discussion at London’s Fortune Theatre. “He won’t tour again, but we are planning on doing two more shows to say goodbye as he feels like, ‘I have never said goodbye to my fans, and I want to say goodbye,” she said, before adding, “We will do it in Aston Villa, where Ozzy is from.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.