Soundgarden explain absence at Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne farewell concert
Soundgarden have paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath following their final bow from the stage, despite being absent from the band’s recent farewell gig in Birmingham on July 5th.
The Seattle rock band took to Instagram on July 13th, posting, “Congratulations to Black Sabbath on the grand and final pealing of their vesper bells!”
They continued: “Thank you for an astounding career that provided us and your legion of fans with a lifetime of beauty, horror, love, power, happiness, melancholy and a profoundly sublime, yet viscerally rocking transcendence informed by both doom and hope.”
Despite citing Black Sabbath as a major inspiration to many other rock outfits including themselves, Soundgarden conceded that “the crown will forever remain yours!” with regard to the legacy of Osbourne and Co.
The glowing tribute comes as Soundgarden also revealed that they were forced to turn down an appearance at the Back to the Beginning concert on July 5th due to scheduling conflicts, as they noted: We are very grateful to Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, as well as Sharon Osbourne and music director, Tom Morello for the honour and invitation to Soundgarden to perform at the Back to the Beginning festival!”
Despite this, they added: “We are super bummed and regret that we were unable to coordinate the schedules of our individual and collective projects to attend and contribute to the festival.”
It comes as rumours around a potential Soundgarden reunion continue to swirl. The band recently teased their unreleased eighth album on the anniversary of frontman Chris Cornell’s passing, and are also looking forward to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.