Black Sabbath Announce ‘Back To The Beginning’

This is not a drill! Black Sabbath - with all original members including Ozzy Osbourne - will reunite for a special show called "Back to the Beginning."

This is a massive metal bill to celebrate Ozzy's final show. This is the first time in 20 years the original Sabbath will share the stage together for a live show.

The event will feature sets from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon. This all goes down in Birmingham, UK (of course!) on July 5.

There are musicians forming super groups during the day too. According to the event website, these folks have already confirmed to participate and play: Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), David Draiman (Disturbed), Duff McKagan & 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.

Notice that Jake E. Lee is on the list, so he must be rehabbed enough to play guitar fast and live again!

Tickets on sale Valentine's Day via Live Nation UK.

Comments

[Jeff]

Sorry, this is not good. Ozzy needs to just retire and enjoy whatever time he has left on this earth. He can barely move and talk any more. I just don't see how he is going to be able to pull this off without backing tracks and/or lip synching the performance. I wish them luck but this has all the making of a disaster.

The only way I see this working is if they use guest singers from the list of other performers and Ozzy is just up there on stage as a figure head and singing here and there.

[Gallogs]

Jeff, I agree. The guy can barely stand, never mind walk. He looked just sad at the hall of fame induction. The rest of the show should be fantastic. This has Sharon's claws all over it.

[Kixchix]

I agree with Jeff & Gallogs. However, all four are miraculously still alive. Ozzy’s condition is profoundly sad. But I bet he’d like to put a bow on things. There’s a classy way to do it. We shall see how it actually goes down. Surprised Priest won’t be there. It’d be perfect time to rightly bring KK (he’ll be there) back into the band. But that makes too much sense for the horribly managed JP.

[Him]

You all (or most of you) know my feelings about Ozzy these days. And, still, I kinda' see why they think this is going to happen. Kudos to 'them', if it happens at all.

I have thought, for many years now, that Ozzy plays the puppet while Sharon takes the flack. Maybe; maybe not. But I also look at him with far more jaded eyes nowadays. He threw quite a few people responsible for his success under the bus over the years. So Jake E. Lee is going to be there? That really doesn’t move the needle for me, as Lee is an erratic genius who seems to tune his clock according to his own logic (though I am glad he is on the mend and able to perform).

And I think it is great that Ward will (maybe) finally get his due . . . at one concert. He is far more charitable and kinder to a group of guys who basically slagged him in the press when they dropped him like a cold stone after announcing a tour. Yes, I side with Ward. But I also understand that he likely wants to be with his friends one last time on stage. He has shown more kindness of spirit than the rest of them as time has gone on (and even they have responded in kind in recent years, in a 'too little, too late' note of remorse), and also shown more honesty about his now diminished skills (if only others would do the same, right?).

GZR has his success due to Sabbath. So, of course. He was this version of the band's lyricist as well. So his paws are all over the classics we love that Ozzy sang.

Iommi has led this horse (in all its incarnations, and in all of its various stages of ownership . . . a thing that is amazing to read into if you care to do so, given that Sabbath has been a brand as politically tossed about as just about any other entity in metal). And he ultimately is there for the guy who led them to success vocally, willing to adjust for Ward to be back for a final curtain call, and happy that GZR is allowed out to play bass because his wife told him it was okay (making jokes about GZR’s bio, just saying).

Thing is, I don’t really think this will happen. And, even if it does, it will be a show of amazing proportions . . . that should have happened a decade ago, and likely as a tour. And I get it. The guests love Sabbath. So do I. This just feels like a whisper of a trace of nostalgia that is ghosting a whole lot of fans that would have been around for a tour of this sort when sound minds, and grown-up men, could have done this, again, a decade or so ago.

Ozzy is far past his swan song. But, if for the members of the band, and the lucky few who get to go, and the guest musicians who grew up on Sabbath, this is the pointed end to all the madness, so be it. To be clear, I won’t moan if it does happen. And I will watch whatever version of this that is telecast. I just won’t be watching with rose-tinted glasses . . . and I have little to no tears left to shed about what this band could have done, years ago, to truly celebrate Sabbath’s legacy.

You can put old wine in a new skin. You just can’t make it taste like yesterday.