Is this the greatest Heavy Metal show ever?
Of course it is!
What do you mean, you don’t know what I’m talking about? I’m talking about this…
Honestly, how many times have you dreamt of such a lineup happening in real life? This is beyond big news, and the best part of it is that it's all for charity. Here are the main points you need to know about this astounding show…
How on Earth Are You Going to Get Tickets?
Black Sabbath Reform!
The show - called Back to the Beginning - takes place in the home of metal itself, Birmingham. Metal progenitors Black Sabbath are reforming for one last triumphant show, and they are bringing a few of their friends along for the ride. The all day event will take place on July 5th at Villa Park stadium, home to Aston Villa.
Black Sabbath called time on their career a few years ago, but at that point, the band had Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk on drums. This event will mark the first time in 20 years that all four original members - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - will appear on stage together.
Ozzy’s Last Performance
This event will be the final bow and curtain call for rock’s Dark Prince himself, Ozzy Osbourne, and he wants it in his hometown:
“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning… time for me to give back to the place where I was born. How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
Alongside a headlining performance by Sabbath, Ozzy will be performing a set of solo material. After all, his solo career was as massive as his days with the band, and so it’s appropriate that hits like Crazy Train and Mr Crowley get their final, proper outing.
Unbelievable Lineup
Alongside Ozzy and Black Sabbath, the lineup for the day is a veritable who’s who of heavy metal royalty. Get a load of this list:
- Metallica
- Slayer
- Pantera
- Gojira
- Halestorm
- Alice in Chains
- Lamb of God
- Anthrax
- Mastodon
Not bad for a bunch of ‘support bands’, eh? That’s three of the Big Four from the 80s thrash scene right there! What a day for metalheads!
Superstar Colabs
There’s more! If that lineup wasn’t already stupefying enough, there are also a ton of special guests attending the event, who are expected to perform in a series of impromptu Supergroups for the day. Ready for another gobsmacking list of talent? Here are the guests:
- Jake E Lee
- Zakk Wylde
- Jonathan Davis
- Billy Corgan
- Fred Durst
- Slash
- Duff McKagan
- David Draiman
- KK Downing
- Mike Bordin
- Lzzy Hale
- Rudy Sarzo
- Sammy Hagar
- Scott Ian
- Frank Bello
- Sleep Token II
- Papa V Perpetua
- Wolfgang Van Halen
- Tom Morello
Morello is also acting as the event’s musical director, and has stated the somewhat obvious:
“This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever”.
Indeed it will, Tom!
In the Name of Charity
The best part of the story is that ALL of the proceeds are being split between three charities: Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the Acorn Children’s Hospice.
How on Earth Are You Going to Get Tickets?
This is obviously a show you’re going to want to attend. Tickets go on general sale via Ticketmaster on Friday 14th at 10am UK time, with certain presales available a day or so ahead. Rumours abound on what the tickets will cost, but nothing has been officially confirmed as of today (Tuesday 11th).
That said, this is going to be a monumental event, a significant cultural moment that will be remembered for a very long time. It’s Black Sabbath, one of the greatest and most original heavy bands ever, playing their home town one last time, accompanied by a large number of the most iconic and gamechanging metal bands who have ever existed.
Good luck getting tickets: we’ll see you in the pit!
