The charity event will feature full sets by several bands
Following the announcement of the all-star extravaganza Back to the Beginning celebrating the true creators of heavy metal earlier this month, Black Sabbath has announced a host of further artists to the extraordinary lineup. The sold-out show will see the original Black Sabbath – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – return to play for the first time in 20 years on July 5th at Villa Park.
The event, which will be hosted and compered by actor Jason Momoa, will see Ozzy Osbourne play his own short set before joining with Black Sabbath for his final bow. The new acts added to the bill include Tool, Guns ‘N’ Roses and Rival Sons, who will join Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon.
The all-day event will also feature a supergroup of musicians. Andrew Watt, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Dave Ellefson, Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe), will join Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), David Draiman (Disturbed), 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), and Wolfgang Van Halen.
All profits will go to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.
Osbourne, who has suffered from several ailments, including Parkinson’s, and has not performed a full show since 2018, confirms his involvement in Sabbath’s final bow will be limited.
“I’m not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them. I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable,” Osbourne says on his SiriusXM show, Ozzy Speaks. “I am trying to get back on my feet. When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I’m not dead. I’m still actively doing things.”
Formed in Birmingham in 1968 and going on to become one of the most successful metal bands of all time, Black Sabbath has sold over 75 million albums worldwide across their legendary career. Setting the blueprint for the many routes heavy metal took, Black Sabbath’s influence and importance is as vital today as it was in the early 1970s.
