Hot off the news that Black Sabbath has been awarded Freedom of the City, the Birmingham band has announced it will reunite in Birmingham in the summer. All four of the heavy metal pioneers’ original band members – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – will play for the first time in 20 years.
Formed in Birmingham in 1968, Black Sabbath went on to become one of the most successful metal bands of all time. Having sold over 75 million albums worldwide, their fame and influence is seen everywhere – and we’re not just talking about in the West Midlands.
Black Sabbath will go ‘Back to the Beginning’ and return to the area where Ozzy grew up, headlining Villa Park on Saturday, July 5 – a fitting location for these diehard Aston Villa fans. This is expected to be Ozzy Osbourne’s last ever performance too, who revealed he had Parkinson’s disease in 2020.
“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Ozzy Osbourne said. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”
Only further cementing this as “the greatest heavy metal show ever” (according to the music director, Tom Morello) ‘Back to the Beginning’ will also feature sets from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax and Mastodon.
The all-day event will also feature a supergroup lineup of musiciansincluding: 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.
Surely worth making the trip for from London? Tickets go on sale at 10am GMT on Friday, February 14, here.
