Black Sabbath: The (Real) End Is Near
Earlier today, Black Sabbath shocked the world with the news that they will get together with the original lineup to play one final show this summer. Black Sabbath – featuring founding members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler – played the last show on their farewell tour on February 4, 2017 in Birmingham, England.
But original drummer Bill Ward hasn’t played with the band since 2005; this show will be his first performance with them in twenty years. The show, as we reported earlier, is being dubbed “Back To The Beginning.” It will take place on Saturday, July 5, in Villa Park, Birmingham; it’s being billed as Ozzy’s final performance and he’ll be doing a brief solo set as well. Adding to the gravity of the show is the fact that Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, and other bands are also on the bill, and there will be “additional performances” by a massive list of stars, including Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine (who is the event’s musical director), Slash, Wolfgang Van Halen and others.
A one-off Sabbath reunion has been rumored for quite a while; in June of 2024, I wrote “Black Sabbath Might Reunite For One Last Show — But Should They?” “Sabbath’s last show — February 4, 2017 — really did seem like the end,” I said. “So, would one more show right the wrong of Ward’s exclusion from the last few years of the band’s history? It might. But a few things could sully this. One: if the guys just aren’t up to it. If they do one last show with Bill, but it doesn’t hold up to their shows from seven years ago, what’s the point? The window of opportunity for them to do a credible Black Sabbath concert with Bill Ward may have passed.”
I love Bill’s drumming; at the same time, I understood Sabbath’s need to move on without him if they felt that his playing wasn’t as good as it used to be or if his health was at risk. Playing their furious brand of rock night after night has got to be difficult and for a drummer, it must be brutal, especially for a drummer in his 70s. Adding to that concern: Ozzy is also in his 70s and has had some well-documented health issues. Can Ozzy perform at all anymore?
It stands to reason that Ozzy and Bill are good for at least one show; no one wants the band to humiliate themselves (and Tony Iommi would not have signed off on this if he wasn’t convinced that they could do it). They have plenty of time to prepare, and it’s just one show… but don’t be surprised if they add a second date.
Which brings me to another point from my June op-ed: “If the show is good, Sabbath, their management and concert promoters should not get greedy. Just because there is demand for something, doesn’t mean that the thing will be worth the anticipation. Yes, there’s always money to be made from a Black Sabbath tour, but there’s also something to be said about knowing when to take that final bow. If they actually do one more show, they should keep it to just that: one more show.”
I was pretty happy with how Sabbath ended things: I saw a show on their final tour, and it was great. But this feels like a better ending, both because of Bill’s involvement and because it also feels fitting that the biggest names in hard rock and metal will be there to pay their respects.
I’m glad the show will be donating all profits to worthy causes: Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice. So here’s hoping that they raise even more by offering it on demand or on streaming to those of us who can’t make it to Villa Park, so that fans all around the world can have our minds blown by the heavy metal band who started it all, one last time.
