Here's everything you need to know about Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne's final ever show

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It's the biggest heavy metal gig of the year, if not of all time; this weekend, Black Sabbath's original four members - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - reunite on stage for the first time in 20 years as they play their final show together ever, back where it all began near their childhood homes in Aston, Birmingham. The show will also mark Ozzy's final ever concert appearance.
And they're bringing some friends: over a dozen of the biggest names in heavy metal history will be joining them for what looks set to be a celebration, a spectacle and an emotional goodbye to the godfathers of metal.
Here's everything you need to know about Back To The Beginning
The Black Sabbath return will take place at Villa Park, Aston, on July 5. The venue isn't only in the band's birthplace of Birmingham, but is the home stadium for the members' beloved football team Aston Villa. Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler demonstrated their love for the club last year, appearing in the reveal trailer for their 2024 kit. Iommi recently held up their colours at a photoshoot announcing Back To The Beginning.
Black Sabbath retired following an extensive farewell tour from 2016 to 2017. The shows featured three of the band's four founding members – singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler – but not original drummer Bill Ward, who pulled out of the band several years earlier due to a contract dispute.
Last year, Osbourne said on his podcast The Madhouse Chronicles that Sabbath's career felt 'unfinished' because they didn't bow out with Ward behind the kit. He called for a true original lineup reunion, and Iommi, Butler and even Ward all expressed interest in the idea over the following weeks. The comeback finally became official with Back To The Beginning's announcement in February 2025.
The founding lineup definitely are. From the moment Ozzy Osbourne started discussing a Black Sabbath reunion last year, the idea was for it to be a proper farewell with every original member present. When Back To The Beginning was announced, it was promoted as the singer's 'final bow', meaning it's set to be his last time onstage both with Sabbath and as a solo performer.
Ozzy Osbourne originally retired from touring in February 2023 and chalked the decision up to the knock-on effects of numerous surgeries, as well as his Parkinson's disease.
'As you may all know, four years ago, this month, I had a major accident, where I damaged my spine,' The Prince Of Darkness wrote on social media. 'My one and only purpose during this time has been to get back on stage.
'My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak.'
As his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne recently explained, the singer's health issues have only worsened since then. She told The Sun that he can no longer walk as a result of Parkinson's, despite his voice still being in top form. This has doubtlessly all played into Ozzy's decision to retire from the stage after Back To The Beginning.
Back To The Beginning will feature all of Black Sabbath's original members: Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitars), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums). The four men initially played together from 1968 to 1979, when Osbourne was fired due to his excessive substance use. The singer started a solo career while Sabbath continued, with Iommi being the only constant member.
The Osbourne/Iommi/Butler/Ward lineup reunited in 1999 but disbanded again in 2006. Iommi and Butler started the project Heaven And Hell, and Osbourne went back to his solo work. Though the classic Sabbath members came together yet again in 2012, Ward quickly abandoned the return due to contractual disputes.
Sabbath's 2025 show will mark the first time Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward have played together since 2005. Their last full-length concert was that September in West Palm Beach, Florida, during the Ozzfest tour.
As well as Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, Back To The Beginning will feature sets from many heavy metal greats. Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Tool, Gojira, Anthrax, Lamb Of God, Halestorm, Mastodon and Rival Sons are all on the bill.
There will also be an all-star 'supergroup' playing, with Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), David Ellefson (ex-Megadeth), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) and others among their ranks. Morello will be the musical director of the event and famed actor Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Game Of Thrones) will compere.
Wolfgang Van Halen was supposed to be part of Back To The Beginning but dropped out. He explained last week that his band, Mammoth, start a North American tour supporting Creed the day after Back To The Beginning. 'I [wouldn't] be able to pull it off, unfortunately,' he said.
One of the biggest gaps in the list of performers is Sabbath's fellow Birmingham metal icons, Judas Priest. Frontman Rob Halford told Metal Hammer that his band will be playing the 60th-anniversary celebrations of German hard rockers Scorpions on the same day. Nonetheless, founding Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, who left the band in 2011, will be there.
See the full list of performers in the poster below.
According to a recent interview with Sharon Osbourne, Back To The Beginning will start at 12 noon on July 5. 'Then you're going to see one icon playing with another icon, doing a Sabbath song and one or two of their own songs, and people playing with each other that you never you'd see,' she added. 'Tom Morello is going to play with the drummer from Tool [Danny Carey] and they're going to have Billy Corgan with them.
'Then you'll see Slash and Duff [Mckagan] and whoever they choose to play with. [Disturbed singer] David Draiman is going to come up and sing, Jonathan [Davis] from Korn is going to be here and he could be playing with [Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer] Chad Smith or whoever!'
The day will end with performances from Ozzy Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath lineup. However, on his Sirius XM radio show in mid-February, Osbourne said he'll only play 'bits and pieces' with Sabbath onstage.
'I'm not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them,' he said in full. 'I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable.'
This week, Tony Iommi corroborated that statement by noting that Osbourne will play "four songs" in an interview with the BBC.
After multiple pre-sales, tickets to Back To The Beginning went on general sale at 10am UK time on Friday, February 14. The BBC reports that the online queue for tickets exceeded 60,000 people, while Live Nation claims that the event sold out in fewer than 10 minutes. So, unless you're willing to keep an eye on resale sites and potentially pay exorbitant prices, your chances of getting tickets for Black Sabbath's final show are now slim-to-none.
After the artist presale for Black Sabbath tickets started on February 11, The Independent reported that prices ranged from £197.50 to £834. On February 13, Birmingham Live reported that one local father spent more than £6,000 on two passes for himself and his daughter.
All proceeds from Back To The Beginning will go to the charities Birmingham's Children's Hospital, Acorn Children's Hospice and Cure Parkinson's.
Yes! In June, it was announced that Back To The Beginning will be streamed globally. It will begin at 3pm UK time sharp on July 5, with repeat viewing set to be available for 48 hours after the event. Tickets are going for £24.99 on the Back To The Beginning website. You can also get a ticket with an exclusive t-shirt for £54.99. It appears that the stream will operate on a two-hour time delay.
Depends who you ask. There were bands who took the groove of blues rock and made it heavier before Black Sabbath came around, such as Iron Butterfly and Cream. However, it's broadly accepted that Sabbath codified the heavy metal genre with their self-titled song in 1970. Not only was it heavy, but it started metal's lengthy habit of pulling ideas from the horror genre: guitarist Tony Iommi used an ominous tritone while bassist Geezer Butler's lyrics were themed around a demonic encounter. Many journalists and musicians have thus called Sabbath the first real metal band.
Black Sabbath have released 19 studio albums and are unlikely to make another. Here they are in chronological order:
Black Sabbath (1970)
Paranoid (1970)
Master Of Reality (1971)
Vol. 4 (1972)
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
Sabotage (1975)
Technical Ecstasy (1976)
Never Say Die! (1978)
Heaven And Hell (1980)
Mob Rules (1981)
Born Again (1983)
Seventh Star (1986)
The Eternal Idol (1987)
Headless Cross (1989)
Tyr (1990)
Dehumanizer (1992)
Cross Purposes (1994)
Forbidden (1995)
13 (2013)
There's no general consensus on what the best Black Sabbath album is, but the fan-favourites from the band's original lineup are Black Sabbath and Paranoid (both 1970), Master Of Reality (1971), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) and Sabotage (1975). Many are also partial to the band's first album with Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Heaven And Hell (1980), while Headless Cross (1989) featuring singer Tony Martin is frequently described as underrated.
Classic Rock magazine recently ranked Sabbath's albums from worst to best and put Paranoid at the top of the pile. 'Released just seven months after their debut, Sabbath's second album is their masterpiece,' wrote journalist Paul Elliott.