Watch Judas Priest pay tribute to Black Sabbath with thunderous War Pigs cover
Judas Priest have covered War Pigs in tribute to fellow Birmingham heavy metal legends Black Sabbath.
Earlier today (July 1), the self-anointed Metal Gods put out their take on the opening song from Sabbath's seminal second album Paranoid, the original version of which they've played from the tape before their concerts for many years.
The band comment: 'We are honoured to show our love for Ozzy [Osbourne] and Black Sabbath with our homage to War Pigs: a song we play at every show around the world that fans sing along to – reinforcing their love as well for the legendary Prince Of Darkness!'
Sabbath's founding lineup – vocalist Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – will reunite onstage for the first time in almost 20 years at their Back To The Beginning all-dayer this Saturday (July 5).
Being held at Villa Park in Birmingham, the show will mark Osbourne's last time onstage, following his retirement from touring in 2023. The singer will play both with Sabbath and as a solo artist, and the bill will be rounded out by a who's-who of hard rock and heavy metal, with other performers including Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Slayer.
Priest are one of the few vaunted metal bands to not be on the lineup for Saturday, but they're missing out for good reason. As frontman Rob Halford recently explained to Metal Hammer, the band are playing the 60th-anniversary celebrations for hard rockers Scorpions in Germany the same day and wouldn't be able to make both shows happen.
He said he was 'gutted' over the clash but added that founding guitarist K.K. Downing, who left Priest in 2011, would represent 'the spirit of the band' at Back To The Beginning.
Priest are currently touring Europe on their Shield Of Pain run, celebrating both their latest album Invincible Shield and the 35th anniversary of their 1990 classic Painkiller. The tour will be capped off by two UK shows, the second being a co-headliner with Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena in London on July 25.
Priest will tour North America with Cooper from September to October. See details and get tickets via their website.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's final show: Here's how to stream
Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath are taking the stage together for the final time – and you can stream the event. The concert, dubbed "Back to the Beginning," is set to take place Saturday, July 10, at Villa Park – home of Aston Villa Football Club – in Birmingham, England. Osbourne will perform, then he will join Black Sabbath for a set featuring the original four members who formed a band in 1967 – guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and Osbourne – performing together for the first time since 2005. (During Black Sabbath's "The End" tour, which ended in February 2017 in Birmingham, drummer Tommy Clufetos joined the other three in place of Ward.) Black Sabbath and Osbourne are the headliners on a day of music featuring a who's who in hard rock. Also on the bill: Metallica, Guns 'N Roses, Slayer and several other bands. There's also a slew of other big-name artists who will likely team up in various configurations; among them are Sammy Hagar, Smashing Pumpkins co-founder Billy Corgan, Jake E. Lee, the one-time guitarist for Osbourne who has recovered from a shooting in October 2024, and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave), who is the event's music director. "This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever," Morello said in a Feb. 5 press release announcing the event. Black Sabbath's last concert is 'goodbye' from heavy metal pioneers Osbourne wanted to do one more show to say a proper "goodbye" to friends and fans, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne's wife, told BBC back in February. After his wife proposed the idea of Ozzy playing a final gig at Villa Park in Birmingham, an industrial city about 120 miles northwest of London and the birthplace of the original Sabbath members, "I called Geezer, Tony and Bill to see if they wanted to come up to do some songs and thankfully, they did," Osbourne told Mojo magazine. Osbourne may perform seated on a throne, Iommi told Mojo. That's not unprecedented stagecraft. Guns 'N Roses frontman Axl Rose used a throne for several shows in 2016, including at Coachella after he suffered a broken foot. He borrowed the throne from Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters who debuted it at the band's 20th anniversary show in 2015 in Washington, D.C. to allow him to perform despite a broken leg. Since Osbourne's last full concert – OzzFest in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve 2018 – he has faced several medical challenges including a fall and being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019. In 2023, Osbourne cancelled U.K. and European tour dates and a planned performance at the Power Trip festival because of his physical weakness. "Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I'm just not ready yet," he said at the time. In May 2024, Osbourne said he was undergoing stem cell treatments after doctors discovered a tumor on his vertebrae. How to watch Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne's 'Back to the Beginning' A livestream of the daylong event was announced in June. While it's called a livestream, the video will be delayed two hours from the in-arena start time. Those who stream the event will be able to start watching at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT. Here's what it costs; go to to purchase: Concert proceeds benefit Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. There's also an online auction benefiting those charities. Items up for bid include two Gibson guitars signed by performers, a Guns 'N Roses pinball machine, several gold record and CD displays including Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti" and Metallica's "Master of Puppets," plus a dozen-plus travel packages including seven nights at Royal Westmoreland, Barbados. Who's performing at Black Sabbath's last concert? Bands scheduled to perform include Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and Rival Sons. Artists also expected to perform, according to the event (although the lineup is subject to change): Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ozzy Osbourne makes emotional statement ahead of Black Sabbath farewell show
Ozzy Osbourne has said his farewell show in Birmingham with Black Sabbath 'means everything' to him, as he views the massive Villa Park gig as his 'final encore'. The Prince of Darkness will say goodbye to his fans with the original Black Sabbath lineup on Saturday (5 July). The band will be joined by a number of other heavy metal legends, including Metallica, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, and Tom Morello. In a Q&A with communications agency Premier Comms, Osbourne, 76, said the show, titled Back to the Beginning, was a chance to 'say thank you to my fans for always supporting me and being there for me'. 'I couldn't have done my final show anywhere else,' he said of playing the gig in his hometown of Birmingham. 'I had to go back to the beginning.' Osbourne also said that he was surprised by how many people had contacted him about livestreaming the concert, which had not been in the original plan. 'It seemed a great chance for people who didn't have the opportunity to get a ticket to be able to see the show,' he said. The livestream of Back to the Beginning will be delayed by two hours from the in-arena start time, and will begin at 3pm BST. The stream will open 30 minutes prior to launching. Tickets are available to purchase here. Playing at Villa Park is particularly significant for him, Osbourne said, as he used to go to the venue with his friends on Saturdays when a football match was being hosted and ask people 'for a shilling to watch their car'. Asked about what the formidable lineup meant to him, the musician remarked: 'It means everything, I am forever in their debt for showing up for me and the fans. I can't quite put it into words, but I feel very emotional and blessed.' He concluded: 'It's a goodbye as far as my live performances go, and what a way to go out.' Speaking to The Independent this week, Alice in Chains' bassist Mike Inez spoke of how hearing Black Sabbath for the first time 'changed his life', as he recalled auditioning to be in Osbourne's solo band. 'It was all surreal to me,' he said. 'I remember showing up – I was wearing a ratty LA Kings hockey jersey and jeans, and everyone else in there was in leather. So in my head I was thinking, 'OK, I'm never getting this f***ing gig, so I'm just gonna have a good time with it, and be able to say I got to play 'Crazy Train' with Ozzy one time.' 'Little did I know I was going to get it, and then my whole life trajectory was going to change.' Metallica's Rob Trujillo added: 'I'm so excited to be part of this, to be able to show my love and respect for Black Sabbath, because it's safe to say a lot of us wouldn't be playing the music that we play if it wasn't for that band. 'To be sharing this stage with Ozzy, thinking back to the days when I played backyard parties and barbecues, and to still be friends with them, it's a blessing. This is a huge, historical, monumental experience that we're going to have on this day in Birmingham.' Read the full feature here.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
5 Musicians on Why Ozzy Osbourne Is Genuine Metal Royalty
Ozzy Osbourne has persisted for so long in pop culture, and re-emerged in so many different guises — including fiendish hard-rock ringleader and bewildered Beverly Hills dad — that it's easy to lose sight of the core of his fame. His bone-chilling work with Black Sabbath in the '70s up through his surprisingly nuanced solo material in the '80s and beyond have helped define the sound and persona of the heavy-metal frontman. Despite a pair of well-received recent albums, Osbourne performances have been scarce in recent years, as he has battled health issues including Parkinson's disease and emphysema. On Saturday, at a daylong event in his Birmingham, England hometown, the 76-year-old musician will appear both solo and with his original Black Sabbath bandmates — the guitarist Tony Iommi; the bassist Terence Butler, known as Geezer; and the drummer Bill Ward — at what's being billed as his last-ever concert. The lineup for the event — dreamed up by Sharon Osbourne, his wife and manager — reads like a roll call of some of the biggest names in metal and hard rock, including Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer and Tool. Its musical director is Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. 'I can tell you that if we weren't invited to play, I would find a way to be there anyway, even if I had to sneak in under the fence line,' the Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said. 'I think it's pretty safe to say that if there was no Black Sabbath, there would be no Metallica.' Ulrich's sense of debt to Osbourne is widely shared, both in the worlds of heavy guitar-based music and far beyond. 'Ozzy is one of the most remarkable singers and performers of our time,' Elton John, who was a guest on Osbourne's 2020 album, 'Ordinary Man,' wrote in an email. 'He has an amazing voice and has done so much for metal.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
