The unique lineup of Black Sabbath reunited for the primary time in 20 years on Saturday within the U.Okay. — and for the final time ever, for the reason that efficiency was additionally billed as the ultimate live performance ever for singer Ozzy Osbourne. The Birmingham stadium present climaxed with a four-song Sabbath set, preceded by Osbourne doing a five-song set of his solo materials … preceded in flip by a full day’s value of metallic and hard-rock all-stars doing mini-sets that included Sabbath covers in addition to unique materials.
“It’s so good to be on this fucking stage, you don’t have any thought,” Osbourne informed the gang of 42,000 when his winged throne first rose up from below the stage. “Let the insanity start!”
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi had indicated earlier that the group would solely be doing 4 songs, resulting from their collective stamina points, and that certainly turned out to be the case, with him, Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Invoice Ward performing “Conflict Pigs,” “NIB,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid” to shut out the 10-hour day on the stadium. Following the final quantity, the now presumably retired-for-good Osbourne was offered with a cake, as fireworks went off over Villa Park.
Earlier, for his “solo” set, Osbourne was supported by a band that included his longtime post-Sabbath guitarist Zakk Wylde as he sang “I Don’t Know,” “Mr. Crowley,” “Suicide Resolution,” “Mama I’m Coming Residence” and “Loopy Prepare.” Earlier than performing “Mama,” he informed the viewers that he had been “laid up for six years” and added, “Thanks from the underside of my coronary heart.”
Metallica, Guns N Roses, Slayer, Device, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon did units starting from two to seven songs in size, every of them together with at the very least one Sabbath or Osbourne cowl. GNR gained the prize for the best quantity of veneration so far as sheer amount goes, with the Axl Rose-fronted unit doing 4 Sabbath covers earlier than ending off with two of the band’s personal songs.
That checklist of help acts doesn’t rely a pair of supergroups that included such figures as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Billy Corgan, Ronnie Wooden, Travis Barker, Sammy Hagar, Andrew Watt, Yungblud, Korn’s Jonathan Davis, Nuno Bettencourt, Chad Smith, Vernon Reid and lots of others. Sitting in with one of many supergroups was Rage Towards the Machine’s Tom Morello, who served because the official curator of the day’s lineup.
Actor Jason Momoa was the host for the festivities, when not leaping into the moshpit: “Make some house for me, I’m coming in!” he introduced to the gang.
(Scroll right down to see the entire setlists for every of the day’s performances, together with video excerpts of among the essential sights.)
The present was considered not simply by the 42,000 in attendance at Villa Park in Birmingham in central England, however at the very least 1.5 million extra who paid for a livestream — which was a little bit of a misnomer, for the reason that stream ran about two hours behind the stay festivities.
The day went off with out many apparent hitches, though one surprising improvement was Disturbed singer David Draiman being greeted with boos in addition to cheers. (Draiman participated in one of many all-star jams, singing covers of “Candy Leaf” and Osbourne’s solo music “Shot within the Darkish.”) “We gonna begin this?” he defiantly requested the gang. It was believed that the booing needed to do with the singer’s very vocal help of Israel. He lately congratulated Sharon Osbourne after she referred to as for Kneecap’s visas to be revoked, and he shared a photograph of himself signing artillery shells utilized by the IDF in its assault on Gaza, together with the inscription “Fuck Hamas.”
It didn’t come as a shock that Osbourne was seated for this remaining efficiency. Though he had nonetheless been performing standing in 2022, by the point of 2024, when he was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame, Osbourne was seated for that present. The 76-year-old has been recovering from spinal surgical procedures lately in addition to Parkinson’s illness. On his SiriusXM radio present this yr, he mentioned, “I can’t stroll, however you recognize what I used to be pondering over the vacations? For all my complaining, I’m nonetheless alive.”
In affirming that this actually could be his final stay efficiency, Osbourne informed the Guardian, “I’d like to say ‘by no means say by no means’, however after the final six years or so … it’s time. I don’t need to die in a lodge room someplace. I need to spend the remainder of my life with my household.”
Osbourne had additionally indicated that he needed to place a remaining cap on Sabbath’s legacy in addition to his personal profession. The group put out its debut album in 1970, marking the true introduction of heavy metallic, to many followers’ minds, after which he departed for a solo profession in 1979. There have been reunions at numerous factors over time, however the final time all 4 unique members carried out stay collectively was on the shut of the Ozzfest tour in 2005. Three members of the band had participated in a remaining album, “13,” in 2013, and the group did its remaining present up until now in Birmingham in 2017, however Ward had not been part of these post-2005 reunions.
The all-star solid paid tribute to the band and particularly to Osbourne all through the day. “Black Sabbath: we’d all be totally different individuals with out them, that’s the reality,” mentioned Pantera singer Phil Anselmo. “I do know I wouldn’t be up right here with a microphone in my hand with out Black Sabbath … who’s higher?”
Proceeds from the live performance shall be divided up between Treatment Parkinson’s, the Birmingham youngsters’s hospital and the Birmingham-based Acorns youngsters’s hospice.
Listed here are the entire setlists for the epic Birmingham live performance, from the primary act of the day by the reunited Black Sabbath’s grand finale:
Mastodon
- “Black Tongue”
- “Blood and Thunder”
- “Supernaut” (Black Sabbath Cowl)
Rival Sons
- “Do Your Worst”
- “Electrical Funeral” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Secret”
Anthrax
- “Indians”
- “Into the Void” (Black Sabbath Cowl)
Halestorm
- “Love Bites (So Do I)”
- “Rain Your Blood on Me”
- “Perry Mason” (Ozzy Osbourne Cowl)
Lamb of God
- “Laid to Relaxation”
- “Redneck”
- “Kids of the Grave” (Black Sabbath cowl)
Supergroup No. 1 (with Yungblud, Lzzy Hale, Nuno Bettencourt, David Draiman, Whitfield Crane, Jake E. Lee, Mike Bordin, David Ellefson, Adam Wakeman, Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Sleep Token II)
- “Final Sin” (Ozzy Osbourne cowl)
- “Shot within the Darkish” (Ozzy Osbourne cowl)
- “Candy Leaf” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Believer” (Ozzy Osbourne cowl)
- “Adjustments” (Ozzy Osbourne cowl)
Jack Black, Revel Ian, Roman Morello (pre-recorded video)
- “Mr. Crowley” (Ozzy Osbourne Cowl, pre-taped video efficiency)
Alice in Chains
- “Man within the Field”
- “Would?”
- “Fairies Put on Boots” (Black Sabbath cowl)
Gojira
- “Stranded”
- “Silvera”
- “Mea Culpa” (with Marina Viotti)
- “Beneath the Solar” (Black Sabbath cowl)
Supergroup No. 2 (Billy Corgan, Sammy Hagar, Papa V Perpetua, Steven Tyler, Tom Morello, Nuno Bettencourt, Rudy Sarzo, Travis Barker, Chad Smith, Danny Carey, Okay.Okay. Downing, Adam Jones, Adam Wakeman, Vernon Reid, Ron Wooden, Andrew Watt)
- “Symptom of the Universe” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Breaking the Legislation” (Judas Priest cowl)
- “Snowblind” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Flying Excessive Once more” (Ozzy Osbourne cowl)
- “Rock Sweet” (Montrose cowl)
- “Bark on the Moon” (Ozzy Osbourne cowl)
- “Prepare Stored A Rollin” (Aerosmith cowl)
- “Stroll This Manner” / “Complete Lotta Love” (Aerosmith / Led Zeppelin Covers)
Pantera
- “Cowboys From Hell”
- “Stroll”
- “Planet Caravan” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- Electrical Funeral (Black Sabbath cowl)
Device
- “Forty Six & 2”
- “Hand of Doom” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Ænema”
Slayer
- “Disciple”
- “Conflict Ensemble”
- “Depraved World” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “South of Heaven”
- “Depraved World” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Raining Blood”
- “Angel of Dying”
Weapons N’ Roses
- “It’s Alright” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “By no means Say Die!” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Junior’s Eyes” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” (Blood Sabbath cowl)
- “Welcome to the Jungle”
- “Paradise Metropolis”
Metallica
- “Gap within the Sky” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Creeping Dying”
- “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
- “Johnny Blade” (Black Sabbath cowl)
- “Battery”
- “Grasp of Puppets”
Ozzy Osbourne
- “I Don’t Know”
- “Mr. Crowley”
- “Suicide Resolution”
- “Mama I’m Coming Residence”
- “Loopy Prepare”
Black Sabbath
1. “Conflict Pigs”
2. “N.I.B.”
3. “Iron Man”
4. “Paranoid”
