Holy shit! The original Black Sabbath — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — have announced their first show in 20 years. The metal godfathers will headline the all-day Back to the Beginning festival on July 5th at Villa Park in the band’s hometown of Birmingham.
The all-star event will also see Ozzy Osbourne play his own short set before joining with Sabbath for his final bow. Music Director Tom Morello promises, “This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever” — and he’s not kidding.
In addition to Sabbath and Ozzy, Back to the Beginning boasts sets from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Lamb of God and other heavyweights, as well as a one-time supergroup including members of Korn, Ghost, GN’R, Smashing Pumpkins, Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, Sleep Token and many more.
“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning…. time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Ozzy 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.”
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. GMT on Friday, February 14th, at LiveNation.co.uk. All profits will go to the following charities: CureParkinson’s, Birmingham Childrens Hospital and Acorn Childrens Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa.