While we are just a few days off from Black Sabbath’s big “Back to the Beginning” farewell show in Birmingham, UK, fellow Brit metal legends Judas Priest have just given us a sneak preview of what kinds of tributes you can expect this weekend at the star-studded event. Specifically, they’ve unveiled a new cover of Sabbath’s classically horns-raising, Paranoid-era protest song, “War Pigs.”
The nearly eight-and-a-half-minute salute pretty well plays it straight, though we now hear the iconic powerhowl of Rob Halford hitting Ozzy’s famous lines about the grimly ever-turning war machine.
They don’t give the cover the full-on Priest treatment via soaring guitarmonies, but Richie Faulkner puts his stamp on the piece with a pair of bluesily-ripped solos. They also add monk-like ohming backup vocals to the finale.
Judas Priest wrote in a joint statement: “We are honored to show our love for Ozzy and Black Sabbath with our homage to ‘War Pigs’ – A song we play at every show around the world [ed. as walkout music] that fans sing along to – reinforcing their love as well for the legendary Prince of Darkness.”
You can hear Priest’s “War Pigs” up above.
As previously reported, Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning” hometown concert takes place July 5th at Villa Park. The all-star event reunites the original lineup of Black Sabbath, who will perform a few songs but not a whole set. Ozzy will also be playing select solo songs.
The night will also feature performances and tributes from the likes of Metallica, Gojira, TOOL, Halestorm, Pantera, Anthrax and many more.
Judas Priest will be there in spirit, but will actually be performing at Scorpions’ 60th anniversary show in Hannover, Germany. That said, former guitarist K.K. Downing will be performing at “Back to the Beginning.”