“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” - Ozzy, July 4, 2025
As a lifelong metal fan, I had caught wind of the show: Back to the Beginning, a one-day music festival in Birmingham, England—the home of Black Sabbath—intended to be Ozzy Osbourne’s final performance both as a solo artist and Black Sabbath’s final performance with the full band: Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler. But I forgot about it until the week of, when I happened across a message online that reminded me it was going to be streaming. At first, it was just another streaming concert in my mind, but I kept thinking about it. The lineup was sick, the biggest metal bands on earth. I wondered what covers everyone would play leading up to the final show. Pantera certainly would surely play Planet Caravan, a personal favorite from Far Beyond Driven (1994). It was the Fourth of July weekend and I was going to be home all day anyway smoking a brisket, so why not?
I’ll spare you the play-by-play, the lists of super groups, the set lists, the surprise appearances, Jason Momoa jumping into the mosh pit. There are a bunch of write-ups like that.
I just want to share some observations. And gratitude to all of the musicians summoned to perform, especially the ones that were dear to my heart and most especially, Ozzy, the Prince of Darkness. Sadly, symbolically, he passed away a couple weeks later at the age 76.
Thanks to my writing background, I’ve developed a penchant for symbolism. And Back to the Beginning was rife with that. The stadium was packed, full of fans that answered the call of their king, summoed to pay tribute to the founders of their scene. They came to bang heads, mosh, crowd surf, and sing along to the essential classics one last time.
It was a turning of the guard. The opening acts were newer bands, huge successes in their own right, and as the day progressed the lineup slowly climbed up the ladder of metal royalty. Most bands played a couple original songs—classic cuts from their earlier work—and a cover, tending to adapt their cover into their own style. But an exception worth highlighting was Tool, whose progressive style is left-field from the mainstays like Metallica. What really stood out about Tool’s performance was the juxtaposition of their early songs, like AEnema, with their Black Sabbath cover, Hand of Doom. Tool’s interpretation was arguably the least adapted to their own style, as far as I recall. They seemed to be faithfully replicating the original. It was a sonic display that demonstrated just how far the metal genre had grown from its inception.
I was reminded of why metal became so important to me culturally. I’ll detail this later in this blog journey, but I grew up as a creative in Minnesota. If you’ve never been, it’s a nice place, but if you look different, act different…you’re ostracized. And I deviated from the norm, finding refuge in the arts, in music, in writing, and counter-culture movements like metal.
Early on in the show, I was teleported back to Ozzfest, which I attended three times (I think 😅) in the early 2000s. Before that, my years in metal were isolated—tiny scene in my home town, small group of friends that shared the passion. But the scale of Ozzfest, a huge outdoor festival that was like a rolling circus of the top metal acts of the day, was just epic. I had discovered a place I belonged, a place where I finally fit in. In Back to the Beginning, I found solace in kindred spirits once again. I was home, singing along with the misfits in black.
Thank you, Ozzy, from the bottom of my heart. And Tony, Geezer, and Bill, of course. While it was ultimately a story of Black Sabbath, indeed it was the final bow for Ozzy. A finale fit for a metal pioneer. Without his life’s work, we wouldn’t have even gathered for the show in the first place.
- rtn
Richard Nesberg | Author of "Down the Rabbit Hole: Your Guide to Crypto Literacy"
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