If you’re like me this weekend you’ve been binging clips from “Back To The Beginning”, the all-day heavy metal festival in Birmingham England that served as the final show of Ozzy Osbourne and his original band Black Sabbath’s career. The fact that all members of that band have made it into their mid-70’s is nothing short of a miracle considering the excesses they indulged in over their careers and damn did they sound absolutely great. Drummer Bill Ward taking his shirt off halfway through the set was a vintage alpha move befitting of some true rock gods. And even Ozzy (who has lost the ability to walk due to his advanced Parkinson’s disease) looked and sounded great through his final set, seated upon an all-black throne adorned with skulls and other heavy metal regalia. It was an incredible event and one that I’m still fully processing considering the gravity of the moment. Tom Morello (who served as showrunner) did heavy metal a true honor with his work on the event.
One of the most emotional moments (and probably my favorite of the entire 10+ hour event filled with so many bands) was Ozzy singing “Mama I’m Coming Home” during his solo set. Considering the context, with this being the final show of Ozzy’s career and his health issues getting significantly worse with every passing month, it felt like a true goodbye. Watching it streaming it didn’t look like there was a dry eye in the house when he belted out the final chorus. And there certainly wasn’t a dry eye in mine.
Standout Songs: “Mama I’m Coming Home”, “Desire”, “No More Tears”, “Hellraiser”
