Black Sabbath Play Triumphant Final Show at “Back to the Beginning” Concert

Black Sabbath — featuring all four original members — reunited to play one final show at the “Back to the Beginning” concert on Saturday (July 5th) at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham, England. Their set closed out an all-day once-in-a-lifetime concert event featuring a who’s who of rock and metal luminaries.

Singer Ozzy Osbourne (who just played his final solo set minutes earlier), guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward took the stage to a rousing ovation from the crowd. The performance marked the band’s first since closing out their farewell tour in February 2017, and their first show with Ward in 20 years.

The heavy metal godfathers kicked off the set with the anthemic “War Pigs,” and followed with “Iron Man,” and “N.I.B.” The brief four-song set closed with the iconic “Paranoid,” with Ozzy telling the crowd, “I fucking love you,” as fireworks and confetti took over the night sky.

Leading up to the final performances by Sabbath and Ozzy, the “Back to the Beginning” included performances by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, and more. View our complete coverage here, and see fan-filmed video of Black Sabbath’s performance below.