Back to the Beginning was a concert that fans will tell their children about – the night that the bat took its last flight home.

★★★★★ (5/5)

**OZZY OSBOURNE PERFORMING AT BACK TO THE BEGINNING CONCERT**
**PHOTOCREDIT: ROSS HALFLIN**

Villa Park in Birmingham is more than just a little suburban English city tonight – it is sacred ground, where history is about to be made not for the first but the second time. In 1968, four fellas from this area joined together to form a small band called Black Sabbath. In 2025, in a thunderous and emotional crescendo, the same four fellas brought the curtain down to one of the most influential careers in music history with a final concert: Back to the Beginning.

The concert is more than just a show: it is a generational spectacle, echoing the global unity and legacy of Live Aid, but for heavy metal. And in heavy metal’s birthplace, it feels extremely lucky to be one of the only 40,000 present to witness the end of an era that has defined generation upon generation, music genres, artists of all scale and calibre, and of course, has shaped the world of heavy metal to what it is today. And the scale of such a show was monumental: a sold out football stadium, a rotating mega-stage, a star-studded line-up and millions of people streaming globally – it felt like a celebration more than a farewell.

Inviting ‘a few friends from heavy metal camp’ to pay their tributes to The Prince of Darkness never felt more suitable, only this time the few friends were Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Halestorm, Gojira, Lamb of God, Mastodon and Rival Sons. If that was not enough, surprise appearances included the iconic Steven Tyler, Slash, Jake E Lee, Fred Durst, Lzzy hale, Jonathan Davis, KK Downing, Yungblud and a pre-recorded video of Jack Black singing Mr Crowley with the next generation of shredders, as well as a few video tributes from Judas Priest, Korn, Elton John, AC/DC and Ricky Gervais among others. In a heartfelt moment, Randy Roads’ sister also got to pay tribute as a short video of Randy’s career was also played during one of the changeovers. Did we also say Brian May was watching from the audience? Yes, he was.

Before we get onto specifics, it is important to note that all these bands had very short sets, and they were mostly done to perform covers of Ozzy or Black Sabbath. In between, Slipknot’s Sid DJ’ed to keep the atmosphere. Incredibly, there was not a single delay in any set. Like clockwork, every band was on stage exactly when they needed to be, to the point were taking a break from the gig was next to impossible – unless you were prepared to miss a couple of sets. It was impressive to see how smoothly and well-run the whole day was, and it definitely made people not want to miss a beat. And every band acted as a torch-bearer, passing it on to the next until the peak of the night.

The setlist was a journey through times, with covers being performed by bands and supergroups as a celebration of how influential these songs have been to the bands themselves as well as the fans gathered. Some of the highlights were Anthrax performing ‘Into the Void’, Halestorm’s ‘Perry Mason’, Lamb of God’s ‘Children of the Grave’, Tom Morello’s all stars like Jake E Lee and Adam Wakeman joining various other artists to perform ‘Shot in the Dark’, whilst the ultimate performer of the first supergroup was definitely Yungblud with ‘Changes’. Given how difficult it is to stand out when you are performing alongside metal’s greatest legends, Yungblud’s voice was not only powerful enough to earn him new fans, but also brought a lot of people to absolute tears. That was definitely the first moment the whole gig felt very Live Aid, a moment in time that felt so commanding, it will definitely be remembered for decades to come.

The afternoon continued on with Alice in Chains’ ‘Fairies Wear Boots’, Gojira’s ‘Under The Sun’, an epic drum-off between Travis Barker, Chad Smith and Danny Carey joined by Tom Morello, Nuno Battencourt and Rudy Sarzo, and then Billy Corgan signing ‘Snowblind’ with KK Downing on the guitar, whilst later on Sammy Hagar performed ‘Flying High Again’, Papa V Perpetua absolutely turned it up a notch with ‘Bark at The Moon’, whilst Steven Tyler topped off the cake with an Aerosmith/Led Zeppelin medley for the books. Once again, when you gather so many icons together, it is difficult to single out a one of them, but Steven Tyler commanded the stage with his presence, that he was definitely one of the highlights of the gig himself.

We are now getting onto the final countdown, as the larger bands of the bill start hitting the stage, this time performing their own crowd-favourite songs alongside covers. Pantera had the crowd singing along to ‘Walk’ and ‘Planet Caravan’ alike, Tool’s ‘Hand of Doom’ has people’s eyes peeled, Slayer’s ‘Wicked World’ followed by ‘South of Heaven’ has moshpits opening up at various places in the standing area, exploding when ‘Raining Blood’ and ‘Angel of Death’ came on. As if that was not enough, Guns N’ Roses came on stage to perform four (!) Sabbath covers alongside a couple of their own songs, with Slash’s solos commanding the audience. And the final act before Ozzy himself were none other than Metallica, performing ‘Johnny Blade’ and a thunderous ‘Master of Puppets’ to close off the set.

Seated on a dark gothic throne, crowned by laser-lift fog and thunder, The Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne emerged from the stage. Though physically limited, his voice cut through the night air like a blade. He was obviously not only extremely happy to be there, but he gave it 110% to close off the final show of his career. His set with Ozzy was not just powered by force and emotion, it was a rollercoaster. Backed by Zakk Wylde, Blasko and Tommy Clufetos, they performed ‘Crazy Train’, ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home’ and ‘I Don’t Know’ with clarity that made time feel irrelevant. It was raw, defiant Ozzy, on his throne as he should be, looking down and smiling at the people who cried their eyes out or sang along like this was their last day on earth. And this became history.

But this was not the end. The original Black Sabbath lineup – Tommy Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – took the stage at dusk beside Ozzy for their final, earth-shaking set. It marked their first complete reunion since 2005 and it was nothing short of incredible. Performing ‘War Pigs’, “N.I.B’, ‘Iron Man’ and finally, “Paranoid”, Ozzy’s final song ever, it felt like the emotion and legacy of this band cannot be put into words. Musicians in their wings raised their fists and the audience cheered under the fireworks – the final communion of a band that invented and defined a genre of music.

Much like Live Aid in 1985, Back to the Beginning was a cultural rite – raising millions for Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Childen’s Hospital and Acorns Hospice, amassing 5.8 million viewers globally, the concert offered a platform for cross-generational unity. It was not about chart positions or album sales, it was about legacy, impact and closure, a final bow to one of the most iconic frontmen in music history. Ozzy was very visibly moved, very visibly emotional as the final notes of Paranoid rang in the place where it all began and the place where it ends.

In a world that is increasingly ruled by fleeting trends, Ozzy Osbourne’s final show was a monument to longevity, rebellion and soul. Ozzy showed that nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop rock n roll – physical impairments, band rifts, distance, time difference, age gaps. There is nothing that can stop the greatest frontman of heavy metal from giving his all for a performance and showing that not only he still has it, but he never lost it. When fleeting rockstars rise and fall, Ozzy stands tall and above all of them – in a full circle celebration of the godfather of metal, performed in a place where legends are born and where they came back to say goodbye.

Back to the Beginning was a concert that fans will tell their children about – the night that the bat took its last flight home.