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Here’s eight things we still can’t believe happened at the Back to the Beginning Concert.
Other than the fact we can’t believe that two of us at Loudwire made it out to Birmingham for this historic event, there’s more than a handful of particular moments and things in totality that really are mind-blowing.
We all knew this was going to be a star-studded, spectacular concert, the likes of which metal has never seen and will never see again. After it all ended and we got to take in the scope of it all, one thing that struck us was that basically all of Paranoid was played that day.
That’s one example of something that goes beyond any one individual moment, but it’s not the only instance of that.
And who ever could have predicted that one individual guitarist [who wasn’t even billed as a performer] would spend the most time onstage of anyone?!
Below, see those seven things we can’t believe happened at Back to the Beginning!
1. Ozzy Sang 9 Songs + Half of Blizzard of Ozz
Almost everyone doubted him. And they were all proven wrong!
It’s true — Ozzy Osbourne has been dealing with a myriad of serious and debilitating health issues over the last few years. He didn’t sing at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction last year, so naturally some (a lot of) doubt on his abilities was cast on the Back to the Beginning farewell.
I had speculated that the Prince of Darkness would perform maybe six songs total — three from his solo catalog and three with Black Sabbath.
Nope! Ozzy gave us nine songs in total, including half of his debut album. Okay, a little less than half, but “Dee” is a 50-second instrumental, so we’re really dealing with eight Blizzard songs that could have been on the table for the big show.
He kicked it off with the album-opener “I Don’t Know,” also performing “Mr. Crowley,” “Suicide Solution” and, to close out the set, “Crazy Train.” The only non-Blizzard of Ozz song was “Mama I’m Coming Home,” which Ozzy choked himself up before singing, talking about the last few years and how much this final performance means to him.
Ozzy Osbourne, “I Don’t Know”
As for Sabbath, they delighted everyone with four songs, launching into “War Pigs” after rain-soaked sound that teased their eponymous song to start their last-ever set. Then came “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid” for our final glimpse at Black Sabbath onstage.
Ozzy completely overdelivered! And he sounded GREAT!
Black Sabbath, “Paranoid”
2. Nuno Bettencourt Played More Songs Than Anyone
Not even the best oddsmaker in Las Vegas could have come up with a prop bet where the house wins on Nuno Bettencourt playing more songs than anyone else at Back to the Beginning.
It’s not that he’s unqualified or anything — far from it. It’s just that nobody really knew what to expect from all the special guests on top of the bands on the bill. And Bettencourt even being there was a surprise as he wasn’t previously billed.
Essentially serving as the house guitarist for the bulk of the pair of supergroup performances, Bettencourt absolutely shined. A known virtuoso who plays in Extreme and has served as a live guitarist for Rihanna, the guitarist aced a wealth of songs throughout the day, as seen below.
Bravo, Nuno!
- “The Ultimate Sin” (Ozzy Osbourne)
- “Sweet Leaf” (Black Sabbath)
- “Believer” (Ozzy Osbourne)
- “Changes” (Black Sabbath)
- “Symptom of the Universe” (Black Sabbath — drum-off)
- “Flying High Again” (Ozzy Osbourne)
- “Rock Candy” (Montrose)
- “Bark at the Moon” (Ozzy Osbourne)
- “Train Kept A-Rollin'” (Aerosmith cover of Tiny Bradshaw)
- “Walk This Way” (Aersomith)
- “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin)
“Bark at the Moon” – Back to the Beginning
“The Ultimate Sin” – Back to the Beginning
3. What Vocal Injury? Steven Tyler Absolutely CRUSHED
Steven Tyler, the “Demon of Screamin’,” retains his title after belting out three songs — “Train Kept A-Rollin’,” (which even featured Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones) “Walk This Way” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” with the second supergroup of the night.
Aerosmith canceled a farewell tour and announced their retirement from touring in August last summer. Tyler had been battling vocal injuries, which proved to be too much to mount the full-scale comeback on the road.
No evidence of any issues were present onstage on July 5 as the singer gave a vintage performance on that trio of stadium-sized classics.
The songs have no connection to Ozzy or Sabbath, but proved to be a welcome sort of intermission before Pantera, Tool, Slayer, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica took the stage to continue the tributes with 10 more Black Sabbath covers in all.
“Whole Lotta Love” – Back to the Beginning
4. By the End of the Day, Just About All of Paranoid Was Performed
Between a mix of covers and Black Sabbath performing their own songs, every song off Paranoid was performed, with the exception of the two-and-a-half-minute instrumental “Rat Salad.”
And that’s fine. I doubt any of the 45,000 people in attendance or the reported five million watching the livestream thought to themselves, “That show would’ve been perfect if they played my favorite Black Sabbath song — ‘Rat Salad.'”
For all of Maynard James Keenan‘s pre-show agonizing that no decision-making in Tool is ever easy or done in a timely fashion, the quiet/loud dynamic of “Hand of Doom” was perfectly suited for them. In hindsight, it even feels like the obvious choice. And the segue into “Aenima” was one of the smoothest transitions back to original material during the day.
We got a double dose of covers from Pantera, too!
- “War Pigs” (performed by Black Sabbath)
- “Paranoid” (performed by Black Sabbath)
- “Planet Caravan” (performed by Pantera)
- “Iron Man” (performed by Black Sabbath)
- “Electric Funeral” (performed by Rival Sons and Pantera)
- “Hand of Doom” (performed by Tool)
- “Fairies Wear Boots” (performed by Alice in Chains)
Tool, “Hand of Doom”
Pantera, “Planet Caravan”
5. Yungblud’s Surprise Addition Results in One of the Day’s Best Covers
One of the most-talked about covers of the day was Yungblud singing the Vol. 4 ballad “Changes.”
The 27-year-old U.K. alt-rocker was a late addition to the festivities and many questioned if he was indeed worthy of such a spotlight. Less than five minutes later, he had overtaken the stadium with a stunning performance, flanked by Anthrax bassist Frank Bello, Bettencourt, Ozzy keyboardist Adam Wakeman and Sleep Token drummer II.
Getting 45,000 people in the mix to sing part of the song near the end was a major vibe shift, foreshadowing the rush of emotions later felt as Black Sabbath concluded their final song. It was the perfect touch of tenderness the afternoon needed to help round out our shared perspective on it all.
Yungblud Sings “Changes”
Footage later surfaced of Yungblud gifting Ozzy with a cross necklace, repaying the favor as the Prince of Darkness had previously given him one. The two talk for a couple of minutes too and it’ll have you crying all over again.
6. Marina Viotti Joined Gojira for “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!) + Joined the Crowd Later
The feel good hit of last summer was Gojira‘s epic and insanely metal performance at the Olympics opening ceremony in France.
Playing at another historic event for a second summer, these juggernauts reprised that now legendary moment by playing “Mea Culpa (Ah! ça ira!)” for the Birmingham crowd and, once again, millions watching at home.
The big surprise was opera singer Marina Viotti, who was part of that Olympics performance, joining them onstage as well.
But wait, there’s more! She even hopped into the crowd a couple dozen feet back from the stage to watch some of the other bands, including Metallica!
Thanks for embracing our scene and community, Marina!
Gojira, “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)”
7. Three Songs Off Never Say Die! Were Covered
In the lead-up to July 5, all we heard from artist playing the show is that the song they’re covering keeps changing.
Well, we know which three songs there were probably no arguments over!
Hey, the title track is pretty awesome, but the rest of the album is for the most battle-tested diehards and… still there for the morbidly curious. And Ozzy’s vocals on “Johnny Blade” is a genuine highlight too.
Leave it to Guns N’ Roses, who have an affinity for mining obscure covers, to pluck two songs off this record (“Never Say Die,” “Junior’s Eyes”). Metallica, meanwhile, like to play the contrarians from time to time, so “Johnny Blade” is appropriate here too.
If Tool had done this, it would’ve felt like they were trolling. But these two bands are known for deep cuts (GN’R even played an abbreviated version of “It’s Alright” off the equally maligned Technical Ecstasy).
Guns N’ Roses, “Never Say Die”
Metallica, “Johnny Blade”
Guns N’ Roses, “Junior’s Eyes”
8. Actually… All Of It. And the Amount of Money Raised for Charity!
It doesn’t feel real. We’ve never seen a tribute for the living on a scale such as this one. We’re so happy for Ozzy and Black Sabbath that their peers came from across the globe to come salute them. They took over their home town and left it for the better after taking their final bow.
None of the performers were paid to do this and there’s estimates that the Back to the Beginning concert raised roughly £140M (roughly $190M) for three charities — Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Charity, Acorns Children’s Hospice and Parkinson’s UK.
Everything about this was a positively amazing success!
Favorite Black Sabbath Album of 21 Rock + Metal Legends
Members of Metallica, Iron Maiden, and even Sabbath themselves reveal their favorite titles from the band’s catalog.
Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll
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