If you needed any more proof that Black Sabbath’s farewell show was one for the history books, here it is.
Three of the most chaotic, revered and downright feral drummers in modern rock came together mid-show to absolutely obliterate ‘Symptom Of The Universe’.
Tool’s Danny Carey, Blink-182’s Travis Barker, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith stepped up for an onstage drum-off at Villa Park as part of the metal pioneers’ Back to the Beginning farewell blowout. And no — this wasn’t some token celebrity cameo. This was three monsters behind the kit throwing everything they had at one of Sabbath’s nastiest riffs, all while Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot/Ozzy) and Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) held down the rest of the track like it was their own.
You’d think it’d be chaotic — and it was — but it was also tight. Controlled chaos, three different styles colliding and complementing one another. Carey’s precision, Barker’s punk energy, Smith’s funk swagger. It was pure drummer porn.
Sabbath’s last show already boasted a bonkers lineup: Metallica, Slayer, Tool, KoRn, Gojira, Pantera, Soundgarden (what’s left of them), and even Yungblud for reasons we’re still unpacking. But this drum-off was the exclamation point. The moment where Sabbath’s influence was felt through every floor tom and cymbal crash.
Tom Morello served as musical director for the whole thing, and Jason Momoa hosted the night with full superhero energy. The show was beamed live across the world, and if you missed it, you can still buy access to the full stream — worth it for this drum jam alone.
Sabbath wrapped it all up with Ozzy wheezing through ‘Paranoid’ like his life depended on it, telling the crowd: “This is the last song ever.” But for a brief moment in the middle of that stacked lineup, it wasn’t about the end — it was about three drum gods, one song, and a crowd that knew they were watching history happen in real time.
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