Soundgarden Reveal Why They Didn’t Perform at Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning Show

Soundgarden say they were “super bummed” to miss Black Sabbath’s farewell concert due to scheduling conflicts.

Soundgarden have shared a heartfelt tribute to Black Sabbath following the band’s farewell Back To The Beginning concert earlier this month, revealing they were invited to take part but couldn’t make it work.

In a statement posted to social media on July 13, surviving members Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron confirmed they were approached by the show’s musical director, Tom Morello, to join the lineup at Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5. Scheduling issues meant they had to decline, but they didn’t miss the chance to publicly honour one of their biggest influences.

“Congratulations to Black Sabbath on the grand and final pealing of their vesper bells,” the statement reads.

“Thank you for an astounding career that provided us and your legion of fans with a lifetime of beauty, horror, love, power, happiness, melancholy and a profoundly sublime, yet viscerally rocking transcendence informed by both doom and hope. Your majestic brilliance has inspired greatness in scores of other bands, musicians and songwriters. However, the crown will forever remain yours!”

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The band went on to say, “We are very grateful to Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, as well as Sharon Osbourne and music director, Tom Morello for the honour and invitation to Soundgarden to perform at the Back to the Beginning festival! We are super bummed and regret that we were unable to coordinate the schedules of our individual and collective projects to attend and contribute to the festival. The warmth, love and support from the Black Sabbath team has been a continuing source of encouragement and strength throughout our career.”

The post was shared via the Nudedragons Instagram account alongside a photo of Soundgarden meeting Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi at Download Festival in 2012.

While some fans had speculated post-show that Sharon Osbourne’s claim about removing a band from the lineup referred to Soundgarden, this statement puts that theory to rest.

The Back To The Beginning concert marked the final performance by Black Sabbath’s original lineup and raised $190 million for charity, making it one of the most successful benefit shows in history.