It’s the end of an era. Black Sabbath are finally bowing out.
But ahead of tomorrow night’s stacked farewell at Birmingham’s Villa Park, guitarist Tony Iommi has confirmed what fans have quietly feared: Ozzy Osbourne will only be performing four songs.
Is it disappointing? I mean, maybe. But is it understandable, I’d say so. I mean, the man’s been through hell—surgeries, Parkinson’s, rehab, more surgeries—and he still wants to get up there and scream his guts out one last time. That’s not weakness, that’s actually punk.
Speaking to the BBC, Iommi admitted the band are feeling the nerves. “Over 40,000 people are coming from all over the world,” he said. “I just can’t absorb it.” And he’s not kidding. With a bill that includes Metallica, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice In Chains and even Steven bloody Tyler, this show’s less a gig and more a pilgrimage. Hosted by Jason Momoa and musically directed by Rage’s Tom Morello, it’s set to be the heaviest love letter Birmingham has ever received.
But back to Ozzy. Four songs. That’s it. No full set, no pyro-heavy solo breakouts. Just the Prince of Darkness giving whatever’s left of his battered body and bulletproof vocal cords to the fans that made him a god.
“I’ll do the best I can,” Ozzy said earlier this year. “All I can do is turn up.” It’s the kind of humility you don’t expect from a man once caught biting the head off a bat. But now, at 75 and unable to walk without assistance, he’s still determined to show up and say thank you.
Tony Iommi put it best: “We’re never going to do this again. This will be it.”
So yeah, Ozzy’s only doing four songs. And they’ll probably be the most important four songs you’ll ever hear live.
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