After nearly two decades away from the fold, Bill Ward finally stepped back behind the kit with Black Sabbath. And in doing so, he gave fans the ending they’ve been begging for.
On July 5, at Birmingham’s Villa Park, the classic lineup of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ward closed the curtain on one of metal’s most era-defining stories.
Dubbed Back to the Beginning, the all-star, multi-generational send-off brought Sabbath home with a bang—and with the lineup that should’ve closed the book all along. Ward, who was controversially absent from the band’s original “final” tour, was replaced back then by Tommy Clufetos live and Brad Wilk in the studio. But this time, it was the real deal: the founding four, shoulder to shoulder, loud as hell, and locked in.
Now, in a heartfelt post shared after the show, Ward has broken his silence and reflected on what the night meant to him—and to heavy music as a whole.
“The handshakes and embraces and kind words from fellow musicians are still foremost in my often fading memory,” he wrote. “To be with Iron Man and War Pigs, to slam and reach for my undone musical parts… for however briefly, to be in the reality of memories.”
If that doesn’t get you misty, I’m afraid you might be dead inside.
Ward’s note is heavy with gratitude—for his bandmates, the crew, and most of all, the fans. “To all thank you, thank you. You are truly immortal,” he signed off. A fitting farewell from the man who helped invent the backbeat of doom.
Sabbath didn’t just bow out. They went out on their own terms, with their original drummer finally in his rightful place. And with Ward’s words now etched into the postscript, it’s clear: Black Sabbath’s end wasn’t just the end of a band. Really, it was the closing chapter of metal mythology giving way to what comes next.
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