Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello will serve as the musical director of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s star-packed farewell concert, “Back to the Beginning,” which takes place July 5 in Birmingham, U.K.
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In a recent interview with Chicago radio station WBEZ, Morello said he felt honored to be asked to oversee the event, which will take place in the Villa Park soccer stadium in Osbourne’s hometown.
“Heavy metal is the music that made me love music, and Black Sabbath is the band that invented heavy metal,” the acclaimed guitarist noted. “So, when Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne asked me to be the musical director of what’s going to be the last Black Sabbath show—the last Ozzy Osbourne show in the soccer stadium that’s like a half-block down from where Ozzy Osbourne and [Black Sabbath bassist] Geezer Butler … grew up—I was honored to do that.”
Morello also shared some details about the show.
“Right now, we have like, 14 bands,” Tom explained. “You know, it’s Metallica, Guns N’ Roses. It’s like, all the biggest bands in the history of heavy metal. The show is gonna be about 10 hours long, but it’s gonna be a salute to a genre that people all around the world love.”
He added, “I’m interested in a lot of different kinds of music now, but I never would have been interested in any kind of music had it not been for metal.”
Morello Will Be Taking part in a Special Performance
Besides being the musical director, Morello is among the many well-known musicians who will be playing at the concert. He told WBEZ that he’ll team up with two other famous Chicago-area rockers for a special performance at the show.
“[T]this may be a little bit of a spoiler alert,” Tom noted. “Adam Jones, the guitarist of Tool, he and I went to Libertyville High School together and played in a band. Billy Corgan, the singer of Smashing Pumpkins, grew up a few suburbs over. The three of us are going to play together for the first time ever at the show.”
More About the “Back to the Beginning” Concert
As previously reported, the “Back to the Beginning” concert will feature Osbourne playing a short solo set before briefly joining his Black Sabbath bandmates for a special performance. Osbourne, who’s suffered from various health issues in recent years, announced recently that he won’t be doing a full set with his bandmates at the event.
The show also will feature sets by aforementioned Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, as well as Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Halestorm, Rival Sons, Anthrax, Lamb of God, Mastodon, and Gojira.
In addition, the concert will feature appearances by a variety of other guest singers and musicians. Among them are Morello, Corgan, Sammy Hagar, Disturbed’s David Draiman, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Korn’s Jonathan Davis, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Wolfgang Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Rudy Sarzo, ex-Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, and Faith No More’s Mike Bordin.
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