Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne's final show: The 10 most amazing moments

7 July 2025, 11:18

Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne - Back to the Beginning. Picture: YouTube

By Mayer Nissim

Black Sabbath take us Back to the Beginning for a glorious farewell.

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We never thought it would be possible but it actually happened. At Villa Park in Birmingham, Black Sabbath returned for one last time for a final concert.

The Back to the Beginning show on Saturday night (July 5) was more than just a Sabbath reunion, though the highlight was of course seeing Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward together on stage one last time.

It was a remarkable celebration of all things heavy metal, with an all-star cast of bands taking to the stage one after the other to pay tribute to the genre and its forefathers.

Even better still, all the money raised from the event will be divided equally between Acorns Children's Hospice, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Cure Parkinson's.

Below we round up the ten best moments from a day that will go down in metal history.

Anthrax play 'Into The Void' wearing Black Sabbath t-shirts

Anthrax - Into The Void (Black Sabbath cover)

Most bands on the bill played a couple of their own numbers plus an Ozzy or Sabbath cover, and after openers Mastodon played 'Supernaut' and Rival Sons impressed with 'Electric Funeral', Anthrax included a brilliant version of 'Into The Void'.
Extra points for the cute matching Black Sabbath T-shirts.
Pantera do 'Electric Funeral'

Pantera, Electric Funeral at Villa Park

Pantera have already covered 'Electric Funeral' in the studio, so it was no surprise how powerful their performance was when they got up on stage.
They also played Sabbath's 'Planet Caravan', as well as their own numbers.
"Without Sabbath, there would be no Metallica"

Metallica - "Hole In the Sky" - Live @ Villa Park 2025 (Back to the Beginning)

As one of the biggest bands int he world, Metallica had one of the longest sets of the whole day, with six songs.
That meant they could squeeze in four of their own numbers as well as a couple of Sabbath tracks, but they were at pains to pay their respects to their biggest influence.
"Without Sabbath, there would be no Metallica"
Billy Corgan and co do 'Breaking The Law'

Breaking The Law - Downing, Corgan, Morello, Sarzo, Jones, Carey

Organiser and Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello organised not one but two supergroup sets for Back to the Beginning.
The second set especially was a real highlight of the whole day, with multiple high points.
It opened with Danny Carey, Billy Corgan, K. K. Downing, Adam Jones and Rudy Sarzo covering Judas Priest's 'Breaking The Law'.
Jason Momoa intros the event and stagedives during Pantera

Jason Momoa Joins Mosh Pit At Black Sabbath's Final Concert

Metal and Sabbath superman and Game of Thrones/A Minecraft Movie star Jason Momoa got the gig of MCing proceedings, and as well as a tender introduction to the metal festivities ("Metal is in all of our DNA – every character I’ve ever played has been inspired by this music and built by this music"), he got stuck in during the performances too.
Yep, that's the actual Jason Momoa stage diving during Pantera's set.
Ronnie Wood joins Steven Tyler for 'Walk This Way'

Steven Tyler / Ronnie Wood "Train kept a rollin" Birmingham 5.7.2025

For all their accolades, there are few artists on the bill that can claim the influence of Black Sabbath.
Rolling Stones man Ronnie Wood is one of them, though, and he popped up as part of the second supergroup together with Morello, Nuno Bettencourt, Travis Barker, Rudy Sarzo, Andrew Watt and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler
They played 'Train Kept A-Rollin'', an old rhythm and blues number first recorded by Tiny Bradshaw in 1951.
As well as being a stonking, starry performance, it was also a rare moment on the day that showed the influences on Sabbath and how their music is part of that richer rock tapestry going back in time as well as forwards.
Yungblud does 'Changes'

Yungblud - "Changes" - Live @ Villa Park 2025 ('Back to the Beginning')

Many of the artists on the bill were, if not quite as old as Sabbath themselves, elder statesmen of rock by now.
A rare exception was the appropriately named Yungblud, whose cover of the tender 'Changes' was an emotional moment and proof that Black Sabbath are still influencing today's artists.
Guns N' Roses play 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'

Guns N Roses - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Back To The Beginning Live at Villa Park Birmingham 05/07/25

Slash has been back in Guns N' Roses now for nearly a decade, which is quite remarkable.
The band have very much hit their stride and, top of the bill bar Metallica and Ozzy/Sabbath themselves, were one of the main attractions of the night, also proving that Sabbath's influence on rock went way beyond pure metal.
Their setlist was tribute heavy in the extreme, playing just two of their own songs ('Welcome to the Jungle' and 'Paradise City') and FOUR Sabbath songs from across their career, with the best being a storming version of 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'.
'Crazy Train': Ozzy’s solo set proves he still has it

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train - Back To The Beginning Live at Villa Park Birmingham 05/07/25

After all the love poured out on stage, there were still concerns about the Ozzy/Sabbath sets themselves.
Would Osbourne be well enough to actually pull it off? Does he still have the voice to make this whole thing worthwhile?

Before he was joined by his bandmates, Ozzy served up an immaculate five song solo set, backed by Tommy Clufetos, Mike Inez, Wakeman, Zakk Wylde.
He played:
1. I Don't Know
2. Mr. Crowley
3. Suicide Solution
4. Mama, I'm Coming Home
5. Crazy Train
GO F**KING CRAZY: Black Sabbath's final curtain

Black Sabbath (Back to the Beginning)

Of course they saved the best till last. Black Sabbath, featuring all four original members for the first time since 2005, up on stage one last time.
They played just four songs, one from their debut Black Sabbath and the other three from their masterpiece Paranoid.
Black Sabbath played:
1. War Pigs
2. N.I.B.
3. Iron Man
4. Paranoid
Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler served up a wall of power and noise, and over it all was Ozzy's fabulous vocals and exhortations to the crowd to let themselves go, one last time.
They were only too happy to oblige.