Tom Morello promises even bigger names at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert

In a recent interview with Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips, guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine discussed his involvement in what he has dubbed “the greatest heavy metal show ever”—the charity event “Back To The Beginning” that will take place on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK. At the concert, Ozzy Osbourne will make his final solo appearance and Black Sabbath’s original lineup will play their final show ever. He was asked where the “preparation is at” right now and how he became involved with the show.

We had a big meeting about that earlier today. It came about Ozzy and Sharon asked me to do — they surprised me one day and said, ‘There’s gonna be one more Black Sabbath show, all four original members, the last-ever Ozzy Osbourne show. We wanna have a big day of celebration and will you help curate it?’ And I was, like, ‘Well, that’s crazy. But yes, of course.’ Heavy metal is the music that made me love music, and Black Sabbath invented heavy metal, Morello explained. “And Ozzy Osbourne, by discovering the guitarist Randy Rhoads, created, through Randy Rhoads, the music that inspired me to practice eight hours a day. So I owe a great debt to Ozzy and to Black Sabbath. And it’s an honor to be a part of it. Where it’s at now… First of all, when we first sat down, we have a very, very simple goal, and that’s to make this the greatest day in the history of heavy metal. And to that end, you’ve probably seen the listed setlist. And let me tell you, there’s some huge superstars who are gonna be surprises on that day too. So, the idea is to really acknowledge the importance of that band in a way that the whole world will forever know it.