Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee has revealed that Tom Morello instigated his impending reunion spot with The Prince of Darkness at the Back to the Beginning show because he couldn’t see it happening without him.
The historic metal event, which takes place at Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, England, next month will see Ozzy and Black Sabbath grace the stage for one last time, with a host of guest musicians starring across both sets.
Sammy Hagar has already revealed the Ozzy song he’ll be performing on the night, while Jake E. Lee has spoken candidly about his position. While the world expects him to play his biggest Ozzy hit, Bark at the Moon, he’s admitted that health issues may force him to resort to plan B.
Furthermore, speaking in Guitar World’s latest print issue in the build-up to the big bow-out bash, Lee says he’s honored to have been invited. He hasn’t crossed paths with the Prince of Darkness since departing from the bad in 1987.
“Tom Morello called me. He said, ‘There's going to be a thing, an original Sabbath performance and Ozzy Osbourne's final performance. I can't see this going on without Jake E. Lee in there somewhere,’” he explains.
Lee was chosen as Ozzy’s full-time guitarist, following the untimely passing of Randy Rhoads, who helped shoot the Sabbath singer to solo stardom with two albums: Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981).
Lee's electric guitar exploits featured on two albums, Bark at the Moon (1983), and The Ultimate Sin (1986), before the virtuoso was replaced by Zakk Wylde.
“It's a thrill to be a part of it,” Lee says. “And even more so for me to watch it. I hope Ozzy can get through it. I haven't spoken with him or seen him in decades. I really don't know what condition he's in, but he deserves a final farewell performance.
“No matter how he is, or how well his singing is, he deserves to have that final farewell. I'm happy to be a part of it.”
Another key part of his Ozzy reign was playing Sabbath songs each night. For Rhoads, who wasn’t a Sabbath fan, he put Tony Iommi’s iconic riffs through his own lens. For Lee, it was a chance to doff his cap to one of his earliest guitar heroes.
“I was 13 and had just gotten into the whole rock 'n' roll thing,” he says of his earliest Sabbath experience. “I'd grown up playing classical piano and was a bit of a snob. I thought rock 'n' roll was stupid! Then I heard Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze…
“I love horror films, and that [debut album] opening track [Black Sabbath] was like listening to a horror movie. I don't know if I'd say I was scared, but it overwhelmed me. I'd never heard anything like it.
“[Iommi’s playing] just sounds evil,” he expands. “He bends so [that] it's not quite in pitch. It just made it sound so much better. There are things like that that I found challenging. It's unfathomable how he just kept coming up with riffs!
“Black Sabbath was one of my three favorite bands as a teenager, along with Led Zeppelin and Grand Funk Railroad. Every time I'm trying to set my stuff up to get the sound right, I play War Pigs!”
For those who missed out on a ticket to heavy metal’s hottest event in years, the chaos of the riff-infested frivolities will be available as a live stream.
To read Jake E. Lee’s interview in full, alongside conversations with the rest of Back to the Beginning’s bumper cast, head to Magazines Direct to grab a cop of Guitar World.
