Tonight, July 5, Black Sabbath and their frontman Ozzy Osbourne, are playing their very last gigs, at Villa Park, in their hometown Birmingham.
The Back To The Beginning mega-gig has already hosted abbreviated performances from Mastodon, Rival Sons, Anthrax, Halestorm, Lamb of God, and Gojira, with each of the artists including a performance of a cover of either a Black Sabbath song, or an Ozzy Osbourne solo hit in their brief sets.
Mastodon played Supernaut, Rival Sons took on Electric Funeral, Anthrax covered Into The Void, Halestorm ran through Ozzy's Perry Mason, Lamb of God brutalised Children Of The Grave, and Gojira plumped for Under The Sea.
But arguably the most striking and stirring cover performed in the opening hours of what might be the greatest one-day metal show ever, came courtesy of a one-off supergroup who only practised together for the first time yesterday.
Featuring the Ozzy Osbourne-approved Yungblud on lead vocals, Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt on guitar, Anthrax's Frank Bello on bass, Sleep Token's II on drums and Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne touring keyboardist Adam Wakeman on keys, the quintet delivered a superb tale on Black Sabbath's Changes, originally featured on the group's fourth album, Vol. 4, released in 1972. With Yungblud rising to the occasion magnificently, the cover had grown men and women in the sell-out crowd in tears.
Watch the performance below.
Back in 2022, Ozzy Osbourne hailed Yungblud as a kindred spirit and offered him some heartfelt careers advice.
The encounter between the fast-rising Doncaster-born musician and British metal's most beloved national treasure took place in Pomona, California, during the filming of Yungblud's video for The Funeral, the lead single from his self-titled third album, which featured not only a cameo from Ozzy Osbourne, but also a guest appearance from Sharon Osbourne too.
"A lot of people compare me and Ozzy," Yungblud told Louder earlier this year. "Not our music, cos that’s different, but I believe we have this unfiltered fucking thing that is hard to put your finger on."
"If you can be completely truthful, people aren't going to get it, and then they’re gonna get it," he continued. "For a period you’re gonna be loved, and for a period you’re gonna be hated. And Ozzy was, like, ‘That’s the journey. When you look back at it at 70, that’s the fucking fun bit, you look back at it and go, Fucking hell, that was mad, or that was a rough time, or that was a great time.
"And he said, ‘You don‘t want to live your life censoring it, or don’t be a rock star’. He said, 'You get this opportunity because you are not afraid to say the things other people will be. So when you stop fucking doing that, you ain’t a rock star any more'."
"That shit hit me like a ton of bricks," Yungblud concluded. "Because, Fuck, yeah!"
The Back To The Beginning show will climax with performances from Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne solo, and finally the original Black Sabbath line-up.
