LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe has paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne after the BLACK SABBATH singer died earlier today at the age of 76.
Blythe took to his social media to share a photo of him with Ozzy and he wrote: “Like most of you reading this, I am immensely sad right now.
“This picture was taken 10 days ago, at @comicconmidlands- I was with my pals @scottianthrax & @thefrankbello. Our friend @malfuncsean took us back into Ozzy‘s green room— we hung out for a good half hour & had some laughs with the Prince of Darkness.
“Know this: Ozzy was in a GREAT mood, & still buzzing over the ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert. I thanked him for having @lambofgod on the show, & told him ‘We just went by 14 Lodge Road two days ago’ (his childhood home in Birmingham.) Ozzy looked up & gave me an huge grin & said ‘Boy, I’ll bet that fucking guy who lives there now is sick of hearing about me!’ & started laughing really hard. It was great to see!
“I do not claim to have been close to him, but I’ve had several interactions with Ozzy over the years. Yes, Ozzy was a TRUE ROCK N’ ROLL MADMAN- they don’t build ’em like him anymore. But I also knew him as a kind & gentle man who, alongside his family, did so much for my band, & more personally, spoke out publicly on my behalf when I was facing serious legal issues.
“When you are in a foreign prison & inmates you don’t know come up to you suddenly acting impressed & saying ‘Ozzy Osbourne says good things for you!’ in broken English… trust me, it makes a difference.
“Thank you for that, mate.
“So yes, I’m very sad right now— but my heart is also full. Ozzy got to say goodbye, & he got to do it on HIS terms, with HIS band. One last time the mighty SABBATH roared… & we all watched in awe.
“While in the green room, I had Ozzy sign my shoes, the ones I am holding in this photo- there were only 121 pairs of these Adidas made, strictly as thank you gifts to performers at the ‘Back To The Beginning’ show. I told Ozzy I was going to auction them off to further benefit the charities that the concert raised money for, & he was well pleased by this.
“And so I shall.
“This is how I would like to thank & honor him for all he did for music, my band, & myself. The shoes will be part of a larger auction that is being organized right now. Details soon.
“Thank you Ozzy. We love you.
“‘Show the world that love is still alive, you must be brave…'”
Ozzy died Tuesday morning (July 22),his family announced in a statement.
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” the family said.
No cause of death was given, but Osbourne had battled a number of health issues over the past several years, including Parkinson’s disease and injuries he sustained from a late-night fall in 2019.
The day after LAMB OF GOD took the stage at “Back To The Beginning” — where the Richmond, Virginia metallers covered BLACK SABBATH‘s “Children Of The Grave” — Blythe took to his social media to write: “I do not have the words to explain what merely being at, much less performing at, BLACK SABBATH‘s final show yesterday felt like. I’m still trying to process it- it’s crazy.
“I have been in my band for 30 years now, and I have played many, many shows in that time. But the overwhelming energy at this show— in the audience, in the backstage area, and onstage (because I was in all 3 areas at different times)— was something I have never felt before, and I know I never will again. It was something DIFFERENT, something very, very special.
“If you play in a heavy metal band, or are a fan of any heavy metal music, then know that your roots lay in Birmingham, starting way back in 1968 with four working class Englishmen named Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, & Bill Ward. They created this. PERIOD. For those of us who make this music, there will never be another chance to play with the original creators again. That was IT… & it was amazing.
“If you were there in the audience, you should know that every single band member I talked to- from MASTODON who opened the show up all the way to METALLICA who played right before Ozzy– was nervous to go onstage… & I do mean EVERYONE (God knows I was.) It a sign of our respect for the dudes who created this music that we all felt this way. We all wanted to honor them, to show respect, to thank them for this wild-ass life that they have given us, and to do justice to their tunes— all of us get to travel the world & play this music because of what these four guys started. Then to see those four guys give it one last glorious whirl, four songs… it was earth shattering.
“So thank you BLACK SABBATH, thank you Birmingham, & thank you to all the fans who came out yesterday to help us give SABBATH a proper send off. We also raised A LOT of money yesterday for 3 different charities- Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, & Acorn Children’s Hospice. None of the bands took a single penny for this gig- hell, none of us even got a guestlist! I am so happy to have witnessed it & beyond grateful to have been asked to be a part of it. A simply unbelievable day…”
“Back To The Beginning” took place on Saturday, July 5 in BLACK SABBATH‘s original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom. The nine-hour event, hosted by actor Jason Momoa at Villa Park, saw over a dozen bands play at least one BLACK SABBATH or Ozzy Osbourne cover as they paid homage to the SABBATH singer, who has Parkinson’s disease.
Hours after LAMB OF GOD‘s performance at “Back To The Beginning”, the band released a studio version of “Children Of The Grave” on streaming music services.
“LAMB OF GOD being invited to perform with BLACK SABBATH at their final show is one of the greatest honors of our career,” LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton said in a statement. “As an offering to the celebration, we’ve recorded our take on their classic ‘Children Of The Grave’, a protest song with lyrics that are as relevant today as they were in 1971 when the original was released.”
“BLACK SABBATH invented heavy metal and in doing so, they changed the world,” Morton continued. “This genre that they created brings immeasurable joy to fans all over the world. We are so grateful to have the heavy metal community to call our home, and so grateful to BLACK SABBATH for the gift of their music that they’ve given to all of us.”
Curated by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, “Back To The Beginning” featured arguably the greatest lineup of rock and metal bands ever assembled on one day.
The concert for Ozzy Osbourne, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease several years ago and billed the event as his final onstage performance, marked the first time original BLACK SABBATH bandmembers — Ozzy, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — performed together in 20 years.
More than 40,000 fans attended “Back To The Beginning”, which also saw performances from Ozzy‘s solo band, GUNS N’ ROSES, METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX, among others. Profits from the show will be shared equally between the charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
There was also an online auction benefiting those charities. Items up for bid included two Gibson guitars signed by performers, a GUNS N’ ROSES pinball machine, several gold record and CD displays including BLACK SABBATH‘s “Paranoid”, LED ZEPPELIN‘s “Physical Graffiti” and METALLICA‘s “Master Of Puppets”, plus more than a dozen travel packages.
In the final segment, Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward performed a set of classic SABBATH songs “War Pigs”, “N.I.B.”, “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”. Osbourne, who had performed from a black-winged throne, was then presented with a cake, while fireworks lit up the stadium from overhead.
At the end of the set, Ozzy said: “It’s the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
A message on screen then read, “Thank you for everything, you guys are fucking amazing. Birmingham Forever,” before the sky lit up with fireworks.
A livestream of the daylong event was announced in June. While it was called a livestream, the video was delayed two hours from the in-arena start time.
