Judas Priest has officially released a studio cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” just days before the Ozzy Osbourne-fronted metal pioneers play their final concert. While Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Richie Faulkner, Andy Sneap, Ian Hill, and Scott Travis won’t be performing at the Back to the Beginning event in Birmingham, UK this Saturday, they’ve paid tribute to Sabbath by recording a version of the Paranoid classic—one that has long served as Priest‘s walk-on music at live shows. A performance video for the track has also been shared.
In a statement, Priest said: “We are honored to show our love for Ozzy and Black Sabbath with our homage of “War Pigs”, a song we play at every show around the world that fans sing along to, reinforcing their love as well for the legendary Prince of Darkness!”
Earlier this year, Halford shared his disappointment over not being able to attend Sabbath‘s final gig. Speaking to Metal Hammer in May, he said: “I was absolutely gutted.”
He explained the scheduling conflict arose because Judas Priest had already committed to performing at Scorpions’ 60th-anniversary show in Hannover, Germany, which falls on the same date—July 5—as the Sabbath concert at Villa Park.
“I had no idea [the Sabbath show] was happening. It all got announced and was a big deal — [the Hannover concert featuring] Scorpions and Priest — and suddenly I get this phone call [from Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne]: ‘Robbie, I know you’ve got this gig with Scorpions, but could you consider coming over to do a thing with Ozzy and the guys. He’d love to see you.’”
Halford said that even with private jet access, attempting both shows was just too risky. “Even with a private plane, there’s a word called ‘technical,’ where something could go wrong, or the weather that time of year could cause problems… I was absolutely gutted.”
He also noted that founding Priest guitarist K.K. Downing will be present at Villa Park and will carry “the spirit of the band.”
“All my mates are going to be there though, great bands and artists,” Halford added. “It’s a wonderful and epic moment for Sabbath and heavy metal — it re-emphasizes that Birmingham is where metal came from.”
As for “War Pigs” and its role in the Priest live experience, Halford explained the song’s personal and symbolic significance during a conversation with Steve Newton of The Georgia Straight: “Yeah, that’s kind of a nod to these boys that we’ve known from day one. We’re from the same neck of the woods, and there’s a very strong friendship that still exists with us all. And it’s kind of a rallying cry, really. Even our fans know now that when they hear that song it’s almost time for Priest to hit the stage. It also gets our road crew to put the beer down and get ready for the show. Oh! It’s time! Yep, yep — put the beer down! Okay!”
