On July 15, Lamb Of God guitarist Mark Morton joined Mark Strigl live on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard, where he spoke about his experience performing with his bandmates at Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning farewell concert. The event took place on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK.
Reflecting on what it meant to be part of the historic event, Morton shared (via Blabbermouth): “Nothing could have prepared me for what the day actually was. Once we got on site and got the energy around the whole thing, it was just so special. There was no amount of thought or preparation that could’ve really gotten me in the mindset for what I walked into…”
He also recalled seeing Ozzy Osbourne live as a teenager: “I was at the Hampton Coliseum [in Hampton, Virginia] on my 16th birthday [in November 1988] seeing Ozzy on the No Rest For The Wicked tour. That was [Osbourne‘s] first tour with [longtime Ozzy guitarist] Zakk [Wylde]… I have toured with Zakk a bunch of times since then and I’ve got to tell him, saying, ‘I spent my 16th birthday watching you play, ya know.'”
Morton added: “Ozzy and that whole organization around him and [Ozzy‘s wife and manager] Sharon and the family, they have always been so supportive of Lamb Of God. They gave us some of our first big shows at Ozzfest. It just felt so special to be invited to this last hurrah for Ozzy.”
The day after their performance, Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe expressed his feelings on social media, writing: “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, and 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… and I do mean EVERYONE (God knows I was.) It [was] 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, and 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…”
Just hours after their performance at Back To The Beginning, Lamb Of God released their studio cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Children Of The Grave” on streaming platforms.
In a statement about the opportunity, Morton said: “Lamb Of God being invited to perform with Black Sabbath at their final show is one of the greatest honors of our career. 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.”
He continued: “Black Sabbath invented heavy metal and in doing so, they changed the world. 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.”
The Back To The Beginning concert, curated by Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, brought together what many called one of the greatest rock and metal lineups ever for a single day. The show marked a significant milestone as it featured Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward performing together for the first time in 20 years. It was also billed as Ozzy Osbourne’s final onstage appearance, following his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
