By all accounts, July 5th’s Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham is shaping up to be a monumental farewell — a final salute to a band that helped birth heavy metal and a frontman whose influence still looms large. But according to Maynard James Keenan, frontman of Tool, there’s more uncertainty than celebration in the air as the event approaches.
Keenan, never one to embellish for the sake of hype, offered a candid glimpse – during a chat with Loudwire Nights (transcribed by ThePRP) – into how his band came to join the sendoff for Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne — and why they almost didn’t.
“The conversation first came up when I was at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, hanging out with Wolfgang Van Halen and some of the guys, I think even Robert Trujillo. We were on the way over there, just going, ‘Okay, well, there’s a rumor about the Black Sabbath show.’ I was like, ‘Well, let’s do something.’”
His initial plan was to contribute in a smaller, possibly more personal way. But when a formal invitation arrived for Tool to take part, priorities shifted.
“So I kinda had planned a song to do and all of a sudden I’m at home and I get the call, ‘Hey, Tool‘s been asked to do a song,’ and I’m like ‘Fuck.’ Now I have to call back Wolfgang and those guys and go, ‘I’m going to do it with Tool, sorry.’”
Even then, he remained skeptical about the event happening at all, particularly given Osbourne’s well-documented health issues.
“But I think for me, seeing Ozzy moving around at that event, the idea of him playing a show at all, if we’re being honest, you know, the conversation about going to do the song was like, ‘we’ll have this conversation, but, ahh… I don’t know that this is gonna happen.’”
His doubts weren’t unfounded. Osbourne, now 76, has faced a series of surgeries and has publicly shared that he can no longer walk without assistance. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and recovering from multiple spinal operations, the “Prince of Darkness” has faced an uphill battle to even consider one last live performance.
As Keenan put it: “I don’t know what kind of modern miracles we’ll come up with to get him on stage to do the songs, but this is gonna be a challenge for them. So, I’m honored to be a part of it, but I’m kinda preparing for the worst — but hoping for the best, as they say.”
The logistical challenges also impacted Tool’s decision-making.
“I wasn’t sure who the call was coming from. And having seen Ozzy move around, I was doubtful it was gonna happen at all. Initially, we passed because I was like, I don’t know how this is going to go. So when it came back up, I was like, OK, I guess I can hop on a plane and go over and do the song with a couple of guys on site, rather than dragging the whole band and going through all that.”
With Tool, nothing ever seems simple. “Nothing is a simple decision of just ‘Yes! Let’s go!’ It always ends up being something difficult, so I didn’t think it was going to happen. But then everybody was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ Oh, okay. Let’s do it then.”
Despite the hurdles, the respect Keenan holds for Black Sabbath and Osbourne is unmistakable: “The reason I’m on a stage at all is because of Black Sabbath’s first album.” Their influence runs deep in his musical DNA, and that reverence is undoubtedly driving Tool’s involvement in this high-stakes tribute.
For his part, Osbourne seems determined to meet the challenge. Speaking recently on his SiriusXM program, he described his training for the event:
“I’m in heavy training for this show that’s coming up. I haven’t done anything for — this will be seven years since I played a full concert, and so I’ve been through all this surgery. It really is like starting from scratch.”
He added: “…It’s endurance training. The first thing to go when you’re laid up is your stamina, so believe it or not, I’m doing two sets of three-minute walks a day and weight training. I’ve gotta get going, you know. I’m waking up in my body. I mean, three minutes to you, for instance, is nothing, but I’ve been lying on my back recovering from umpteen surgeries.”
To help make the show possible, Osbourne will reportedly perform seated on a custom-designed throne, doing “bits and pieces” of songs, according to longtime collaborator Zakk Wylde. While his mobility may be limited, his vocal capabilities, by all accounts, remain strong.
As for what song Tool will perform, Keenan is keeping that under wraps. “The song that we picked, it’s difficult in a different way,” he said, offering no further clues.
Outside the Sabbath tribute, Keenan also touched on ongoing projects. He ruled out another three-way split for the new leg of the Sessanta tour but shared that Primus‘ new track “Little Lord Fentanyl”, debuted live recently, was approached as a Primus song.
He also confirmed that Puscifer has completed a new batch of music, with a fifth studio album expected by fall. “We’re just kinda waiting on some drums from Sarah Jones. Uh, Greg Edwards is working on some bass right now. But we’re probably gonna have that out, a new Puscifer album, full-length, out in the fall of this year and then probably tour in the spring following.”
Right now, everyone’s attention is focused on Birmingham. It’s about leaving a lasting impact, showing strength, and — for those taking part — being ready to face the unknown to pay tribute to a legend.
