Megadeth bassist James Lomenzo recently addressed the band’s absence from the Back To The Beginning charity concert held earlier this month in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Speaking to Charrie Foglio for Japan’s Burrn! magazine, Lomenzo confirmed that Megadeth was never invited to participate in the event, which celebrated Black Sabbath and featured three of the so-called “Big Four” thrash bands: Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax.
“Charrie, I’m going to let the cat out of the bag. The truth of the matter is, I don’t believe that anybody asked us, which was fine. Not everybody gets invited to every party,” Lomenzo explained. “But at the same time, when we were in Europe last week, David said that he was reaching out to everybody and telling them that we were in the neighborhood and that we were close enough to come. And if they wanted us to, we could stay over for a few days and work it out… If they wanted us to. I don’t know what our manager had accomplished with that, but it didn’t get accomplished, so we just came home.”
Lomenzo also acknowledged that fans noticed the absence of Megadeth from the lineup. “So I know what you’re saying [about one ‘Big Four‘ band missing from the event]. Even before all of this started, everyone was saying, ‘Well, what about Megadeth?’ It was really funny to read because there was no invite and there was no talking to people, there was actually nothing to do with any of it. It was this exciting situation where we’re celebrating Ozzy [Osbourne] in his retirement… Anyway, the show was amazing! I would have loved to have been there. I knew about the show months and months ago.”
When asked about Sharon Osbourne‘s public comments suggesting that someone demanded payment to perform — a statement she said left her “disgusted” — Lomenzo responded: “Well, from my professional wrestling point of view, the show is done, so I don’t care about the hype. Whoever couldn’t come to terms couldn’t come to terms. We couldn’t do a show, that’s all. But I’ve got nothing but love for everyone there.”
Lomenzo also shared that he has been collaborating with original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward on his new solo record. “I’ve been recording with Bill Ward [original Black Sabbath drummer],” he revealed. “He’s been doing his [new solo] record, and every now and then I’ll get this wonderful phone call from his assistant Walter saying that ‘Bill would love to have you come down and do a song with him.’ And you don’t know what that sounds like to my brain. It frazzles me, but I’ve been working with him for a while.”
He continued, “And he intimated about the show. I would ask him if he had spoken to any of the guys in Black Sabbath, and he said that he spoke to Ozzy every day because Ozzy wasn’t feeling very well at that time, so I was curious. He said, ‘By the way, it looks we may do this final show.’ So he knew about it, obviously, before they announced it. So I was excited when it came to fruition because I knew that it meant a lot to all the guys in Black Sabbath to have Bill up there.”
On the topic of Megadeth‘s missing presence at Back To The Beginning, Lomenzo added, “I don’t see it as controversy or anything. I do know that conspicuously we were missing, but nobody was invited.”
Interestingly, former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, who was dismissed from the band in May 2021, did take part in the Birmingham event. Ellefson performed in the first of two supergroups assembled for the show, joining performances of “The Ultimate Sin” alongside Lzzy Hale, Nuno Bettencourt, Jake E. Lee, Mike Bordin, and Adam Wakeman; “Shot In The Dark” with David Draiman, Jake E. Lee, Mike Bordin, and Adam Wakeman; and “Sweet Leaf” with David Draiman, Nuno Bettencourt, Scott Ian, Mike Bordin, and Adam Wakeman.
Back To The Beginning, held on July 5 at Villa Park in Black Sabbath’s hometown, attracted 42,000 attendees, with over five million viewers streaming the event via VOD. A theatrical release of the Back To The Beginning movie is scheduled for early 2026, followed by a physical edition later that year. Additional release details are expected to be announced in the coming months.
