30 rock and metal songs that defined the 1980s From AC/DC and Iron Maiden to Guns N’ Roses and Faith No More, this is the soundtrack to a decade Metal Hammer · Jul 9, 2025
Ghost’s Tobias Forge originally planned to sing a Black Sabbath deep cut at the Back To The Beginning gig: “I was, like, ‘Can I do this?’ ‘No!’” Papa V Perpetua sang Ozzy solo classic Bark At The Moon – but it could have been very different. Metal Hammer · Jul 9, 2025
Members of Slipknot, Lamb Of God and Anthrax set to join the Osbournes at Comic-Con Midlands this weekend Slipknot’s Sid Wilson, Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe and Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Frank Bello will do meet-and-greets and sign autographs in Birmingham on July 12 and 13 Metal Hammer · Jul 9, 2025
“I could tell that he was very proud… ‘This is my guy, my guitar player. I found him under a rock in Belfast!’”: Vivian Campbell on his complicated relationship with Ronnie James Dio– and what Dio told Ozzy Osbourne about his playing Campbell says working with the late, great Ronnie James Dio wasn't always easy – and it didn't help that Campbell once likened him to Tom Jones MusicRadar · Jul 8, 2025
“The songs, the artwork, the image, Ozzy’s sinister, untrained monotone, Iommi’s monolithic riffs. This was the emerging sound of heavy metal”: The complete history of Black Sabbath – lineup by lineup, album by album As Black Sabbath took a triumphant bow at Back to the Beginning, we reexamine their recorded works, from the riff that started metal through the Dio years, to the return of Ozzy Osbourne and 13 Guitar World · Jul 7, 2025
"It's not until Ozzy's actually there, thanking fans and getting tearful, that it sinks in." Black Sabbath's Back To The Beginning: our ultimate review of their triumphant final show Our blow-by-blow review of the biggest heavy metal show ever as Black Sabbath triumphantly bow out Metal Hammer · Jul 6, 2025
“I watched Tony a lot. We became friends. It was emotional – not in a ‘pinch me!’ sense, but realizing how on-point he was – and how much he was not phoning in that performance”: Rival Sons’ Scott Holiday on what it’s like to open a Black Sabbath show Supporting Sabbath throughout The End Tour, Rival Sons got a better view of metal's godfathers than anyone – and will pay tribute to them at their final show. What will they play? Holiday's sworn to secrecy Guitar World · Jul 5, 2025
"One of the scariest songs I ever heard." Slipknot's Corey Taylor pays tribute to Black Sabbath, reveals the song he listens to so he can "go some place mentally." Slipknot aren't playing Black Sabbath's final show, but the metal legends have had a profound impact on Corey et al all the same Metal Hammer · Jul 4, 2025
"This is totally different from anything else we've done. This is nerve-racking." Tony Iommi explains why Black Sabbath are "all nervous" ahead of final show Even metal icons get the pre-show jitters, as Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi reveals ahead of tomorrow's historic final gig Metal Hammer · Jul 4, 2025
“The Eagles were in the same studio, in the room next to us. They had to pack up and go because we were too loud!”: The highs and lows of Black Sabbath in the ’70s - by Tony Iommi “The Eagles were in the same studio, in the room next to us. They had to pack up and go because we were too loud!”: The highs and lows of Black Sabbath in the ’70s - by Tony Iommi MusicRadar · Jul 3, 2025
“Instead of being like, ‘Hey, man, you’re my favorite guitar player,’ I was like, ‘Watch out for that cable running across the floor’”: Bill Kelliher on his awkward Tony Iommi encounter and Mastodon’s Back to the Beginning plans As he gears up for Black Sabbath's last hurrah, the Mastodon man looks back on his brief – but probably very helpful! – exchange with Tony Iommi, and explains why no-one tops the Sabbath riff lord Guitar World · Jul 3, 2025
‘I owe Ozzy Osbourne everything’: Metallica, Alice in Chains, Sammy Hagar and Yungblud on Black Sabbath’s farewell show INTERVIEWS: As one of the world’s most influential bands prepare to bid farewell with a huge show at Villa Park in Birmingham, Roisin O’Connor speaks to just a few of the musicians whose lives were changed by the Prince of Darkness The Independent UK · Jul 3, 2025
“We are honoured to show our love for Ozzy and Black Sabbath”: Judas Priest might not be playing at Back To The Beginning but they have just saluted the OG metal gods with a cover of War Pigs Also, is that Pelham Blue Les Paul Custom a new signature model for Richie Faulkner? MusicRadar · Jul 2, 2025
“I took Heaven and Hell to a sleepover – the other girls looked at me like Ihad aliens crawling out of my ears”: Lzzy Hale on how Halestorm ended up playing Ronnie James Dio’s final show – and doing the same for Ozzy Osbourne The Halestorm leader is a die-hard Black Sabbath fan who first encountered the Dio lineup before discovering the Ozzy era. She explains why Back to the Beginning will be a full-circle moment Guitar World · Jul 2, 2025
Guitar World · Jul 2, 2025 “Sabbath and AC/DC are similar to me because people make the mistake of thinking, ‘That’s so easy. It’s like a caveman. Anyone could play those parts’”: Tony Iommi was such a big influence on Scott Ian that he tried to play left-handed Ahead of his performance at Back to the Beginning, Anthrax's riff-master reflects on the influence of Black Sabbath, and how he got into their "acid rock" in the first place
Metal Hammer · Jul 2, 2025 "We're one of the only bands where the original members are still alive and speaking with one another": The final Black Sabbath interview Soon there will be no more comebacks, no more tours,and no more ‘final’ shows: Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill look back at their incredible career
Guitar World · Jul 1, 2025 “Judas Priest were doing something different. Black Sabbath gave us a real confidence boost to carry on what we were doing”: K.K. Downing on coming up with fellow metal gods Black Sabbath in Birmingham, and why no-one can play like Tony Iommi They are from the same city, sharing a similar mission, and this weekend they will gather for one last push for metal as the former Judas Priest man steps onstage to celebrate Black Sabbath
MusicRadar · Jul 1, 2025 “He wanted something that was a bit more heavier, had a bit more compression to it, a bit more gain”: Laney celebrates Black Sabbath's final show with a limited edition Black Country Customs reissue of Tony Iommi's TI100 signature amp Originally launched in 2012, the TI100 is a dual-channel 100-watt tube head with footswitchable boosts, lots of gain, lots of crosses. This is an exacting replica, signed by the man himself
Guitar World · Jun 30, 2025 “When you’re a kid, you go, ‘I could never be as good as a real rockstar,’ and here’s a guy that’s amazing, and he’s missing parts of his fingers”: Adam Jones on Tony Iommi’s influence and what took Tool so long to join Black Sabbath’s last hurrah Tool guitarist Adam Jones explains how Tony Iommi's triumph over adversity was every bit as influential as his horror-influenced riffs – and what to expect from his Back to the Beginning collabs with Tom Morello and Billy Corgan
Metal Hammer · Jun 30, 2025 “We’ve been in the studio. We’ve been living in the studio, is what we’ve been doing”: Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward has two new solo albums on the way The seminal drummer says he doesn’t “give an ‘F’” as he records his first solo efforts in 10 years
Metal Hammer · Jun 27, 2025 When Sabbath had the blues: Black Sabbath's early recordings as Earth to be released as The Legendary Lost Tapes Before they invented heavy metal, Black Sabbath were a blue band called Earth…
Metal Hammer · Jun 25, 2025 Black Sabbath offer first glimpse of rehearsals as they prepare for bow-out concert Back To The Beginning next week “Hello from rehearsals!” frontman Ozzy Osbourne writes on social media
BANG Premier · Jun 12, 2025 'The worrying thing is the unknown' Tony Iommi voices concerns over Black Sabbath farewell gig Tony Iommi has voiced some concerns about Black Sabbath's upcoming farewell this summer, admitting the "worry thing" for him is "the unknown", such as whether frontman Ozzy Osbourne will be sitting or standing while performing with the rockers.
Metal Hammer · Jun 10, 2025 "The worrying thing for me is the unknown. We don't know what's going to happen." Tony Iommi admits that he's feeling "excitement mixed with fear" as Black Sabbath's last ever gig draws near "We’ll be touching on some stuff that we haven’t done for a long time” says Tony Iommi, ahead of Black Sabbath's final bow
MusicRadar · Jun 8, 2025 “It wasn’t just my decision to fire Ozzy. It was a band decision. It was either we break up or we carry on without him”: Tony Iommi says they had to get rid of Ozzy Osbourne to make Black Sabbath great again And he met the band's next singer through Ozzy's future wife Sharon!