As Black Sabbath prepares to take the stage one last time, founding members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler are confronting a mix of anticipation, uncertainty and fear. The band’s farewell performance — set for July 5 at Birmingham’s Villa Park — marks the final chapter in the career of the pioneering metal group, and the emotional weight of that moment is not lost on its legendary guitarist and bassist.
“Excitement mixed with fear” is how Iommi describes his current state of mind. While the event — dubbed Back to the Beginning — is expected to be a massive celebration of Sabbath’s legacy, Iommi admits that the unpredictability of the night is what’s keeping him up at night.
“The worrying thing for me is the unknown,” he tells Music Week. “We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Unlike the band’s typical tours, which involved extensive rehearsals and a tightly controlled environment, this one-off event is full of moving parts, from a star-studded lineup to technical demands and the uncertain physical condition of frontman Ozzy Osbourne, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2020.
“Normally, when we’d tour, we’d rehearse and run through the thing for a while, and it’s just us,” Iommi says. “But with this event, there are so many other moving parts.”
Adding to the pressure is the fact that this will be the first time the classic Sabbath lineup — Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and drummer Bill Ward — has performed together since 2005. While fans are eager to see the reunion, Iommi is keenly aware of the stakes.
“This would be a big, monumental thing if it all comes good,” he says.
The guitarist is also candid about the limitations they’re working with, particularly Ozzy’s health, which will prevent him from performing a full set. “You’re used to Ozzy running around, but he certainly won’t be doing that for this show,” Iommi says. “I don’t know if he’s going to be standing or sitting on a throne or what.”
Whatever happens, the event will serve a good cause, as all profits from the concert will be donated to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
And while fans may still cling to the hope of another tour or surprise show, Iommi is unequivocal: “It’s absolutely the end,” he says. “This show has come up because of the situation [with Osbourne’s illness] and because it’s a charity thing. But there’s no way we could go out and do a tour.”
But the gravity of the final performance is perhaps felt most acutely by bassist Geezer Butler, who has admitted to having nightmares in the lead-up to the show. “I’m already having palpitations,” he confessed to The Guardian this past May. “In fact, I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed everything went wrong onstage and we all turned to dust.”
For Butler, the fear is rooted in the desire to leave the right final impression. “It’s important that we leave a great impression, since it’s the final time that people will experience us live. So it has to be great on the night.”
Despite the anxiety, the band remains committed to giving fans one final, unforgettable Sabbath experience. The Back to the Beginning concert will also feature a roster of metal’s biggest names — including Metallica, Tool, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, and more—paying tribute to the godfathers of the genre.
Musical direction will be handled by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello — who has revealed his role in getting Black Sabbath back together for one final time — with special appearances from Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde, Billy Corgan, Fred Durst, and others.
For Iommi and Butler, however, the spectacle takes a back seat to a deeper emotional truth: this final performance is not just an ending — it’s a leap into the unknown, with all the fear that comes with it.
Both men have been with Black Sabbath from before the beginning, when the quartet was known as Earth. Following Iommi’s brief stint with Jethro Tull, the quartet regrouped as Black Sabbath.
Iommi would make one more change: After an early attempt at using a Fender Stratocaster, he began a career-long relationship with the Gibson SG, resulting in the distinctive electric guitar tone that — together with Butler’s bass — defined Black Sabbath’s sound through its years with classic tracks like “Iron Man,” “Paranoid” and “War Pigs.”
Back to the Beginning will be available as a global livestream.
