Back to the Beginning - Review: Part 1 of ?
There has never been and probably will never again be a heavy metal event as iconic as the Ozzy Osbourne / Black Sabbath farewell show on July 5th.
The Big Four shows, you say? Well, the biggest three were all in the lineup. And their quarrelsome little brother was represented by the far more palatable of the Megadeath Dave's, former bass player Dave Ellefson. Mustaine wasn't invited, didn't bother to send a video greeting, and most importantly, wasn't missed. The only reason anyone noticed he wasn't there was because David Ellefson was.
And in addition to a packed lineup of many of the most influential former and current metal acts and artists to ever grace our favorite music genre, "Back to the Beginning" also had something the Big Four shows never had: the godfather of heavy metal himself, Ozzy Osbourne, and arguably one of the reasons the genre saw the light of day in the first place, Black Sabbath.
The first band to hit the (really cool) revolving stage was Mastodon with Troy Sanders starting the party off with a rendition of "Black Tongue" followed by "Blood and Thunder." They finished off their 15 minute slot with a pretty good cover version of Sabbath's "Supernaut" including a four-man drum-fest where Mastodon's Brann Dailor was joined by Mario Duplantier (Gojira), Danny Carey (Tool), and Eloy Casagrande (Slipknot, ex-Sepultura). Unsurprisingly, Mastodon played a tight, energetic and absolutely worthy opening set.
Then came the first of many surprises. The MC for the event turned out to be Jason Momoa. Yup, that Jason Momoa. I knew he was a metalhead, but it was fun to watch the man many consider the epitome of cool essentially fanboying over almost every act he introduced (until toward the evening, he suddenly disappeared for some reason).
The second band up was Rival Sons. Not a band I'm overly familiar with, but they played a pretty good set consisting of "Do Your Worst," a decent cover of Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral," and "Secret."
After a short break, they were followed by the mighty Anthrax. Because their songs ran a little longer, they only managed to squeeze in their own "Indians" and a thrashy cover of Sabbath's "Into the Void." Short, but a great set. Anthrax is one of those bands you can always count on.
Next up was Halestorm, a band I had pretty much ignored until a few years ago when I had the chance to shoot them. Their stage presence, especially Lzzy's was absolutely electrifying. And the power behind that voice is just staggering. When I met her after that show, I discovered she's a really sweet and kind person to boot. So I expected a great seat and they didn't disappoint.
As both the only female vocalist and a relative newbie compared to some of the other artists (many of whom were already in the business before she was even born) some might have been tempted to write her off prematurely. Not only did she unequivocally prove that she belongs in our heavy metal pantheon, she, unlike a few of the older gentlemen (cough cough...Sammy Hagar...cough Axl Rose...cough cough) managed to channel that rage and power while remaining on key. Halestorm's set consisted of "Love Bites (So Do I)", "Rain Your Blood On Me", and a cover of Ozzy's "Perry Mason."
OK. It's after 03:00 AM and as I'm rewatching all the sets as I write, this is turning into a much longer review than I intended (and much longer than anyone will read in one sitting), I'm calling it a night. Part 2 of ? tomorrow.
Rock Saxum
July 7th, 2025
Last updated: July 7th, 2025
Post Tags:
ozzy ozzy osbourne black sabbath david ellefson dave mustaine mastadon the rival sons anthrax halestorm lzzy hale troy sanders gojira tool slipknot sepultura mario duplantier danny carey eloy casagrande jason momoa brann dailor axl rose sammy hagar