{"id":20553,"date":"2025-04-15T00:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T00:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/20553\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T00:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T00:14:08","slug":"anthrax-added-to-black-sabbaths-back-to-the-beginning-final-gig-line-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/20553\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthrax added to Black Sabbath&#8217;s &#8216;Back To The Beginning&#8217; final gig line-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/anthrax\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anthrax<\/a> have been added to the line-up for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/black-sabbath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Black Sabbath<\/a>\u2018s final-ever live show \u2013 find all the details below.<\/p>\n<p>The New York thrash metal band are due to perform at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/ozzy-osbourne\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ozzy Osbourne<\/a> and co\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/black-sabbath-final-show-birmingham-july-2025-metalla-slayer-pantera-line-up-tickets-3835042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">huge \u2018Back To The Beginning\u2019 concert at Villa Park<\/a> in the latter\u2019s hometown of Birmingham\u00a0on Saturday July 5.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-content-read-more\">\n<li><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/black-sabbath-interview-sharon-ozzy-osbourne-tony-iommi-health-birmingham-villa-park-final-show-new-material-3835523\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi tell us about Black Sabbath\u2019s finale: \u201cUsually this thing is done when you\u2019re dead\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They join the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/metallica\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Metallica<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/slayer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slayer<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/pantera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pantera<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/alice-in-chains\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alice In Chains<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/gojira\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gojira<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/smashing-pumpkins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smashing Pumpkins<\/a>\u2018\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/BILLY-CORGAN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Billy Corgan<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/slash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slash<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/duff-mckagan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duff McKagan<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/GUNS-N-ROSES\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/KORN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KoRn<\/a> on the stacked bill. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/tom-morello\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tom Morello<\/a> will be performing and serving as the gig\u2019s musical director.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/guns-n-roses-tool-and-jason-momoa-lead-new-additions-to-all-star-line-up-for-ozzy-osbourne-and-black-sabbaths-final-gig-3838660\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Guns N\u2019 Roses, Tool and more joined the line-up earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019ll mark the first time Anthrax have shared a stage with the legendary metal outfit. They toured with Sabbath on their 1986 \u2018Seventh Star Tour\u2019, which was also Anthrax\u2019s first arena trek. The last time the two groups were on the same bill was at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/festivals\/download\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download Festival<\/a> 2005.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a huge Black Sabbath fan,\u201d explained Anthrax\u2019s Charlie Benante, \u201cand Black Sabbath was so, so instrumental in the sound of Anthrax back in the day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBack in \u201986, when we were working on our third album, we wanted to do a B-side of a Black Sabbath song. \u2019Sabbath Bloody Sabbath\u2019 was the song that we chose. We did it as a B-side, we played it live, and it became a big thing for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cGrowing up Catholic, in a Catholic household, my mom did not appreciate Black Sabbath. One day when I came home, my sister took me to the record store and I got one of those iron-on Black Sabbath t-shirts, it was the cover of \u2019Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got it home, my mother saw it, she made my sister take me back to the store and return it. She would not have it in the house because it had the \u2018666\u2019 on it. I was still a Black Sabbath fan so I had to kind of keep it hidden from my mom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scott Ian added: \u201cI discovered Black Sabbath when I was about eight years old, sitting in my uncle\u2019s room at my grandparents\u2019 house. My uncle was 17 or 18, had a big vinyl collection and blacklight posters all over his walls, and I thought he was the coolest dude in the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would go through his albums, pull records out and he\u2019d play them for me. I remember pulling out this record that said \u2018Black Sabbath\u2019 on it, the album cover was kind of scary, so I asked him \u2018what\u2019s Black Sabbath?\u2019 And he said, \u2018Oh, they\u2019re acid rock\u2026\u2019, and I didn\u2019t know what that meant\u2026 I thought maybe that was the terminology back then for a genre.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then he put the album on. Everyone knows how that record starts, with the sound effects and the rain and the bell, and then the band kicks in\u2026there\u2019s nothing like it. At that point in time, the scariest, heaviest thing I\u2019d ever heard in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went on: \u201cMaybe still to this day, when that song \u2018Black Sabbath\u2019 kicks in, there\u2019s just nothing like it. I started playing guitar when I was about 10, and Tony was definitely an influence, so I\u2019d try and figure out how to play \u2018Iron Man\u2019 or \u2018Paranoid.\u2019 Just listening to the records, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/tony-iommi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tony Iommi<\/a> was essentially my guitar teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DFu3ZyBzEea\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Vocalist Joey Belladonna said: \u201cI\u2019m definitely a huge Sabbath fan, and over the years I have covered many Sabbath and Ozzy songs. We toured with Sabbath on the \u201986 tour, and it was so electric. That was a huge tour for us, and we were just overwhelmed to be part of it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Anthrax was asked to be part of Sabbath\u2019s \u2018Back To The Beginning\u2019 concert is quite a big honour.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frank Bello remembered: \u201cI heard about Sabbath through my friends at school, who said the band was great. Plus, I thought the album cover was scary as hell. Although I love most Black Sabbath albums, that first one, \u2018Black Sabbath\u2019, is still my favorite because it was my introduction to them, and the songs are still amazing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m also a HUGE <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/geezer-butler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Geezer [Butler]<\/a> fan, I grew up on his playing, and I\u2019m honoured now to say he\u2019s a friend. Geezer was and still is one of my main influences on bass. He always puts beautiful musicality &amp; melody into everything he plays. His bass lines make you want to play bass. He is also an amazing person.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be part of this show and I\u2019m very grateful to Black Sabbath &amp; Sharon Osbourne for asking us to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Guitarist Jon Donais explained: \u201cI\u2019m absolutely, 100 per cent a Black Sabbath fan. I was an Ozzy fan first because I grew up in the \u201880s, and of course, Ozzy was on MTV all the time, so he\u2019s who I got into first. And then, my teen years were in the 90s, and I started getting into Black Sabbath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I start to lean into a band, I usually get the band\u2019s greatest hits or some kind of compilation. But my first Black Sabbath album was \u2018Sabotage\u2019, which is actually my favourite Sabbath record. \u2018Sabotage\u2019\u00a0was a little darker than the others, and I would listen to it all the way through as soon as I put it on.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA good friend of mine and I went to the same college, and we\u2019d be up until three or four in the morning just listening to \u2018Sabotage\u2019 and then having to get up for school the next day, and that sucked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anthrax are also scheduled to open for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/slayer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slayer<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/slayer-announce-first-uk-dates-in-six-years-buy-tickets-3843375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the band\u2019s massive show at London\u2019s Finsbury Park this summer<\/a>, as well as at the Blackweir Fields in Cardiff.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DFseZkxofQE\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/black-sabbath-interview-sharon-ozzy-osbourne-tony-iommi-health-birmingham-villa-park-final-show-new-material-3835523\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">talking to NME alongside Tony Iommi at Villa Park in February<\/a>, Sharon Osbourne explained that her husband was doing \u201creally great\u201d at the moment. She told us that Ozzy was feeling \u201cvery emotional\u201d about the last Sabbath show, and that it was \u201cwhat he wants\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants to say thank you to everybody,\u201d Sharon said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t have that chance because of his illness, but now he does have the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speaking further about Ozzy\u2019s health, she continued: \u201cHe\u2019s got Parkinson\u2019s, which we all know, but he\u2019s great and it doesn\u2019t affect his voice.\u201d Iommi then told NME that the Sabbath show would \u201cdo him good\u201d, explaining: \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s all about: he wants to get out and do something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sharon said: \u201cHe feels like he\u2019s never had a chance to thank the fans; to say \u2018thank you for this unbelievable life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere in\u00a0NME\u2018s interview, Sharon said that the concert would be \u201cjust about celebrating the old music that still lives on\u201d rather than Black Sabbath releasing any new music to coincide with the date.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou get to a stage in your career where whatever you do just doesn\u2019t stand up to what you did before,\u201d she told\u00a0NME. \u201cTo be able to rest on your laurels and say, \u2018People still love that and it\u2019s still selling and we can\u2019t do better than what we\u2019ve done\u2019, that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sharon said: \u201cThis\u00a0is a celebration \u2013 of the genre and the pioneers who started it and passed it on to all these bands. Usually this thing is done when you\u2019re dead \u2013 so it\u2019s nice that these guys can be alive to be appreciated!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Iommi added: \u201cI was just thinking that! We\u2019re having it before we go now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/tom-morello-teases-huge-superstars-for-final-black-sabbath-show-3850487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tom Morello has teased some \u201chuge superstars\u201d as \u201csurprises\u201d for the Birmingham show<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/tom-morello-honoured-to-serve-as-musical-director-of-black-sabbaths-final-ever-show-3845587\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said he is \u201chonoured\u201d to serve as musical director<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anthrax have been added to the line-up for Black Sabbath\u2018s final-ever live show \u2013 find all the details&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[77,3982,3981,269,453,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-20553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-live-music-news","10":"tag-metal","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-rock","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114339097073989386","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}