Tom Morello has spoken about his role as the Musical Director of Black Sabbath's upcoming Back To The Beginning mega-gig in Birmingham, and stated that his aim is to make make the July 5 show nothing less than "the greatest day in the history of heavy metal'.
Speaking to Australian Musician about his involvement in the much-anticipated show at Villa Park, Morello says, "I owe a great debt to Ozzy [Osbourne] and to Black Sabbath. And it’s an honour to be a part of it.”
"It came about [because] Ozzy and Sharon asked me to do," the guitarist explained. "They surprised me one day and said, ‘There’s gonna be one more Black Sabbath show, all four original members, the last-ever Ozzy Osbourne show. We wanna have a big day of celebration and will you help curate it?’ And I was, like, Well, that’s crazy. But yes, of course. Heavy metal is the music that made me love music, and Black Sabbath invented heavy metal."
Pointing out that the “preparation” is already well under way, Morello continues, "Where it’s at now… First of all, when we first sat down, we have a very, very simple goal, and that’s to make this the greatest day in the history of heavy metal. And to that end, you’ve probably seen the listed setlist. And let me tell you, there’s some huge superstars who are gonna be surprises on that day too. So, the idea is to really acknowledge the importance of that band in a way that the whole world will forever know."
The one-day Back To The Beginning event will also feature the final solo performance from Ozzy Osbourne, plus a support bill that includes a ‘who’s who’ of hard rock royalty, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Gojira, Anthrax, Lamb Of God, Halestorm, Alice In Chains and Mastodon.
Morello will be arranging an all-star “supergroup”, to include Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Jonathan Davis (Korn), Wolfgang Van Halen and more.
Actor Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Game Of Thrones) will compere.
Talking recently on Ozzy Speaks, the Sirius XM show in which he and his good friend Billy Morrison play some of their favourite songs, Ozzy stated "I'm not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them."
