“They weren’t alive to be there to play and to enjoy it” Tom Morello compares Black Sabbath farewell gig to Freddie Mercury and Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts
With Black Sabbath’s final-ever live concert set to take place this Friday (5 July) in their hometown of Birmingham, Tom Morello is putting things into perspective.
The Rage Against the Machine guitarist – who’s been tapped to oversee the all-star farewell event – notes the upcoming tribute show will be both historic and unusually intimate, not least because this time, the honourees are still around to witness it.
READ MORE: Why Jake E. Lee agreed to perform at Black Sabbath’s final show even though he “hasn’t spoken with Ozzy Osbourne or seen him in decades”
He likens the upcoming gig to the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, in which A-list bands gathered to pay tribute to the late Queen singer, or more recently the two transatlantic shows that honoured Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins following his death in March, 2022.
“But guess what? They weren’t alive to be there to play and to enjoy it,” says Morello on the new issue of Metal Hammer. “Black Sabbath’s gonna be there, dude. To be in their backyard, with a line-up of the biggest acts in metal paying tribute to them, has got to be pretty special.”
As the musical director of Back to the Beginning, Morello is keeping most of the setlist and guest roster under wraps, though he teases that surprises are guaranteed and that fans would do well to be in their seats from the very start.
“I will say this – for anyone lucky enough to be going to the show, don’t be late,” he says. “This is not one of those shows where the bands are playing in ascending order and you can show up at 5pm. We have surprise guests that you won’t believe. Trust me – don’t be late.”
Born in Birmingham in 1968, Sabbath’s bleak, heavy sound paved the way not just for metal, but for a wide range of genres and artists that followed. That legacy, says Morello, is impossible to overstate.
“Their DNA is everywhere, not just in metal,” he explains. “I’ve talked to [Public Enemy rapper] Chuck D about them, the Run DMC guys – the founders of hip hop were influenced by Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. Same with the world of EDM. Without them, literally nothing would be the same.”
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