Judas Priest “show their love” for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath with faithful cover of ‘War Pigs’ ahead of final show
Judas Priest have shared a cover of Black Sabbath‘s ‘War Pigs’ ahead of the huge farewell concert this weekend (July 5). Check it out first on NME below.
The 1970 classic track has been used as the Judas Priest’s walk on track to their shows since 2011. The band also perform the song at every concert.
Now, they have shared a new recording of the track in honour of Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne ahead of their upcoming final concert dubbed ‘Back To The Beginning’, at Villa Park in Birmingham will see the legendary frontman, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward perform onstage together for the first time in two decades.
Judas Priest said: “We are honoured to show our love for Ozzy and Black Sabbath with our homage of ‘War Pigs’. It’s a song we play at every show around the world that fans sing along to reinforcing their love as well for the legendary Prince Of Darkness!!”
It comes after frontman Rob Halford recently shared that he is “gutted” not to be taking part in Black Sabbath’s final show, and was unaware of the gig until it was too late.
On the same night as the Villa Park show, Judas Priest will be playing a gig with Scorpions in Hannover, celebrating the German hard rock bands’ 60th anniversary. This, Halford explained, was locked in before news of the Black Sabbath event was shared.
“I had no idea it was happening,” he said. “We’ve known this guy Ossy Hoppe – he’s like a god in Germany for metal – [and] he came in to see me at one of our last shows and says, ‘Would you consider doing something really special and important? I’m putting on the Scorpions for their 60th anniversary, in their hometown. Would you work with the band?’”
“I was just like, ‘Done! We’ve got no plans it’s all good’,” the ‘Breaking The Law’ hitmaker added. “It all got announced… and suddenly I get this phone call [from Sharon Osbourne, saying]: ‘Robbie, I know you’ve got this gig with Scorpions, but could you consider coming over to do a thing with Ozzy and the guys, he’d love to see you.’”
Black Sabbath’s stacked, star-studded bill boasts an array of heavyweights from the worlds of metal and rock. These include Tool, Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Alice In Chains, Gojira, Anthrax, Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan, Guns N’ Roses, KoRn, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and the surviving members of Soundgarden.
Last week, the band shared their first behind-the-scenes look at preparations for their upcoming final show. The Prince Of Darkness has not played a full gig since 2018, and has undergone multiple surgeries and experienced numerous health problems in recent years, including Parkinson’s disease.
Despite his health, Osbourne has said he is “giving 120 per cent” as he prepares for his last performance. “I’ve got this trainer guy who helps people get back to normal,” the singer said. “It’s hard going, but he’s convinced that he can pull it off for me. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. All I can say is I’m giving 120 per cent. If my God wants me to do the show, I’ll do it.”
He had previously told fans that he was “in heavy training” for the Black Sabbath farewell concert, and was back in the gym. Osbourne also said he would only be “doing little bits and pieces” with Sabbath at Villa Park amid his health problems: “I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable.”
Sharon Osbourne and Iommi recently spoke to NME about what to expect from the final concert.
Over the weekend (June 28), it was revealed that Black Sabbath had been given the freedom of the city of Birmingham ahead of their final gig, with all four original band members presented with scrolls and medals by the Lord Mayor. The honour was given at a private ceremony on Saturday, which recognised the band’s significance as heavy metal pioneers from the city.
The final concert is also set to boost Birmingham’s economy by a whopping £20million, according to reports.
The post Judas Priest “show their love” for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath with faithful cover of ‘War Pigs’ ahead of final show appeared first on NME.
Damian Jones
NME
