Holy Sh*t: The Original Black Sabbath Lineup to Reunite for ‘The Final Show’ in Birmingham

It’s been a long running joke among metal fans that no one’s ever really played their “final show” or gone on their actual “farewell tour” because bands always come back. Mötley Crüe… Slayer… They all said they were done but like a dead Marvel character, they just kept coming back.

One band that’s been notorious for this over the years was none other than Black Sabbath’s original lineup of Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, and Bill Ward. By my count they’d done a couple “final shows”, but this morning’s announcement of “The Final Show” in Birmingham, U.K. certainly feels like a terminus for the band.

Set to take place on July 5 at Villa Park in their hometown, the star-studded event will serve as the band’s final show, as Ozzy’s ailing health prevents him from performing as much as he’d love to and each band member is well into their 70s. It will be their first show together as a cohesive unit in 20 years. In the band’s announcement, Ozzy commented on the momentous occasion, stating that it was a chance to do what he said he’d hoped would be possible — to close the book on a legendary career on his own terms.

“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born. How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”

Along with the O.G. Black Sabbath lineup, the show will also feature performances from some major acts in metal, including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Anthrax, Alice In Chains, Mastodon… It’s a massive bill that goes on even further when you consider the additional performances by individuals like The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Jake E. Lee, K.K. Downing, Tom Morello, and Ghost’s Papa V Perpetua (which marks the first time we’ve heard about that band’s “new” frontman). And according to the announcement, that’s not the entire list of performers. This shit is going to be massive.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. GMT, with all proceeds going to benefit Cure Parkinson’s, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice, which is supported by Aston Villa.