When Richmond’s Lamb of God touched down in Birmingham, England for Back To The Beginning, the final show from Ozzy Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath lineup, front-man Randy Blythe was stepping into sacred ground. The bill was stacked, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Mastodon, but the night, and the debt, belonged to Sabbath.
“I have been in my band for 30 years and played a lot of shows,” Randy wrote the next morning. “But the energy at this one onstage, backstage, out in the crowd was something I have never felt before, and I know I never will again. They created this. PERIOD.”
Less than 24 hours after the show, Lamb of God surprise-dropped a studio cover of Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave”, a thunderous thank-you released worldwide through Epic Records.
“Lamb of God being invited to perform with Black Sabbath at their final show is one of the greatest honors of our career,” says lead guitarist Mark Morton. “As an offering to the celebration, we’ve recorded our take on their classic ‘Children of the Grave,’ a protest song with lyrics that are as relevant today as they were in 1971 when the original was released. Black Sabbath invented heavy metal and in doing so, they changed the world. This genre that they created brings immeasurable joy to fans all over the world. We are so grateful to have the heavy metal community to call our home, and so grateful to Black Sabbath for the gift of their music that they’ve given to all of us.”
For Richmond fans, the story comes full circle on Thursday, July 24, 2025, when Lamb of God storms home turf with GWAR and Hatebreed in tow. Stream the new single now, then get ready to feel that Birmingham energy inside city limits. Get tickets HERE.
Randy Blythe’s Full Statement
“I do not have the words to explain what merely being at, much less performing at, Black Sabbath’s final show yesterday felt like. I’m still trying to process it- it’s crazy.
I have been in my band for 30 years now, and I have played many, many shows in that time. But the overwhelming energy at this show— in the audience, in the backstage area, and onstage (because I was in all 3 areas at different times)— was something I have never felt before, and I know I never will again.
It was something DIFFERENT, something very, very special.
If you play in a heavy metal band, or are a fan of any heavy metal music, then know that your roots lay in Birmingham, starting way back in 1968 with four working class Englishmen named Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, & Bill Ward.
They created this. PERIOD. For those of us who make this music, there will never be another chance to play with the original creators again. That was IT… & it was amazing.
If you were there in the audience, you should know that every single band member I talked to- from Mastodon who opened the show up all the way to Metallica who played right before Ozzy- was nervous to go onstage… & I do mean EVERYONE (God knows I was.)
It a sign of our respect for the dudes who created this music that we all felt this way. We all wanted to honor them, to show respect, to thank them for this wild-ass life that they have given us, and to do justice to their tunes— all of us get to travel the world & play this music because of what these four guys started.
Then to see those four guys give it one last glorious whirl, four songs… it was earth shattering.
So thank you Black Sabbath, thank you Birmingham, & thank you to all the fans who came out yesterday to help us give Sabbath a proper send off. We also raised A LOT of money yesterday for 3 different charities- Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, & Acorn Children’s Hospice. None of the bands took a single penny for this gig- hell, none of us even got a guestlist!
I am so happy to have witnessed it & beyond grateful to have been asked to be a part of it.
A simply unbelievable day…”
Main photo by Bryce Hall
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