Five days on from the iconic, 8-hour-marathon that was Back to the Beginning, the dust is still yet to settle.
Many performers who were involved are now sharing to social media their appreciation for Black Sabbath and Ozzy.
Trust me when I say, the waterworks are coming.
Tool
Danny Carey
Tool’s drummer took to Instagram to share a reel of photos and videos from throughout the night, captioning it with a simple: “Proud to be a part of Ozzy’s farewell party.”
Just one wasn’t enough for Carey, posting a similar reel and similarly captioned: “Thank you, Ozzy, for bringing us all together.
Maynard James Keenan
Tool’s singer posted a comical photo to his Instagram of the night, with his foot on a speaker that is clearly labelled ‘No feet’, with the words “What a blast. #WWOD What Would Ozzy Do?
Thank you @ozzyosbourne @blacksabbath @sharonosourne for inviting us to an absolutely stupendous sendoff.”
Try to say stupendous sendoff five times fast, you won’t.
Halestorm
The American Rock Band shared a collection of seriously epic B&W snaps from the night, on stage and behind the scenes.
Their caption wrote: “Back to the Beginning, 5 July 2025. Eternally grateful to @blacksabbath @ozzyosbourne @sharonosbourne and all our friends we shared the stage with.
A moment in time. A moment in history.”
Lzzy Hale
Halestorm’s lead vocalist uploaded her own separate tribute, with a massive caption, highlighting just how special to her this night was.
She labelled Black Sabbath and Ozzy as her “idols” and “rock royalty” and that performing among them was “an unfathomable dream come true”. Hale recalled her experience over the rehearsals and the night, and how incredible it all was.
“When Ozzy took the stage… I wept,” was a powerful line from her. “Long live Black Sabbath,” she also added.
Anthrax
The band, who performed two songs at the concert, including a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Into the Void’, also chipped in their two cents.
“The Back to the Beginning show was the best day of music we have ever been a part of! Thank you, Black Sabbath, for opening the door for all of us.
Thank you for letting us be part of your legacy. Thank you for all your hospitality over the years, and thank you for your friendship. We love you all.”
Charlie Benante
The Anthrax drummer, and fill-in Pantera drummer, was clearly very honoured to be part of the special night.
He posted a reel of pics and videos to his Insta, saying that “the amount of love and emotion from everyone yesterday was at the highest level”. He spoke to how impactful the night was, and how it “not only makes you reflect on the artist you are watching but in your own personal life”.
He finished it nicely with: “Thank you again to @blacksabbath for helping all of us find our purpose in life.”
He shared even more pictures of the night, sharing his thanks and appreciation for the night, as well as all the people he met along the way.
Guns N’ Roses
Duff McKagan
McKagan spoke to the £140 million raised for charity as a result of the massive night: “FINAL SHOW raised £140 million for @bham_childrens Hospital @acornhospice and other Parkinson’s Charities!
Well done and words cannot express what an impactful, fun, sweet. Unforgettable, heartfelt epic last show.”
Axl Rose
The iconic vocalist kept it short and sweet on Instagram, simply sharing a touching photo of himself and Ozzy clutching hands, with a couple of emojis (and a shit ton of hashtags for some reason).
On X, he was a bit more vocal, sharing a picture of a note he’d written, saying it was “Extremely overwhelming!! Really great crowd!!”. He spoke about how stoked he was to have met Ozzy for the first time, and to watch him perform, despite all of his health challenges.
Gojira
The French Heavy Metal band shared an epic montage of slow mo moments from the night, noting what a special night it was, and acknowledging how “they inspired generations of rockers across the globe”.
“Standing on that stage in Birmingham where it all began, soaking in the crazy vibe of this event, alongside most of our childhood idols was an incredible feeling.”
Mario Duplantier
Gojira’s drummer made his own separate post to pay tribute to what the night meant for him, saying the experience was “absolutely phenomenal”.
Duplantier seemed starstruck by all the legends of Rock and Metal he met backstage, “from members of Rolling stone and Queen to Red Hot Chili peppers and Rage against the machine… what an honour.”
The Morellos
Tom Morello
Iconic, and now solo artist, Tom Morello, was a part of a Supergroup set on the night and played the role as Musical Director.
His tribute proved just how special it was, by highlighting some of his favourite moments, and finishing the post with a message to Ozzy: “Thank you for trusting me… It was over a year of hard work, but heavy metal was the music that made me love music and it was a labor of love.”
Roman Morello
His 14 -year-old son featured in Jack Black’s impeccable cover of ‘Mr Crowley’ as the guitarist, and he said that he was “extremely grateful to be a part of this experience and to be a small part of Ozzy Osbourne’s legendary legacy!”
Lamb Of God
Randy Blythe
The American vocalist said the night was “crazy”. The feelings he got were “something he has never felt before, and I know I never will again”.
“It was something DIFFERENT, something very, very special.”
Art Cruz
The drummer shared a sick collection of snaps, offering a big thank you Black Sabbath and Ozzy, finishing it with a simple: “It’s hard to put this event into words”.
Billy Corgan - Smashing Pumpkins
The guitarist/singer/songwriter had a lot of reflections from the night, saying he owed “a debt of gratitude” to Sharon Osbourne for asking him to be part of it, and said he “wept silently” as the heroes of Rock bid us all farewell.
Sammy Hagar
The Red Rocker, who was a part of a Supergroup on the night, said that “Rock Royalty was out in full force”, saying that “everyone on stage was flying high again”.
Jason Momoa
The actor, who served as the host for the night, shared a set of pics from the night and said he was “grateful for these bands and this music… I love this community and I love these musicians.”
Steven Tyler - Aerosmith
The singer shared clips from their performance on the night, saying “Thank you @ozzyosbourne for letting us walk YOUR way… the train is still rolling!”
Lars Ulrich - Metallica
Ulrich’s tribute was kind of comical, in the sense that it was just a low-quality video of the empty stadium, speaking about how special the experience was.
Andrew Watt
Watt shared some special moments with some Rock legends from the night, writing “there wasn’t a dry eye in the house during Ozzy’s set, and every first raised for Sabbath’s… Thank you for all the music that will continue to inspire kids like me and everyone else.”
Rex Brown - Pantera
The guitarist kept it simple by accompanying some photos from the show with “Such an amazing show, thank you to @all for including us in this landmark event”.
William DuVall - Alice In Chains
The vocalist and guitarist said it was “such an immense honor just to be there, let alone play and reconnect with so many people I admire”.
He nodded Black Sabbath for being a cornerstone for him, as well as acknowledging Ozzy for being “one of the great singers and melodists of all time”.
David Ellefson
The American musician who appeared in a Supergroup recalled the steps of how he got his bass guitars specially made to honour the special night and exist as “a piece of musical history”.
Yungblud
The English singer/songwriter posted a snippet from his cover of ‘Changes’, captioned: “God bless Black Sabbath. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne.
“It was my biggest honour to share the stage with so many of my heroes and sing this monumental song.”
Well, I think it’s no surprise that not only did the monster event touch the hearts of Rock fans, it also meant the world to some of the best in the business.
Long live Black Sabbath and the Prince of Darkness!
