Soundgarden have posted a statement explaining why they weren’t at Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s farewell gig, while also paying tribute to the heavy metal legends.
Early reports back in May suggested that the surviving members of Soundgarden would be on the Back to the Beginning bill, after Sharon Osbourne told The Guardian that they would be appearing at the mammoth gig, as well as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
Of course, Tyler did appear at the gig (and fkn killed it), but Soundgarden weren’t able to make it.
In a statement posted to Soundgarden’s official social media, it turns out their absence at the gig was due to them not being able to coordinate their schedules to make it happen.
“Congratulations to Black Sabbath on the grand and final pealing of their vesper bells!” wrote the statement and tribute.
“Thank you for an astounding career that provided us and your legion of fans with a lifetime of beauty, horror, love, power, happiness, melancholy and a profoundly sublime, yet viscerally rocking transcendence informed by both doom and hope. Your majestic brilliance has inspired greatness in scores of other bands, musicians and songwriters. However, the crown will forever remain yours!
“We are very grateful to Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, as well as Sharon Osbourne and music director Tom Morello for the honor and invitation to Soundgarden to perform at the Back to the Beginning festival!
“We are super bummed and regret that we were unable to coordinate the schedules of our individual and collective projects to attend and contribute to the festival. The warmth, love and support from the Black Sabbath team has been a continuing source of encouragement and strength throughout our career.”
Fans have flocked to the comments to show their appreciation for both Soundgarden and Black Sabbath, with one fan saying Soundgarden’s cover of Into the Void is “the best Sabbath cover ever.”
In other Soundgarden news, it was revealed back in May that the band are still planning on releasing their final album with the late, great Chris Cornell. We still don’t have a release date for the posthumous album, and there've been a bunch of setbacks with it, but the band is working towards releasing it.
Plus, drummer Matt Cameron, who played in Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog, announced last week that he’s stepping away from Pearl Jam after 27 years.
In a new Instagram story earlier this week, Cameron thanked fans for the words of support after announcing his departure from the band, and shut down retirement rumours, saying he is "still an active musician."
