Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello recently spoke with Shan Man (98KUPDradio) about serving as the “curator” for Black Sabbath’s all-star farewell show, Back To The Beginning, which also marked Ozzy Osbourne’s final performance.

Morello emphasized the weight of the role: “If we’re gonna do this, we have to aim to make it the greatest day in the history of heavy metal… Heavy metal is the music that made me love music. It’s in the DNA of 90% of my favorite artists. We had to treat it with the gravity it deserved.”

He recalled a surreal moment the night before the show, watching Black Sabbath rehearse “War Pigs” in an empty Birmingham stadium. Morello, Steven Tyler, and Scott Ian were among a small group witnessing the band play the song for the second-to-last time ever: “The red lights are on, the sirens are wailing… and then they play ‘War Pigs’ for us. They didn’t even know we were there. We went absolutely nuts. I thought, ‘Okay, this could really matter.’”

Morello also detailed the massive logistics behind the event, including last-minute changes. Yungblud’s performance of “Changes” nearly fell apart just 48 hours before the show: “Things were changing… I landed at Heathrow and got a call, ‘That’s not happening.’ So we figured it out. It ended up being one of the highlights. That’s the gig.”

The emotional payoff came at the afterparty, where artists and fans celebrated with Ozzy Osbourne in attendance. Morello shared one final interaction: “I’m playing pinball with my son and someone tugs my shirt. It’s Ozzy. He was appreciative of everything. I got to give him a kiss on the head one more time. The last thing he said to me was, ‘Tell Sharon I wanna get the fuck outta here’—pure Ozzy, and kind of poetic.”

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