The Songs METALLICA Chose to Say 'Thank You' to BLACK SABBATH in Front of 40,000+ Fans

Summary

• Metallica performed two rare Black Sabbath covers at the Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham, including “Johnny Blade” live for the first time.
• Their six-song set also featured classics like Creeping Death and Master of Puppets, played just before Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath took the stage.
• The event featured over 40,000 fans, multiple rock legends, and raised money for Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Metallica showed up loud, fast, and full of gratitude at Black Sabbath’s final concert, delivering a powerful six-song set that included two unexpected tributes to the band that helped create heavy metal.

Performing at Villa Park as part of the all-day “Back to the Beginning” charity event, Metallica opened their set with “Hole in the Sky”, a track from Sabbath’s 1975 album Sabotage. The band also covered “Johnny Blade” from Never Say Die!, giving the song its live debut in Metallica’s long touring history.

The rest of their set featured familiar territory: “Creeping Death”, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, “Battery”, and “Master of Puppets”, all staples in Metallica’s catalog. But the covers gave the night a deeper meaning, as the band leaned into their roots to pay public respect to the pioneers who inspired them.

Setlist:

1. Hole in the Sky (Black Sabbath cover)
2. Creeping Death
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls
4. Johnny Blade (Black Sabbath cover)
5. Battery
6. Master of Puppets

In an interview with Heavy Consequence, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett called the performance a chance to say thank you to Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward.

“They wrote the book on the genre,” Hammett said. “If it wasn’t for those four guys, man, we might still be wandering around in the dark.”

Hammett described Black Sabbath’s impact as “awe inspiring”, emphasizing how the band didn’t just start a genre, but developed and evolved it over decades. For him and his peers, Sabbath created the foundation that allowed metal to grow in new directions.

James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and other members of Metallica have long credited Black Sabbath as one of their biggest influences. Nearly 20 years ago, during Sabbath’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2006, Hetfield got emotional while remembering how Sabbath’s early records changed his life.

“They helped crack the shell he was stuck in,” Hetfield said back then, describing how the riffs he stole from his brother’s records gave him both a voice and an identity.

Ulrich, during the same ceremony, put it even more bluntly:

“If there was no Black Sabbath, there would be no Metallica,” he said, adding that the genre itself owes its structure and sound to Sabbath’s invention. He compared the band’s legacy to that of Bob Marley in reggae and Johnny Cash in country.

A Historic Lineup

Metallica was the final act before the night’s headliners, Ozzy Osbourne, performing solo one last time, followed by the classic Black Sabbath lineup reuniting onstage for the first time since 2005.

The full-day event brought together a staggering list of artists including Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, and Anthrax. There were also supergroup performances featuring members of Ghost, Rage Against the Machine, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, and Aerosmith.

Hosted by actor Jason Momoa, the event drew over 40,000 attendees, with proceeds going to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

A livestream of the concert was made available through www.backtothebeginning.com, with replays open until July 7. Although the stream was advertised as “live,” it aired with a two-hour delay from the in-arena schedule.

Deep Cuts and Deep Gratitude

Metallica’s decision to dust off a pair of lesser-played Sabbath songs was a carefully chosen tribute, “Hole in the Sky” hadn’t been performed by them since 2009, and “Johnny Blade” had never been part of their live shows before.

That alone set them apart from the other performers of the night. Instead of opting for the expected hits, they dug deep, aiming to reflect both respect and personal history.

For fans, it was a rare moment to see the biggest metal band in the world turn into fans themselves, honoring their heroes without fanfare, but with volume.

Metallica’s set might not have been the longest of the night, but it hit with the force of a love letter written in distortion and speed.

For those who missed it, there’s still time to catch the show online, at least for a little while. Details are available at backtothebeginning.com.

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