Moshers gathered in their masses. Spilling out of the crazy train from Birmingham to Villa Park earlier this month, the thousands of black band shirts contained a universe: spandexed glam rock nestled next to indecipherable black metal logos, accessorised with wild hair, tough belts and tougher boots. Denim and leather jackets almost sagged under the weight of stitched-on patches. Metal\u2019s tribalism is a marvel, a commitment to a sound and lifestyle on the margins of the mainstream. That Saturday, the genre\u2019s fans were out in force, giving thanks to the man who started it all.<\/p>\n
The daylong metal celebration Back to the Beginning was billed as the farewell concert by Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath<\/a>. But Ozzy\u2019s delayed retirement, due to the effects of debilitating surgeries and Parkinson\u2019s disease, barely masked a different motive: this was surely it, and not just creatively. We wondered: would Ozzy be well enough to perform. If so, what would that performance look like? It gave the day the air of a wake happening in real time.<\/p>\n Black Sabbath had never been stymied by illness or adversity. Tony Iommi lost the tips of two fingers as a teenager but persisted in learning the guitar by making his own prosthetic fingertips and adopting light-gauge strings, which created Black Sabbath\u2019s signature tone. In recent years, he\u2019s lived with cancer. Bassist Geezer Butler has been open about his long experience with depression and drummer Bill Ward is a heart-attack survivor. A degenerative disease, Parkinson\u2019s is marked by its cruelty, robbing a person of their agency and ability to express themselves. For a performer, Parkinson\u2019s may feel like a premature death, of the persona they\u2019ve created and the power it exerts.<\/p>\n Hours before Ozzy appeared onstage at Villa Park, that power and the reverence his lovable, cartoonish, hellraising persona inspires was obvious in the legions of bands \u2013 and acolytes \u2013 who played before him. Acts forewent their usual fees to raise record-shattering profits<\/a> for charities supporting children\u2019s hospitals, hospices and Parkinson\u2019s research; there was a drum-off between members of Blink-182, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool for Sabbath\u2019s Symptom of the Universe; Yungblud cranked Ozzy\u2019s Changes up to 11. The format soaked up the boyish camaraderie, the big kids in Ozzy\u2019s shadow who live for metal.<\/p>\n As the skies darkened, chants of \u201cOzzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!\u201d rose and the stage illuminated a figure seated on a throne of bats. It could be easy for some to forget \u2013 through the haze of reality TV, Brummie mumbles and cartoonish antics \u2013 that Osbourne\u2019s vocals gave rise to an entire genre. To lose that would be to lose it all, so there was mass relief that he was in surprisingly good form. He was visibly fighting against his physical limitations and getting into character with wide-eyed growls, his tone and conviction punching through on Mama, I\u2019m Coming Home and Paranoid.<\/p>\n