Nobody Cares That (Insert Band Name Here) Wasn’t at “Back to the Beginning”

It’s been almost 2 weeks since Ozzy and Black Sabbath graced the stage for (presumably) the last time, and since then I’ve had a fair amount of reflection about “Back to the Beginning”.  Not just the magnitude of what the event signifies, i.e. the cessation of a band that has meant so much to so many, but also the sheer logistical miracles that were required to pull off such a stunt and how good the show actually was. 

Over a dozen major arena level headlining acts sharing a single stage over a 10-hour one day event?  GTFO.  Knowing how high maintenance some of those acts can be, the fact that minus a minor hiccup with the live stream, the whole thing played out pretty seamlessly.  And everyone was reasonably well behaved and on schedule!  I’ve been to plenty of festivals over the years where bands of a much smaller stature have pulled their diva cards and shown their ass to a paying crowd, or where technical snafus knocked the entire schedule of its axis almost immediately.   

Along with an emotionally charged sendoff for both Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, we were treated to micro-greatest hits sets from Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, et al, some ripping all-star jam tributes (I have a whole new respect for Nuno Bettencourt), and a chance for the fans themselves to say “thank you.” The $40 I spent on the livestream was absolutely well worth it.

The event was viewed by something like 6 million people (that’s like if the entire country of Singapore took the day off) and raised almost $200 million for charity.  This was a moment that all of the Heavy Metal community could rally behind, and for a fleeting moment, it felt like there was some calm in the air.  Was the world outside still on fire?  Absolutely.  But for right now, this moment, it was all about expressing gratitude to 4 old Brummies who half a century ago inauspiciously started a movement that would change all of our lives. 

Then the internet did its thing. 

First, it was the drama with Dave Draiman.  I’m not going to give that subject any more oxygen than it’s already received, but sufficed to say, it’s generated an abundance of digital outrage.  

Then it was the headline “Nikki Sixx Addresses Motley Crue’s Absence from Back to the Beginning.” Seriously? 

In all fairness to the Crue camp, this was a clickbait headline that caught fire from a social media interaction that Nikki had with a fan, it wasn’t like the band put out a press release.  But c’mon.  With everything that the Back to the Beginning event treated fans to, was there anyone in those 6 million people who felt cheated because they didn’t hear “Home Sweet Home”?  Over the next few days, I saw multiple variations of that same headline in my inbox, from multiple media outlets.  Some of them presented Nikki's statement at face value and left it alone.  Many others though used it as an opportunity to take some shots at Motley’s recent live performances and Vince Neil’s, err, “condition.”  Because who doesn’t like punching down on Motley Crue these days, amirite? 

Even before the actual show, there was the speculation of “which band did Sharon kick off the bill due to a financial disagreement?”  Now that the event is behind us, it’s picked up steam again. Was it Danzig? Was it Megadeth?  Was it Mickey Dolenz Performing the Songs of the Monkees? 

This week, it’s why the surviving members of Soundgarden weren’t at the show, despite only having passively been mentioned at some point during the months long lead up to the event.  Look, I like Soundgarden as much as the next guy, but not once during the 10-hour live stream did I think to myself, “where the heck is Kim Thayill?”  The fact that the remaining ¾ of a band that’s been largely dormant for the last 10 years didn’t perform at a major music festival shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.  You know what did surprise me?  Jake E. Lee's dramatic entrance to the stage and a phenomenal rendition of "The Ultimate Sin."

Don't forget the critiques about some of the older bands - “Did you hear GNR? They're done, Axl Rose sounds terrible.”  Well...Axl Rose is a 63-year-old man who regularly puts on a pretty good 3-hour show and can sell out any stadium in the known world.  And GNR will likely outlast your YouTube channel. What did you do today? 

Peppered in between all the noise has been the internet’s armchair quarterbacks.  “Meh, there weren’t any doom/death/whatever bands there.”  Back to the Beginning was never going to be that type of event and complaining about it is disingenuous at best.  There are plenty of quality festival promoters out there who could readily assemble their own genre specific version of a Sabbath sendoff if there was an appetite for it. So please - somebody take that bait, because that's a show I'd honestly love to see.

This is why we can’t have nice things.   

No one really cares why Motley, Soundgarden, Dave Mustaine, or Mickey Dolenz Performing the Songs of the Monkees weren’t at Sabbath’s send off. No one really cares that the bands you loved in the 80's are older in 2025. No one really cares that this one is beefing with that one about who gives a rat's ass. But making you think that somebody cares and that any of this is important will grab your eyes, generate clicks, sell ads, and artificially boost social media engagement. If you need this to be about more than seeing Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill together on stage one last time - you've missed the point entirely.

You know what you haven’t read much about?  What’s being done with the $200 million in charitable donations, or the children and families that will benefit from the generosity of our scene.  You’ve gotta go to BBC News for that. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y737gjvx3o 

Or that Tony Iommi is finishing his first new solo album in 20 years?  Maybe, but I’m almost positive that you’ve heard that Tom Morello won’t be invited to Dave Draiman’s house for dinner anytime soon. 

https://www.loudersound.com/news/black-sabbath-tony-iommi-solo-album-update-2025

2 weeks ago, the global Metal community was crying together and singing along to “Mama, I’m Coming Home”. I guess I'm just disappointed to see how quickly we've let go of that unity and are back to snipping at each other for the sake of "likes" and "follows". Because here's the thing we should all remember - it doesn’t matter if you're a fan of Motley Crue, Disturbed, RATM, Black Sabbath, or Mickey Dolenz Performing the Songs of The Monkees, to most of the outside world we're all just a bunch of caveman weirdos. I love this tribe of caveman weirdos, and if that random Saturday in Birmingham showed us anything, it's that 1) we are literally millions strong, and 2) we can do anything when we're united.

Were there some parts of Back to the Beginning that I liked more than others? Sure. But it was also a meticulously planned and masterfully executed once in a lifetime event that brought together some of my favorite bands for a great cause. It was an event that not only gave the fans some much needed closure, but also did a tremendous amount of charitable good. I really hope that 6-months from now we get some officially sanctioned hi-def videos (a Blu-Ray would be asking for too much), because I'd love to revisit the moments that matter. You know what else matters? Heavy Metal matters. Our community matters. Black Sabbath matters.