The most anticipated heavy metal event of all time, Back to the Beginning, took place last weekend (July 5), and as expected, the nine-hour affair proved to be the perfect send off for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.
To bring the curtain down on Ozzy and Sabbath’s epic live careers, the legendary band were joined by a who’s who of guitar royalty, with the likes of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Halestorm, Lamb of God all making up the lineup.
Throughout the evening, these guitar heroes and special guests were arranged across a stacked itinerary, with some playing 15 minute sets (Ozzy and Sabbath covers included) and others joining forces for special one-off supergroups.
Billy Corgan’s ‘metal yardbirds’ were arguably the most hyped supergroup of the night, but they were given a run for their money when Steven Tyler made a triumphant return to the stage with a three-song set that also featured Ronnie Wood, Nuno Bettencourt, Tom Morello and Andrew Watt.
Tyler, whose high-profile vocal injury forced Aerosmith to retire from touring last year, showed absolutely zero signs of a musician whose powers were apparently waning, instead putting in a strong case for ‘vocalist of the evening’ as he confidently and robustly belted through The Train Kept A-Rollin’, Aerosmith’s Walk This Way and Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love.
The supporting cast of guest guitar heroes played their part, too. Wood, fresh from his Glastonbury 2025 appearance alongside Rod Stewart, sauntered through the sleazy, untethered bends and riffs of that first song, before giving up the stage to Nuno, Watt and Morello for the rest of Tyler’s set.
Watt – longtime Ozzy collaborator and super-producer to rock’s elite – donned an SG for the occasion, while Morello and his Arm the Homeless Superstrat helped hold down the classic Aerosmith and Zeppelin riffs.
And then there was Nuno, whose contributions to the evening cannot be overstated. A foundational presence throughout the entirety of Back to the Beginning, Bettencourt was – in the words of Guitar World’s Michael Astley-Brown, who watched the entire show – the MVP of the evening.
His presence for the Tyler cameo was equally influential, padding out riffs when required, supporting in the vocals department, and serving as the six-string supergroup glue that, in large parts, held the evening together.
All this is to say, Tyler looks to be in seriously good form, and though a one-off appearance lasting 15 minutes is a very different to sustaining an entire show, it makes chatter of a potential Aerosmith send-off all the more believable.
Last week, Joe Perry said there had to be “at least another Aerosmith gig”, while bassist Tom Hamilton previously admitted, “I refuse to consider it over,” when asked about a potential return.
With Tyler sounding as good as this (especially on Aerosmith classics) a reunion now looks more likely than ever – and, as the evidence shows, it would sound killer...
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