Saturday night, February 4, Black Sabbath played their final show as a band.
The setting couldn't have been more perfect; they capped off their nearly five-decade-long career as a performing entity at NEC Arena in their hometown of Birmingham, England.
The final performance was streamed via Facebook Live and shared on Guitar World's Facebook page; however, if you missed it, you can watch the show's powerful finale below. After playing 14 songs (none of which were released later than 1972), Black Sabbath closed with an undisputed classic, "Paranoid," the upbeat title track from their influential 1970 album. You can see the full set list near the bottom of this story.
After the song's final chord, Ozzy Osbourne thanked the fans for five decades of support and confirmed that this was—indeed—their final show.
In November, Osbourne claimed he'd d continue making music following Sabbath's The End tour. “It’s not me that wants to retire, it’s Black Sabbath,” Osbourne told Ultimate Classic Rock. “I’ll be continuing my own musical thing. My wife is good at telling me partial information, but I know I’m not hanging my boots up for a while.”
Not so fast, perhaps; guitarist Tony Iommi recently told Ultimate Guitar that a new Black Sabbath album is a "maybe," although he also (a year earlier) implied that bassist Geezer Butler doesn't want to do it.
"As I said, I’ll be doing some writing," Iommi said. "Maybe I’ll be doing something with the guys, maybe in the studio, but no touring."
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Hopefully, "the guys" includes former Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward.
Black Sabbath, February 4, 2017, Set List: ‘Black Sabbath’ ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ ‘Under the Sun / Every Day Comes and Goes’ ‘After Forever’ ‘Into the Void’ ‘Snowblind’ ‘War Pigs’ ‘N.I.B.’ ‘Hand of Doom’ ‘Supernaut / Sabbath Bloody Sabbath / Megalomania’ (medley) ‘Rat Salad’ ‘Iron Man’ ‘Dirty Women’ ‘Children of the Grave’ ‘Paranoid’
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
