Soundgarden have finally cleared the air on why they skipped what might’ve been the heaviest curtain call in metal history, Black Sabbath’s massive ‘Back To The Beginning’ farewell show.
The Seattle icons dropped a statement this week explaining that, despite being invited to perform by none other than Tom Morello, they simply couldn’t align their schedules. According to Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron, they were ‘super bummed’ to miss out on celebrating the band that laid the foundation for heavy music as we know it.
“Congratulations to Black Sabbath on the grand and final pealing of their vesper bells,” their statement read, equal parts poetic and heavy as hell. Soundgarden went on to thank Sabbath for “a lifetime of beauty, horror, love, power, happiness, melancholy and a profoundly sublime, yet viscerally rocking transcendence informed by both doom and hope.” In short: no Sabbath, no Soundgarden.
The tribute also shut down post show rumours that Sabbath’s camp had cut Soundgarden from the bill, this was not the case at all. As the band explained, they were grateful for the invite, but coordinating their “individual and collective projects” proved impossible.
The statement was shared via the Nudedragons Instagram page, alongside a throwback photo of Soundgarden meeting Ozzy and Iommi at Download Festival 2012.
In case you missed it, Sabbath’s final gig at Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5 wasn’t just sentimental. It pulled in a staggering $190 million for charity, locking in its spot as one of the biggest benefit shows in rock history.
So while Sabbath rang out their last note without Soundgarden by their side, the mutual respect between the two titans remains carved in stone. Those other rumours can now be laid to rest, Soundgarden were not cut from Back To The Beginning!
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