Metallica’s Robert Trujillo Reflects on Watching Black Sabbath Prep for ‘Back to the Beginning’
Yes, it’s almost October and we’re still talking about perhaps the most momentous event to ever take place in heavy metal history — the Ozzy and Black Sabbath farewell show this past July dubbed ‘Back to the Beginning.’ It was a huge deal, with only most of the world’s biggest metal and rock acts joining forces for a day of celebration as Ozzy, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward say goodbye to their time as a force.
One of the acts that managed to play that day was naturally the biggest band in the world, Metallica. In a recent episode of The Metallica Report (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), bassist Robert Trujillo reflected on his time at the show, from the preparatory soundchecks to the performances that will remain engrained in the culture for decades to come.
“It was definitely a true celebration. And it’s safe to say that with Sabbath’s music, they were the seed. And we’ve all became the creators of the music that we’ve created because of them, and they paved the way for us. Because that music, what they created, was so unique.”
Talking about a conversation he had with Ozzy’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, Trujillo said she shared what it was like to hear that band in the late 1960s when they offered a truly unique sound for the time.
“I remember Sharon [Ozzy’s wife and manager] saying it was alternative — it was an alternative form of music style [when Sabbath first came out in the late 1960s]. It was so different from anything that was happening back then. And there are a lot of reasons for that. Take [Sabbath drummer] Bill Ward, for instance, as a drummer. He’s so unique in his style of playing and that swing that he has, it reminds me of big band music or in a big band style. There was a lot of that in him. Ozzy, with his very bluesy, soulful style of singing. Tony [Iommi, Sabbath guitarist], his chords were — [Metallica guitarist] Kirk [Hammett] calls ’em smart chords, which are basically jazz chords, and incorporating that into the riffs. Even just the fact that his fingers are different. He has that, which, believe it or not, will create a certain sound, will create a certain riff. So a lot of the stuff that was coming out of that band, it’s just very unique, very soulful.”
As the conversation carried on, Trujillo shared a particularly poignant moment as a long-time fan of Black Sabbath and having played with Ozzy’s solo act in the past.
“They were soundchecking, and Ozzy wasn’t on stage yet. And even just hearing them warm up on their instruments, this is a whole another level. This is like [watching] Muhammad Ali shadow box or hit the speed bag — it’s that intense. It’s crazy, because Sabbath is warming up to play, obviously, loud music in a stadium, and they’re just warming up, man — drum fills, some tribal beats Bill was doing, and you hear Geezer [Butler, Sabbath bassist] kind of noodling a bit. And then Tony — I even remember him playing some kind of sort of little bit of jazz, some jazz chords here and there, and then they went into, yeah, ‘Into The Void’. And it was really slow and super heavy, but they just went into it.
“And everybody that was watching — there were a few of us — just started headbanging, and we were all smiling. And some people were crying, some people were crying. It was so beautiful, and it was a powerful moment that anybody that witnessed it, that was something that they’ll probably remember for the rest of their lives. But it was a special day. And to see the command that [those] songs and just the feel of that music has on all of us is really something special.”
It’s very likely that we’ll be hearing details about this show for years to come, as people become more willing to share their thoughts on their participation. I can’t imagine getting the call to perform, let alone actually coming together to celebrate a man and a band that started it all.
