July 5, 2025, became a defining moment in metal history as Ozzy Osbourne and Axl Rose finally met—on the night Black Sabbath closed the curtain on their legendary career. Held at Villa Park in Birmingham, the “Back to the Beginning” farewell brought together the original Sabbath lineup—Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward—for the first time since 2005. But beyond the thunderous riffs and emotional performances, the backstage meeting of two rock titans stole the show.
Despite decades of overlapping careers, Ozzy and Axl had never met until that night. Ozzy, now 76 and seated on a gilded throne due to health issues, reached out to Axl with both hands. “At my age, you don’t meet many legends,” he posted, calling Axl an “utter gentleman.” A second photo with Slash earned the cheeky caption: “Guns N’ Darkness.”
Axl was just as moved. “Wow!! What an EVENT,” he wrote on X. “MET OZZY!! Was hard to watch his struggles, but everyone was rooting for him—and HE DID IT!!” GNR honored Sabbath by covering four of their tracks, including “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and “Junior’s Eyes,” alongside their own hits like “Paradise City.”
With a lineup curated by Tom Morello and hosted by Jason Momoa—who literally launched a moshpit—Black Sabbath’s send-off featured performances by Metallica, Slayer, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Tool, and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. Over 40,000 fans filled the stadium, while more than five million tuned in online.
This wasn’t just a concert—it was a generational handoff, a celebration of resilience, and a reminder that even legends like Ozzy and Axl can still find new beginnings in their final chapters.