Judas Priest recorded a version of Black Sabbath song War Pigs featuring Ozzy Osbourne on vocals shortly before the singer’s death.
The heavy metal band’s frontman Rob Halford makes the revelation during a recent appearance on the Full Metal Jackie Podcast radio show (via Loudwire).
He reveals that the cover of the 1970 track is “waiting in the wings”, and that it was put together after Priest released a War Pigs cover without the late Ozzy in July.
Reflecting on how the team-up came together, Halford says: “She [Ozzy’s wife/manager Sharon Osbourne] approached me with this idea, she said, ‘I love your version of War Pigs. Is there a way we can get Ozzy?’ I was [like], ‘You’re asking me? This is gonna happen!’
“So, you get Ozzy singing a line and then I’m singing a line and Ozzy’s singing a line and I’m singing a line. It’s the first ever time in my entire life that I’ve been able to do a duet with Ozzy and I’m so eternally grateful and blessed that I was able to do that.”
The singer calls the collaboration “colossal” and adds: “When you hear Priest’s War Pigs with Ozzy singing on that track, it’s just going to a really special place.”
According to Halford, “the green button’s almost ready to go” on the song and it should come out “pretty soon”.
Priest released their take on War Pigs on July 2, three days before Ozzy’s blockbuster retirement concert, Back To The Beginning, took place at Villa Park in his hometown of Birmingham. Despite Priest also being proud Brummies, they were one of the few veteran metal bands to not perform at the event, as they had previously been booked onto the Scorpions 60th-anniversary show taking place in Germany on the same day. Halford told Hammer that he was “gutted” to be missing out.
Ozzy died on July 22, 17 days after his live retirement, following a heart attack. Priest paid tribute to the singer via social media, writing, “Our hearts are broken like millions around the world. Words can't express the love and loss we are all feeling.” The band then integrated a tribute to Ozzy into their live show, adding his face to the onstage video graphics for their 2024 song Giants In The Sky.
Tonight (September 16), Priest will kick off a North American co-headline tour with shock rock legend Alice Cooper in Biloxi, Mississippi. The dates will wrap up on October 26 in Houston, Texas. See dates and details via the band’s website.
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