“I remember being physically frightened”: Tom Morello looks back on the first time he heard Black Sabbath

Ahead of acting as musical director for Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning show, Tom Morello has reflected on the first time he heard the heavy metal godfathers.

Talking exclusively in the new issue of Metal Hammer, the Rage Against The Machine guitarist reckons he was 10 or 11 the first time he encountered the Brits’ music, which was through their fifth album, 1973’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

“Somebody brought the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath record into school,” he looks back, “and I remember being physically frightened by it. I was very much afraid of the name and of the artwork: ‘What could that possibly be? And what danger does it pose to me and my family?!’”

However, Morello quickly went from fear to admiration, buying the band’s landmark second album Paranoid when he “probably was 12 or 13”.

“[I] fell in love with the band from the first note,” he adds. “I haven’t looked back since.”

Back To The Beginning takes place this Saturday (July 5) at Villa Park in Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham. It will mark the first time the band’s founding lineup – vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – have performed together for almost 20 years, and will also serve as Osbourne’s retirement concert.

As well as Sabbath and a solo set from Osbourne, Back To The Beginning will feature Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer and a host of other hard rock and heavy metal stars. Morello says that the stacked lineup was “a dream” to put together.

“When you say, ‘Black Sabbath are playing one final show with all four original members, it’s also the final-ever show, and we’d like you to play on that date,’ people pick up the fucking phone,” he tells us.

Tickets to Back To The Beginning quickly sold out after it was announced in February, but the event will be live-streamed around the world. Tickets to the stream cost £25. All proceeds from the concert will go to various Birmingham charities.

Osbourne won’t play another show after Back To The Beginning, but he’s already been booked for his first public appearance post-retirement. The vocalist and his family – wife/manager Sharon, daughter Kelly and son Jack – will appear at the Birmingham edition of Comic-Con Midlands, taking place at the National Exhibition Centre from July 12 to 13.

The new Hammer is a deep dive into Back To The Beginning that features interviews with every founding Sabbath member ahead of their swansong. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.