Wolfgang Van Halen was initially among the musicians announced for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath‘s Back to the Beginning concert, but in a new interview with Detroit’s Meltdown on 101 WRIF, he reveals that he’s had to back out.
The Mammoth leader shared with the radio host, “I, unfortunately, had to back out because the Creed tour [with Mammoth as support] starts the day after, and I [wouldn’t] be able to pull it off — unfortunately. I’m very excited to watch it, but I unfortunately had to back out.”
Though the scheduling didn’t work out for this instance, Wolfgang did have the honor of participating in Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock Hall induction. Speaking on the Loudwire Nights radio show earlier this year, he shared, “My family lineage is intertwined and has gone way back with the likes of Ozzy, My dad was very, very close with Tony [Iommi], probably the closest of any other guitar players out there. It was a crazy honor to be there for the Hall of Fame induction as well as this. It’s a crazy thing.”
“There are some legends out there where it’s just like, they can’t be replicated and they’re just so original — they started a movement,” he concluded, while also revealing that his father’s favorite guitar riff was Black Sabbath’s “Into the Void.”
Within the chat with Meltdown, Wolfgang was also asked to name his favorite Ozzy guitar player. With the talent to choose from, that was no easy feat and rightfully Wolfgang struggled in giving just one response.
“I’m really bad at picking, ’cause that almost implies you don’t like another one in comparison. And I feel like Randy [Rhoads] was amazing, but you can’t not give cred to Tony [Iommi] being the legend and groundbreaking genre creator he was — and is. [Laughs] So I love ’em all. That’s not the answer you wanna hear.”
Wolfgang Van Halen Speaks With WRIF’s Meltdown
Mammoth’s 2025 + the Back to the Beginning Concert
While Wolfgang won’t be able to make the Back to the Beginning concert, the event has no shortage of star power.
Destined to be the music event of 2025, Back to the Beginning reunites the original foursome of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward onstage together playing their hometown of Birmingham, England at the Villa Park venue on July 5.
READ MORE: The Song Jake E. Lee Wants to Play At Ozzy’s Farewell Concert Isn’t the One You Think
Joining them throughout the day will be an all-star lineup of musicians paying respects to the metal pioneers and the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne. Performances by Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and Rival Sons will lead up to the big moment.
Additional performances throughout the day will feature Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, David Draiman, Duff McKagan, Fred Durst, Lzzy Hale, Jake E. Lee, Jonathan Davis, K.K. Downing, Mike Bordin, Papa V Perpetua, Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Slash, Sleep Token II, Steven Tyler, Soundgarden, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Vernon Reid, Whitfield Crane and David Ellefson. Meanwhile, actor Jason Momoa will host the day-long event.
A pay-per-view Back to the Beginning global livestream is now being provided so that fans may access this historic moment. The raw livestream will begin at 3PM BST on July 5 and those who purchase the livestream will continue to have exclusive access to watch the concert in its entirety for another 48 hours.
Tickets for the livestream are currently on sale through the Back to the Beginning website.
Meanwhile, Mammoth will be back on the road next month as well as Wolfgang stated. The group will support Creed on their summer run of shows. Dates are booked through Aug. 30, with cities, dates and ticketing info all accessible through the Mammoth website.