As you all know by now, Black Sabbath canceled most of their European tour dates (minus the Download Fest, Lollapalooza and the one-off hometown show) in light of Tony Iommi’s battle with lymphoma. Filling in for the absent Sabbath during those European shows and festivals will be Ozzy Osbourne himself, along with a few famous friends.
Billed as “Ozzy Osbourne & Friends,” we already knew that the Prince of Darkness would be joined by his Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler, his former guitarist Zakk Wylde, and ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash (on select dates), as well as many more “surprises.” However, the first promo picture for “Ozzy & Friends” (as seen above) does highlight some interesting facts and queries, including:
-When we heard Wylde’s name attached to this, we weren’t entirely sure if Ozzy’s current guitarist Gus G. was going to be involved at all. However, Wylde confirmed the Firewind guitarist’s inclusion during an interview with The Nervous Breakdown last month, giving the following:
“Gus G., Blasko and Tommy (Clufetos) are coming out and doing a bunch of tunes, then I come out with Blasko and Tommy and we end up doing a bunch of stuff from the era when I was with The Boss, from No Rest for the Wicked all the way through everything I’ve ever done with him. Then Geezer (Butler, Black Sabbath bassist) comes out and we do a bunch of Sabbath stuff and at the end, Slash and everybody–Geezer, Slash, Gus–and we all play ‘Paranoid.’”
And now this new promo picture confirms that we’ll get to see Wylde and Gus shredding together at some point during the show.
-As far as we know, Sabbath and Bill Ward have still not reached a new agreement. In other words, we still don’t know who will be drumming for Sabbath on the three dates confirmed for this year. Granted, Tommy Clufetos would have been involved in “Ozzy & Friends” either way. However, it does seems rather convenient that Ozzy’s drummer will already be in Europe with half of the Sabbath lineup, don’t you think? And we already know one drummer who definitely won’t be joining them.
“Ozzy Osbourne & Friends” will kick off their trek in Helsinki, Finland on May 23. In case you just so happen to be in Europe this Summer, an rundown of dates for their entire European tour can be seen after the jump.
5/ 23 – Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Arena
5/ 25 – Stockholm, Sweden – Stadium
5/ 27 – Jelling, Denmark – Jelling Festival
5/ 29 – Bergen, Norway – Bergen Calling Festival
5/ 31 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum
6/ 2 – Malmo, Sweden – Malmo Stadium
6/ 4 – Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle
6/ 6 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
6/ 15 – Vitoria, Spain – Azkena Rock Festival
6/ 17 – Clisson, France – Hellfest
6/ 22 – Dessel, Belgium – Graspop Metal Meeting
6/ 24 – Milan, Italy – Gods of Metal Festival
6/ 26 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle
6/ 28 – Belgrade, Serbia – USCE Park
7/ 1 – Athens, Greece – Rockwave Festival – Terra
