Halestorm talk backstage on “Back to the Beginning”

The “Back to the Beginning” organized by Black Sabbaththe big goodbye before Ozzy Osbourne’s death, is already history. A plethora of illustrious names in hard rock/heavy metal gathered under a single flag, that of the Birmingham band, an event of sensational scope and legacy. Halestorm, a hard rock band from Pennsylvania who defined that evening as exceptional and unrepeatable, was also part of it.

“We rehearsed the day before” recalls the singer and guitarist Lzzy Hale to the microphones of “Guitar World”. “We were with Steven Tyler, James Hetfield, Tom Morello and Axl Rose, but we were all on the same level. Nobody acted like they were superior.” Something magical took place at Villa Park in Birmingham last July, on the occasion of Sabbath’s first reunion with the original lineup for the first time since 2005: “I don’t think we’ll experience anything like this again“.

“It was really something special, especially Ozzy during his last show,” adds the guitarist Joe Hottinger. “We were in the middle of the crowd, the Osbourne family behind us and other musicians around, and it was emotional. Ozzy singing ‘Mama, I’m coming home,’ and he was really at home. They were all crying“.

Hale then remembers the Prince of Darkness: “It’s sad to see Ozzy go. We are so grateful to have been therebut at the same time it was really sad to say goodbye to one of the greatest. I mean, it’s Ozzy: you’re expected to always have him here, immortal.” That night, Halestorm played three songs, “Love Bites (So Do I)” and “Rain Your Blood On Me,” plus a cover of Ozzy’s “Perry Mason.” They were the only ones to have a woman on the microphone: “An honor,” Hale declared after the announcement.