The grunge legends were set to join the bill for ‘Back to the Beginning’, the final show of heavy metal icons Black Sabbath, featuring founding members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tommy Iommi and Bill Ward. The stacked support lineup featured other rock and metal royalty such as Metallica, Alice In Chains, Gojira, Anthrax, Guns N’ Roses, KoRn, Tool, Slayer, Pantera and more.

@consequence Black Sabbath perform “War Pigs” at their farewell concert. Credit: Universal Music Group #blacksabbath #ozzyosbourne #backtothebeginning #warpigs #heavymetal ♬ original sound – consequence

But during the event, fans noticed that Soundgarden didn’t make their planned appearance at the show. It was speculated that they may have been the band that organiser Sharon Osbourne kicked off the show due to a dispute, where Sharon claimed their manager was making up “bulls**t lies”, as reported by NME.

But Soundgarden have now shared an explanation of their absence on social media, clarifying that they weren’t the act to be booted off the lineup. On the band’s Instagram account, they wrote: “Congratulations to Black Sabbath on the grand and final pealing of their vesper bells!

 

 

 

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“Thank you for an astounding career that provided us and your legion of fans with a lifetime of beauty, horror, love, power, happiness, melancholy and a profoundly sublime, yet viscerally rocking transcendence informed by both doom and hope. Your majestic brilliance has inspired greatness in scores of other bands, musicians and songwriters. However, the crown will forever remain yours!

 
“We are very grateful to Tony, Ozzy, Geezer and Bill, as well as Sharon Osbourne and music director, Tom Morello for the honor and invitation to Soundgarden to perform at the Back to the Beginning festival! We are super bummed and regret that we were unable to coordinate the schedules of our individual and collective projects to attend and contribute to the festival. The warmth, love and support from the Black Sabbath team has been a continuing source of encouragement and strength throughout our career.”

Alongside their kind words, they shared pictures of themselves with members of Black Sabbath. This included a cheery snap of the band with Tommy Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Soundgarden’s late singer Chris Cornell at Download Festival in 2012.

You can catch MXDWN’s highlights of the Black Sabbath farewell show here.

Founding member Wayne Kramer will be joined by an all-star cast of a line-up during the tour, in Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Brendan Canty (Fugazi), Dug Pinnick (King’s X), Marcus Durant (Zen Guerrilla),
Don Was (Was Not Was) and Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam).

The tour will also commemorate the release of Kramer’s memoir, The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities, to be published August 16^th by Faber & Faber in UK. The book chronicles his abusive childhood, the influence of rock and roll found in artists like Chuck Berry and The Yardbirds, as well as the life and times of the band and it’s excessive legacy.

The book also documents Kramer’s life after the band, including jail time, addiction, and reconnecting with his estranged father.

Kramer wrote “I will come to England, where some of the greatest live shows of my life were performed in the MC5, to play Kick Out the Jams again with these great musicians. Doing so is the best possible tribute to the legacy. To borrow from Claude Lanzmann, there will be ‘No Retirement and No Retreat.” Let’s rock.” The tour kicks off in Bristol in early November, before culminating at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. You can see the full list of dates below.

09/11/2018- Bristol Academy- Bristol

10/11- ABC- Glasgow

11/11- Albert Hall- Manchester

12/11- Shepherds Bush Empire- London.

As well as Cornell, the band is comprised of former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello (guitar), Brad Wilk (drums), and Tim Commerford (bass). When Cornell departed at the beginning of 2007, he cited “irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences” as his reason for leaving. You can watch footage of Audioslave playing their hit ‘Cochise’ from last night below. The band also performed their hits ‘Show me How to Live’ and ‘Like a Stone’.

The Anti-Inaugural Ball that saw Audioslave reform was organised by Prophets of Rage, which features the politically active Morello, Wilk, and Commerford, as well as members of Cypress Hill, and Public Enemy. Jackson Browne, Vic Mensah, and Jack Black also performed at last night’s event.

Ahead of the concert last night, Morello released a statement about the intentions of the Ball, saying “The Anti-Inaugural Ball is a celebration of resistance. Resistance to racism. Resistance to sexism. Resistance to homophobia. Resistance to bullying. Resistance to environmental devastation. Resistance to fascism. Resistance to Donald Trump.”

“We are staring down the barrel of a dystopian nightmare unless we act now, unless we fight back now. We intend to create ‘No Trump Zones’ across the country; in our homes, our schools, our places of work, and our concert stages. Bad Presidents make for great music. Join us as we get loud and stand together to defend our rights, our country, and our planet.”

As of yet there has been no confirmation of a permanent reunion of Audioslave, and all members are also currently busy with their respective projects, with Cornell rejoining former band Soundgarden in 2010, and the other three members being occupied with Prophets of Rage.