MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN: “The Reason I’m on a Stage at All Is Because of BLACK SABBATH’s First Album”

Maynard James Keenan (TOOL, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer) recently revealed that TOOL initially declined an invitation to participate in the upcoming ‘Back To The Beginning’ tribute concert for Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. The special event will be held July 5th at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK, celebrating the legacy of the pioneering heavy metal legends with a lineup of top metal and hard rock artists.

Keenan first learned of the event while attending Ozzy Osbourne‘s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction last year. Speaking with ‘Loudwire Nights’, Keenan explained:

“The conversation first came up when I was at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, hanging out with Wolfgang [Van Halen] and some of the guys, I think even Robert Trujillo. We were on the travel over there, just going, ‘Okay, well, there’s a rumor about the Black Sabbath show.’ I was like, ‘Well, let’s do something.’

So I kinda had planned a song to do and all of a sudden I’m at home and I get the call, ‘Hey, Tool’s been asked to do a song,’ and I’m like ‘Fuck.’ Now I have to call back Wolfgang and those guys and go, ‘I’m going to do it with Tool, sorry.'”

Initially, Keenan had doubts about Osbourne‘s ability to perform given his ongoing health struggles, leading to hesitation:

“Seeing Ozzy moving around at that event, the idea of him playing a show at all… if we’re being honest, the conversation about going to do the song was like, ‘We’ll have this conversation, but ahh… I don’t know that this is gonna happen.’

Even now, I’m cautious about saying, ‘Yeah! All in, he’s gonna do it.’ Because man, I don’t know what kind of modern miracles we’ll come up with to get him on stage to do the songs, but this is gonna be a challenge for them. So, I’m honored to be a part of it, but I’m kinda preparing for the worst — but hoping for the best, as they say.”

Keenan also touched on how TOOL ultimately agreed to the performance after more discussions:

“Initially we passed because I was like, I don’t know how this is going to go. With Tool, nothing’s easy. Nothing is a simple decision of just ‘Yes! Let’s go!’ It always ends up being something difficult. But then everybody was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ Oh, okay. Let’s do it then.”

Reflecting on the profound impact Black Sabbath had on his career, Keenan added:

“The reason I’m on a stage at all is because of Black Sabbath’s first album.”

Health concerns remain a major focus as the show approaches. Earlier this year, Ozzy Osbourne shared that he can no longer walk unassisted due to years of injuries and his battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Zakk Wylde recently confirmed that Osbourne will perform portions of songs while seated on a custom throne at the event, though his vocal abilities remain strong.

Speaking on his ‘Ozzy Speaks’ show on SiriusXM, Osbourne updated fans on his preparations:

“I’m in heavy training for this show that’s coming up. I haven’t done anything for — this will be seven years [since I played a full concert], and so I’ve been through all this surgery. It really is like starting from scratch.”

“It’s endurance training. The first thing to go when you’re laid up is your stamina, so believe it or not, I’m doing two sets of three-minute walks a day and weight training. I’ve gotta get going, you know. I’m waking up in my body.”

Elsewhere during the ‘Loudwire Nights’ interview, Keenan confirmed that there are no current plans for a new three-way split release during the second leg of the ‘Sessanta’ tour. However, he did highlight the debut of a new collaborative track with Primus, titled “Little Lord Fentanyl”, which premiered at the tour’s kickoff.

Looking further ahead, Keenan teased the upcoming fifth studio album from Puscifer:

“We have a whole collection of music now. We’re just kinda waiting on some drums from Sarah Jones. Greg Edwards is working on some bass right now. But we’re probably gonna have that out, a new Puscifer album, full-length, out in the fall of this year and then probably tour in the spring following.”

As for which Black Sabbath song TOOL will perform at ‘Back To The Beginning’, Keenan kept the details under wraps, only offering:

“The song that we picked, it’s difficult in a different way.”

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