Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis has shared his reminiscences of touring alongside Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, reflecting on the bond between the 2 legendary bands and revealing how a Sabbath cowl recorded by Priest has taken on a brand new, poignant that means following Ozzy‘s demise.
Talking on Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern, Travis seemed again on Ozzfest 2004, when Priest toured the U.S. with the reunited authentic lineup of Black Sabbath. “Rob [Halford] rejoined Priest and we had been on the Ozzfest tour [in] 2004… The 2 headliners [that year] had been Black Sabbath and Priest,” Travis mentioned.
“That was an entire summer season tour in America, so it was actually nice to have the ability to try this tour with authentic Sabbath and, at that time, it was nonetheless with Okay.Okay. [Downing] and Glenn [Tipton] within the band. In order that was only a super-cool second, and, clearly, Rob rejoining Priest after being gone for 13 years — a very long time. In order that was very cool.”
Travis additionally addressed why Priest had been absent from Black Sabbath‘s historic last efficiency, which passed off on July 5, 2022 at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK. “We knew concerning the Sabbath reunion or the Sabbath last present that was developing within the U.Okay., however as I am certain you are conscious, we had already contracted and agreed to do the Scorpions‘ 60th-anniversary present in Germany [on the same day]. So we could not do the Ozzy factor.”
As a substitute, Priest determined to honor Sabbath with a recorded tribute. “We thought it might be cool to file a Sabbath tune as a tribute to Ozzy. And, after all, we bought the blessing from [Ozzy‘s wife and manager] Sharon Osbourne. So we did our model of ‘Conflict Pigs’. However we did that properly earlier than — not solely earlier than the Black Sabbath present however earlier than Ozzy handed. In order that was form of bizarre that we had been ready to try this.”
Travis went on to disclose that followers could ultimately hear a particular model of the tune that pairs Rob Halford with Ozzy himself. “I feel there is a model popping out with Ozzy really singing on that model. In different phrases, Rob will sing a verse after which Ozzy sings a verse. I feel that is popping out.”
The drummer confirmed that information of Ozzy‘s demise broke whereas Priest had been nonetheless on the highway. “We had been in the course of our tour [when we got the news that Ozzy had died], and it was devastating,” he mentioned.
From Ozzfest 2004 — a “super-cool” summer season that introduced collectively two of heavy steel’s most influential bands — to their “Conflict Pigs” tribute, Judas Priest‘s ties to Ozzy Osbourne run deep. For Scott Travis, these reminiscences are actually inseparable from the shock of his passing. As he summed up, what started as a deliberate salute to Sabbath has turn out to be an unintentional memorial to one in every of steel’s biggest icons.
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