Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's farewell concert on July 5 was, as advertised, the greatest day in the history of heavy metal. How could it not be when Ozzy is back with Sabbath for a few songs and the bands that led up to the finale included Guns N' Roses and Metallica? It was a can't-miss streaming.
Unfortunately, there were some bands that couldn't make it to Birmingham, England. Judas Priest was one as they were supporting the Scorpions in Germany. Who knows how long either band will continue to play?
Others seemingly had to miss for possibly less worthy reasons. One of those is Soundgarden. They received an invite from the concert music director, Tom Morello, and had to pass. The reason given by the band in a social media post on Instagram is that they were, well...too busy.
Soundgarden has a poor excuse for missing the Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath farewell concert
While praising the greatness of Sabbath and Ozzy, the band wrote, "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."
What should have happened is that when you get a call to play at the final concert for the twin metal gods of Ozzy and Black Sabbath is to rearrange your schedule so you can appear. It was one day, and not a long-term commitment. The reason Soundgarden gives for passing is underwhelming.
Maybe deeper reasons exist for the band not to be at the show. To be fair, as great as the lineup of Soundgarden has been over the decades, they will never be quite the same without vocalist Chris Cornell. His voice was one of the best instruments in the history of rock.
Seeing Soundgarden play at a concert meant to be a goodbye to Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne without having Cornell might have only brought more sad memories.
While the band makes enough money off their name, one might also wish more groups would go the route of what Joy Division members did after the suicide of Ian Curtis. The band changed its name to New Order and continued a great run of albums. Soundgarden without Cornell feels the same as Joy Division without Curtis.
Either way, Soundgarden's current members should have worked out their schedules to appear. At least, guitarist Kim Thayil could have gone and played in one of the two supergroups. It is simply a regrettable situation.