The absence of Megadeth from the star-studded “Back To The Beginning” mega-tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham has been a topic of fan speculation. Now, Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo has provided clarity, stating that the band was simply never extended an invitation to perform.
LoMenzo’s comments emerged after industry veteran Charrie Foglio shared a segment of her July 9 interview with him for BURRN! magazine in the “Back To The Beginning – Black Sabbath’s Final Concert” Facebook group. This spurred renewed discussion among fans about Megadeth’s omission from the lineup, which prominently featured three of thrash’s “Big Four“: Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax.
Responding to Foglio’s observation, LoMenzo explained: “The truth of the matter is, I don’t believe that anybody asked us, which was fine. Not everybody gets invited to every party. But at the same time, when we were in Europe last week, David [Mustaine, Megadeth frontman] said that he was reaching out to everybody and telling them that we were in the neighborhood and that we were close enough to come. And if they wanted us to, we could stay over for a few days and work it out… If they wanted us to. I don’t know what our manager had accomplished with that, but it didn’t get accomplished, so we just came home.”
LoMenzo acknowledged the public curiosity, noting: “Even before all of this started, everyone was saying, ‘Well, what about Megadeth?’ It was really funny to read because there was no invite and there was no talking to people, there was actually nothing to do with any of it. It was this exciting situation where we’re celebrating Ozzy [Osbourne] in his retirement… Anyway, the show was amazing! I would have loved to have been there. I knew about the show months and months ago.”
Adding an interesting layer to his reflections, LoMenzo also revealed that he has been involved in recording sessions with original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. Ward‘s camp had, in fact, given LoMenzo an early heads-up that a final Sabbath show was a strong possibility. Ward himself mentioned speaking with Ozzy daily while the singer was unwell, providing LoMenzo with an initial understanding of the deep personal significance the event held for the founding Sabbath members. Despite the widespread speculation surrounding Megadeth’s absence, LoMenzo downplayed any notion of drama: “I don’t see it as controversy or anything… I do know that conspicuously we were missing, but nobody was invited.”
Separately, Ozzy’s wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, had previously disclosed that she was compelled to remove a major artist from the “Back To The Beginning” lineup. Speaking to Billboard, Sharon bluntly stated the reason for the decision: “They wanted to make a profit. And it’s not the time to make a profit. After the show, I’ll let everybody know who it was. I think people will be shocked.” Last month, Sharon confided to Metal Hammer about a “heated dispute” with a band manager whose act was originally slated to perform, expressing, “It was probably the worst way I’ve felt in years. And he’s now going around making up bulls**t lies because I threw his band off the bill.”
While Sharon did not identify the band, she did clarify that it was not Iron Maiden, dispelling speculation rooted in past tensions between the Osbournes and Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson following the infamous 2005 Ozzfest incident. Online rumors briefly suggested Tool had been removed after their name was missing from promotional livestream materials, but the band remained on the bill. There has been no official confirmation of any recent lineup changes apart from Wolfgang Van Halen‘s departure due to scheduling conflicts, leading to the inference that the mystery artist might have been removed prior to the public announcement of the full lineup. Further quelling speculation, Kelly Osbourne took to Instagram to deny that Megadeth was the band in question, simply writing “Nope! Not him!” under a Metal Addicts’ post that linked Dave Mustaine’s band to the situation.
