As I entered Birmingham’s Villa Park stadium just before 12pm on Saturday to see Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning concert – Black Sabbath’s last, and one of the biggest heavy metal shows of all time – an excited steward informed us that we were in for some huge surprises.

The epic 'Back to the Beginning' send-off was held at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, and streamed live globally.

Reuniting onstage for the first time in two decades, Black Sabbath performed to a sold-out crowd of 40,000 with its all-star, one-day-only charity festival Back to the Beginning, held in Ozzy Osbourne’s hometown of Birmingham on July 5 and serving as a farewell concert to and celebration of the longtime rocker.