Here's How Ozzy Osbourne Nearly Killed Slash and Tom Morello

No, he did not try to bite their heads off

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Feb 25, 2021

Tom Morello has revealed that "Sleep Now in the Fire" perhaps now holds a different meaning for himself and fellow guitarist Slash, after the two nearly met a fiery fate during a 2015 festival appearance with Ozzy Osbourne.

Speaking with Howard Stern on Sirius XM radio yesterday (February 24), Morello reflected on how he and the Guns N' Roses six-stringer had joined Osbourne for a show at Voodoo Fest New Orleans on October 31, 2015, as part of the "Ozzy & Friends" tour that replaced Black Sabbath's cancelled reunion run.

The two guitarists were slated to lend Ozzy an assist in performing Sabbath staples "Iron Man" and "Paranoid." Morello shared that after playing the former, the pair made a move sidestage to wait until it was time to play through the latter.

According to Morello, "Paranoid" was shown on the setlist to be a part of an encore, following closing number "Mama I'm Coming Home." However, he shared that Slash and himself were directed to take the stage beforehand, as Ozzy would rarely perform the solo tune.

That seemed to change as the two got themselves ready. "Slash and I walk out there, and Ozzy goes, 'The next song's called 'Mama I'm Coming Home' — a song we don't know how to play," Morello shared. "So we kinda, like, slink around to the back of the stage. Now we're behind the amplifiers, sitting there waiting for him to play the song."

Morello soon spotted "this crew guy, at the side of the stage gesticulating wildly. Like, he's apoplectic. I can't hear him because it's super loud… but he's trying to convey what is clearly a very important message to us."

He mentioned that the crew member made no moves towards them, likely due to a request that no one cross the stage while Osbourne performed.

Little did the two guitarists know that they were quite literally sitting in the hot seat, prompting the crew member to make the mad dash across the stage. Morello shared, "So finally you can tell he can't stand it. He runs over and he says, 'You're sitting on the pyro!'

"I'm like, 'Bro, next time me and Slash are sitting on the pyro, you might just wanna come right over and let us know that.'"

You can watch Morello tell the tale of how he and Slash were nearly cooked to a crisp onstage below, where you'll also find a video of their much less risky performance of "Iron Man."


 

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