Black Sabbath on Thursday announced a farewell tour, listing North American, Australian and New Zealand dates and proclaiming "this is the beginning of the end," quoting lyrics from the legendary British heavy metal band's most recent album.
"It started nearly five decades ago with a crack of thunder, a distant bell ringing and then that monstrous riff that shook the earth," the band said in a press release. "The heaviest rock sound ever heard. In that moment Heavy Metal was born, created by a young band from Birmingham, England barely out of their teens. Now it ENDS, the final tour by the greatest Metal Band of all time, BLACK SABBATH. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler close the final chapter in the final volume of the incredible BLACK SABBATH story."
The tour, dubbed "The End," will begin on Jan. 20, 2016, in Omaha, Neb., with North American concerts in cities including Minneapolis, Minn., Los Angeles and Montreal. The North American leg of the tour will wrap up on Feb. 25 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Australia/New Zealand portion of the tour will begin in April.
You can view the complete tour dates and an announcement video below. More dates will be announced this October, according to the press release.
In April, a Sabbath farewell show in Japan was announced but quickly canceled.
Unless there is a drastic change in events, Sabbath's farewell tour will not include original drummer Bill Ward, who has been estranged from the band and been trading barbs with the group in the press.
North American Tour Dates
1/20 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center
1/22 Chicago, IL United Center
1/25 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
1/28 Saskatoon, SK Sasktel Centre
1/30 Edmonton, AB Rexall Centre
2/1 Calgary, ON Scotiabank Saddledome
2/3 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
2/6 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
2/9 San Jose, CA SAP Center
2/11 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
2/13 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center
2/15 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
2/17 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
2/19 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
2/21 Hamilton, ON FirstOntario Centre
2/23 Montreal, QB Bell Centre
2/25 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden
Australia/New Zealand Tour Dates
4/15 Perth Perth Arena
4/17 Adelaide Entertainment Centre
4/19 Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
4/23 Sydney Allphones Arena
4/25 Brisbane Entertainment Centre
4/28 Auckland Vector Arena
4/30 Dunedin Forsyth Barr Stadium
