HALESTORM's JOE HOTTINGER On 'Back To The Beginning': 'That Was The Most Intense Musical Thing I've Ever Experienced'

In a new interview with Liv Maddix of the 105.7 The Point radio station, HALESTORM guitarist/vocalist Lzzy Hale and guitarist Joe Hottinger reflected on playing the "Back To The Beginning" event in Birmingham, United Kingdom, which marked Ozzy Osbourne and BLACK SABBATH's performance.  Lzzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think as sad as we all are that we are without our Ozzy, he is someone who will live on forever through his music and his legacy."

Added Joe: "I was, like, what a way to go. He raised hundreds of millions for charity, hung out with all his friends. He got to do his favorite thing in the world — be on stage one last time — and he got to do it next to the stadium where he grew up, in his hometown. And mama, he went home, and it was awesome.

"That was the most intense musical thing I've ever experienced, just being out in that crowd," Joe continued. "Playing it was awesome — that ruled; that was fun — but being out in the crowd… There's an emotional amplification when you're around 50,000 people all there for the right reasons, because we love you, Ozzy. And then he goes into 'Mama, I'm Coming Home'. And everybody was crying — the whole place. But being around that many people on that wavelength, it was everything amplified. It was a wild experience. And I hope we get to feel something like that again.

"Music is so cool and so magical and it can bring that many people together," Hottinger added. "It's music, it's magic, and it was so cool that Ozzy got to create that one last time. I loved it."

Hottinger previously discussed HALESTORM's appearance at "Back To The Beginning" during an August 2025 chat with Side Jams With Bryan Reesman. He said at the time: "We were so excited just to be asked to play that show. We're, like, 'Oh my God, all right!' And the vibe was so awesome. Everyone was so happy, such a together thing celebrating Ozzy and SABBATH's music. None of these bands would exist if it wasn't for them, and everyone, I think, felt the gravity of it. We were talking to Adam Jones from TOOL, and he was, like, 'Yeah, sometimes you get bucket list things that you didn't even know were on the list.' That's what's fun about playing rock and roll. And just metalheads in general, hard rockers, it's such a great community. These bands and all the fans that are lifers for the genre, everyone was so just together and on a great vibe. I've never felt anything like it at a show."

The guitarist photographed HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale with many of the rockers that were there, and he took some live shots as well. "I got so annoying," he joked. "Anytime we were hanging out with somebody, I was, like, 'Can I get your picture with Lzzy?' 'I want to get your picture.' I really liked the one of Lzzy and Arejay [Hale, HALESTORM drummer]. I had my tech give me my camera when I gave him my guitar, and they were walking up to the front to wave goodbye. I have some of Lzzy and Arejay both, posing, like, 'Yeah, we did it!' We just went through it, we didn't know if it was good, and it was such an intense experience. You had 15 minutes, like Live Aid sets, and it went by so fast. It was awesome."

During a July 23 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Lzzy paid tribute to Ozzy, who died earlier that week at the age of 76. She said in part:  "It's sad to see Ozzy go. Obviously, we just saw him [at the 'Back To The Beginning' concert in Birmingham, United Kingdom on July 5], and [he was] hungry till the end. I mean, the guy was just ready to be on that stage and clapping. There was such joy in his face even then. But we just didn't think it was gonna be that fast. So I don't know. There's so many emotions. We're so grateful to have been there, but at the same time it's so sad to see one of the greats go. I mean, it's Ozzy. He's supposed to always be here."

Reflecting on HALESTORM's three-song performance at "Back To The Beginning", which included a rendition of Ozzy's "Perry Mason", Lzzy said: "We had such a wonderful time at 'Back To The Beginning'. It was just such a mix of emotions. We were so grateful to be there and to celebrate these men, obviously with BLACK SABBATH and then Ozzy, and really kind of sitting with all of the feelings of how deeply ingrained what they gave to the world is in what we do. And then to kind of look around at all of these rock titans — Steven Tyler [AEROSMITH] and METALLICA [were] there — and everybody had the same feeling, that same childlike wonder and really just kind of looking around and saying, 'Look, none of us would've existed in a band if not for these men.' So it was really wonderful to be a part of that.

"We didn't get a whole lot of interaction with Ozzy," Lzzy admitted. "He was kind of getting wheeled in and out and doing the thing. And I spent some time with [Ozzy's wife and manager] Sharon. She's so incredibly sweet. And then [BLACK SABBATH guitarist] Tony Iommi and everybody. One of our regrets that we had said right after the show is, like, man, we should have spent more time with Ozzy. But again, this is how life goes, and we were just absolutely grateful to be there and to experience all of it."

Ozzy died on July 22 of a heart attack, his death certificate revealed. The certificate also reportedly said the legendary heavy metal musician suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.