
Watch: GOJIRA Performs 'Mea Culpa' With Opera Singer MARINA VIOTTI At 'Back To The Beginning'
July 6, 2025GOJIRA played a four-song set at BLACK SABBATH's "Back To The Beginning" charity event on Saturday (July 5) at Villa Park — home of Aston Villa Football Club — in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The French progressive metallers opened their performance with "Stranded" and "Silvera" before launching into "Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)" — a version of the French Revolution-era standard "Ah! Ça Ira!" — which the band performed at last year's Olympic Games opening ceremony. As was the case at the Olympic Games, GOJIRA was joined by opera singer Marina Viotti, who showcased not only her impressive voice but also her enthusiastic headbanging skills.
GOJIRA's setlist was as follows (as seen in video below):
00:18 Stranded
05:04 Silvera
09:04 Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)
13:00 Under The Sun
GOJIRA's Olympic Games performance of "Ah! Ça Ira" alongside Viotti as well as a number of beheaded figures representing the slain Queen Marie Antoinette took place outside the Conciergerie, a former prison and residence of French kings during the French Revolution where Antoinette was held before she was beheaded in 1793.
Dubbed "Back To The Beginning", the nine-hour event, hosted by actor Jason Momoa at Villa Park, saw over a dozen bands play at least one BLACK SABBATH or Ozzy Osbourne cover as they paid homage to the SABBATH singer, who has Parkinson's disease.
Curated by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, the event featured arguably the greatest lineup of rock and metal bands ever assembled on one day.
The concert for Ozzy Osbourne, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease several years ago and billed the event as his final on-stage performance, marked the first time original BLACK SABBATH bandmembers — Ozzy, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — performed together in 20 years.
More than 40,000 fans attended "Back To The Beginning", which also saw performances from Ozzy's solo band, GUNS N' ROSES, METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, LAMB OF GOD and ANTHRAX, among others. Profits from the show will be shared equally between the charities Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.
There was also an online auction benefiting those charities. Items up for bid included two Gibson guitars signed by performers, a GUNS N' ROSES pinball machine, several gold record and CD displays including BLACK SABBATH's "Paranoid", LED ZEPPELIN's "Physical Graffiti" and METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets", plus more than a dozen travel packages.
In the final segment, Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward performed a set of classic SABBATH songs "War Pigs", "N.I.B.", "Iron Man" and "Paranoid". Osbourne, who had performed from a black-winged throne, was then presented with a cake, while fireworks lit up the stadium from overhead.
At the end of the set, Ozzy said: "It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
A message on screen then read, "Thank you for everything, you guys are fucking amazing. Birmingham Forever," before the sky lit up with fireworks.
A livestream of the daylong event was announced in June. While it was called a livestream, the video was delayed two hours from the in-arena start time.
Broadcast live from Birmingham, United Kingdom's Villa Park, those who missed out on being there can still experience this unforgettable moment, with the chance to rewatch the concert in its entirety for another 48 hours.
For more information, visit www.backtothebeginning.com.
