Australian fans will soon see Tool back on stage, with the US prog-metal icons set to headline Good Things festival in December 2025.
It’s their first Australian festival headline slot since Big Day Out 2011, and first local shows in over five years.
Speaking to Rolling Stone AU/NZ, bassist Justin Chancellor reflected on both Tool’s return and his experience performing at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert in Birmingham last month. The show, ‘Back to the Beginning’, staged at Villa Park, turned out to be Osbourne’s swansong before his death two-and-a-half weeks later at 76.
“I can’t even explain it. There’s a little hard to get my head around,” Chancellor said. “I watched his whole set with my family out in the front when Sabbath and Ozzy played and I thought he was amazing. Obviously, he was really sick. You know, obviously he couldn’t stand up, but we all knew this. The band was incredible, but he was amazing too.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Chancellor recalled seeing Osbourne at the backstage party afterwards. “He came out, he was in a wheelchair but he was hanging out. There were so many people talking to him.”
The news of Ozzy’s passing hit hard. “I didn’t see it coming at all. I can’t even explain it. It’s a little hard to get my head around. It was very intense, because we’ve been part of (the final show). And it hit me pretty hard. It was very sad, but also very amazing.”
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
Chancellor added: “I did hear that he went off his pain medication to do the show in order to be able to hit the notes and to be more coherent. He went through quite a lot of pain to actually pull that off. It blew my mind. But it made sense when I saw the performance. It was just incredibly emotional.”
Tool’s own set included “Forty Six & 2″, “Ænema”, and a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Hand of Doom”.
Australian fans will hear more when the band headlines Good Things festival in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane later in 2025.
Good Things Festival 2025 Dates and Venues
Friday, December 5th
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Saturday, December 6th
Sydney Showground, Sydney
Sunday, December 7th
Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane
Tickets are available at oztix.com.au. Visit goodthingsfestival.com.
