LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 25: Rob Halford and Richie Faulkner of Judas Priest perform onstage during a concert at The O2 Arena on July 25, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
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Heavy metal icons Judas Priest have released yet another cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” but this time it’s a duet between vocalists Rob Halford and Ozzy Osbourne. Back in July when Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne hosted their final farewell show Back to the Beginning, Judas Priest were unable to perform at the festival due to a schedule conflict. However, the band still wanted to honor Sabbath and Osbourne, so they recorded a rendition of the anthemic hit “War Pigs.” The music video has since gained close to 5 million views on Black Sabbath’s youtube channel alone, and after hearing Priest expertly tear through their cover it’s no surprise to see it performing so well – Rob Halford’s vocals haven’t aged a day and his style fits Osbourne’s iconic melodies like a glove.
Judas Priest Release New ‘Charity Version’ Of “War Pigs”
With the praise Judas Priest got from their first cover of “War Pigs,” Sharon Osbourne had apparently asked the band if their would be a way for them to include Ozzy’s vocals in the cover. Judas Priest’s Rob Halford recalled the moment Sharon had approached him in an interview on Full Metal Jackie:
“When [Sharon Osbourne] approached me with this idea, she said, ‘I love your version of “War Pigs.” Is there a way we can get Ozzy [on it as well]?’ I said, ‘You’re asking me? This is gonna happen,’ Halford stated. “So we were able to make it work. So you get Ozzy singing a line, and then I’m singing a line and Ozzy’s singing a line and I’m singing a line, and it’s the first-ever time in my entire life that I’ve been able to do a duet with Ozzy. And I’m so eternally grateful and blessed and grieving that I was able to do that. But when you hear it, it’s just colossal.”
The track certainly is colossal with Osbourne and Halford’s combined performances. Judas Priest have labeled this version of “War Pigs” as the ‘Charity Version,’ and they’ve stated that all sales of the recording will go to The Glenn Tipton Parkinson’s Foundation and Cure Parkinson’s. Guitarist Glen Tipton is one Judas Priest’s founding members, and in 2008 he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which Osbourne had been diagnosed with as well back in 2020. In fact, all of the proceeds from the Back to the Beginning concert went toward Cure Parkinson’s and Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quentinsinger/2025/09/26/judas-priest-release-charity-version-of-black-sabbaths-war-pigs/
