Photos by Stephanie Loftus; Written by Stephanie Loftus

For The Aztec Theatre’s first show of the year in San Antonio, Texas, Zakk Sabbath set the bar high when they performed on January 17, 2024! As a part of their “Tour Forever/ Forever Tour,” they are embarking on 31 cities in almost two months, with this being their fourth to last show.

The Native Howl was supposed to open up for Zakk Sabbath. However, hours before the show, they announced on Instagram that they could not perform on time due to their equipment being stolen. Luckily, they recovered everything and still cheered Zakk Sabbath from the sidelines!

Despite this, Leon Sanchez saved the day and filled in as the opener on such short notice! He typically plays at local bars, but his smooth voice and acoustics were a nice way to start the evening. He played covers of Come Together, Sex on Fire, and Summer of ‘69, which the crowd enjoyed singing along to with a drink in their hand- a complete 180 of what was to come next. If you’re in San Antonio, you should follow him on Instagram @leonsanchezmusic to see where he’ll be playing next! 

The venue was ready to rock and roll with Zakk Sabbath at around 9 P.M. The band comprises Zakk Wylde on vocals and guitar, John “JD” Servio on the bass, and Joey Castillo on the drums. These legends have quite an impressive background as they have supported Ozzy Osbourne, BLS, Danzig, and Queens of Stone Age when they are not covering Black Sabbath together. 

To sum up their performance in one word, it was “jaw-dropping.” Zakk and JD put guitar playing to a new level when covering classics such as War Pigs, Snowblind, and Fairies Wear Boots. Witnessing how fast JD’s fingers plucked the strings on his bass and Zakk walking through the crowd and playing the guitar behind his head simultaneously was such a sight to see. Everything about the night was unforgettable, and this will definitely be a tour story for Leon Sanchez, The Native Howl, and Zakk Sabbath to tell!