Corey Taylor and Geezer Butler Bring ‘War Pigs’ to an All-Star Benefit

Corey Taylor stepped into a formidable musical tradition when he sang “War Pigs” alongside Black Sabbath founding bassist Geezer Butler. With Nuno Bettencourt and Steve Stevens on guitars and Matt Sorum on drums, the performance brought five distinctive musicians together around one of heavy metal’s most enduring songs.

The occasion was the inaugural Palm Springs Sound & Vision Awards, held at the Plaza Theatre on March 2, 2026. The benefit honoured Butler and Paul Rodgers while supporting Adopt the Arts, an organisation working to restore and sustain music education in public elementary schools.

The billing matters: this was Taylor joining an all-star ensemble, rather than a performance by Slipknot as a band. His presence supplied the connection to a later generation of metal, while Butler brought a direct link to the Black Sabbath recording and the musical history being celebrated.

“War Pigs” originally appeared on Sabbath’s 1970 album Paranoid. Its anti-war subject and expansive structure give it a different character from a straightforward singalong. The song needs space for its instrumental passages, changes of intensity and vocal declarations to make their cumulative impact.

Taylor’s role therefore involves more than projecting power. The melody provides a recognisable thread through the heavier passages, giving the singer a way to make an individual impression without losing the composition’s shape. That balance is a central attraction of hearing established performers interpret this material together.

Butler’s involvement gives the tribute particular weight. This is music from his own band’s catalogue, performed in a programme recognising his contribution to rock. Bettencourt, Stevens and Sorum complete an ensemble whose different musical backgrounds make the shared language of the song especially interesting.

The professionally filmed recording places the performance within Sound & Vision Live, the concert-film and album project drawn from the benefit. Its availability gives listeners a way to revisit the event beyond short social-media excerpts and to follow the song across its full development.

The evening’s programme connected two substantial bodies of work. Its first part celebrated the music associated with Rodgers, while the Sabbath-focused portion included performances by Lzzy Hale, Glenn Hughes and Charlie Starr. Taylor also sang “Paranoid” before the “War Pigs” finale.

Behind that gathering was a practical purpose. Adopt the Arts reported that the event raised more than $350,000, with participating artists donating their time and talent. The organisation’s account ties the celebration of established musicians to opportunities for children beginning their own musical education.

That combination makes this performance worth revisiting. “War Pigs” carries its own history into the room, but the occasion gives that history another use: bringing artists together around a shared song and directing their collective energy toward the next generation of musicians.