When you hear about conventions celebrating all things horror and the like, you probably don’t think about legendary musicians showing up. Yet, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and Bill Ward will help correct that expectation when they appear alongside other metal icons at this year’s Monsterpalooza next month.
Details of Butler + Ward’s Monsterpalooza 2026 Appearances
In case you don’t know, Monsterpalooza is one of the most popular pop culture conventions in America (specializing in horror, sci-fi and related genres and interests). This year, it’s being held at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, Calif. from May 29th to May 31st, and it’ll feature makeup demos, awesome merch, the convention’s trademark Monster Museum, and many special guests.
The appearances of Alice Cooper (who had a small roll in 1991’s Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare) throughout the weekend and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor on May 30th and May 31st are certainly cool. Yet, arguably the biggest draw for people who love horror and metal – which is most of us – is Black Sabbath’s rhythm section of Butler and Ward.
Per the official website, both men will only be there on May 30th and May 31st, and both stipulate that they only take “‘Pro Photo Ops’ for photos. No table selfies.” Likewise, “A Photo Op is not an autograph session. When at [their] signing, autographs will be sold.”
You can buy said photo opportunities for Butler and Ward here (for $130), and the following description/guidelines are also stated on the website:
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD INCLUDED WITH PURCHASE OF A PHOTO OP. A photo op is a photo taken with you and the celebrity guest or guests you have purchased a ticket for. The photo is taken under ideal lighting conditions and with a top of the line camera. We then print a high quality color 8×10″ of the photo on professional dye-sublimation photo printers. Your photo is ready in around a minute after the photo has been taken with our “print it in a minute” technology! For each ticket purchased you may have two adults and up to three children under 15. If you would like more than two adults and up to three children under 15, you must purchase an additional photo op ticket for each two adults and/or more than three children. You will need to reference your photo op ticket session and day on the photo op schedule. The photo op schedule is typically released 1-3 weeks before the convention. You’ll find the photo op schedule and more information on the event listing at then click or tap on the event you are attending. Please do not arrive for your photo op more than 15 minutes before the scheduled time of the photo op. Due to limited space, this can cause backups at the entryway for photo ops and inhibit our ability to queue photo op lines. If you purchase add-ons such as digital downloads, additional prints or combo packs, please be sure to present those tickets at the print pick up area once you have your print in hand. A PHOTO OP TICKET IS NOT ADMISSION TO THE EVENT. YOU MUST PURCHASE ADMISSION TO THE EVENT TO ENTER THE EVENT AND THE PHOTO OP AREA. PHOTO OP TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE (SEE REFUND POLICY ON WEBSITE).
It’s also worth mentioning that both Butler and Ward are having only one session per day, and you can see more information about photo ops in general here.
Keep in mind that Monsterpalooza event tickets must be purchased prior to purchasing pro-photo op tickets. Lastly, Monsterpalooza 2026’s even hours are as follows:
May 29 – 6:00PM – 11:00PMMay 30 – 11:00AM – 6:00PMMay 31 – 11:00AM – 6:00PM
You can grab your tickets – and see other event information – here. Lastly, you can see Monsterpalooza’s Instagram post Butler and Ward’s appearances below:
READ MORE: 10 Essential ’70s Metal Albums You Need to Own on Vinyl
Other Black Sabbath News
If you’re not already, make sure you’re keeping up with Loudwire’s March Madness: Decades of Destruction tournament (which ultimately pitted four bands against each other: Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Metallica and Pantera).
Also, we recently included three Black Sabbath’s LPs – 1970’s Black Sabbath and Paranoid as well as 1975’s Sabotage – in our list of 10 essential metal albums you need to own on vinyl. So, click away to see which other records made the cut!
Are you planning to see Geezer Butler and/or Bill Ward at Monsterpalooza 2026? Let us know!
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Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
