Movies And Metal

Does anybody really care that there’s a new Ozzy Osbourne album out in 2010?  Admit it – when Ozzy became an unlikely reality television star in the early part of the last decade and suddenly started appearing at all manner of events, you thought it was all over didn’t you?  And when his former Black Sabbath bandmates went on to cement their reputations as metal lords with their excellent Heaven & Hell project, as well as Ozzy’s long-time guitarist Zakk Wylde getting replaced by the largely unknown Gus G. (Firewind) and the knowledge that the last few Ozzy albums have treaded water a bit, it added more fuel to the argument that the Prince of Darkness should hang up his crown and gracefully retire.  Well, shame on you ‘cos Scream is the best album the Double O has put his name to since 1995’s majestic Ozzmosis.

It takes approximately 20 seconds of opener Let it Die to play before you realise that you’re hearing probably some of the heaviest solo Ozzy material ever.  Although Gus G.’s style doesn’t veer too much from Wylde’s (close your eyes and it could be the bearded one at the fret board) there are less of the squeals and pinched harmonics that Wylde was keen on peppering everything with, and as such the guitars sound a bit more focussed.  Still, Zakk Wylde is a hard act to follow so we’ll just have to hear how Gus G. progresses in the future.

First single Let Me Hear You Scream has been around for a while now and still sounds great as a rocking piece of modern mainstream metal, but it’s when Ozzy veers off into less straightforward territory that things start sounding a bit more interesting; Ozzy’s Beatles – and Paul McCartney in particular – influence comes to the fore in the acoustic passages of Life Won’t Wait before giving in to a hook-laden chorus that showcases Osbourne’s gift of creating glorious melodies, whilst the modern metal sheen of Latimer’s Mercy shows that even at 61, the great man can do intense and contemporary without sounding desperate.  Elsewhere, Soul Sucker harks back to the apocalyptic thud of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man before breaking into a thrashy mid-section that’s sure to send the dandruff flying if given a live airing.

It may not be up there with the aforementioned Ozzmosis, 1991’s career-highpoint No More Tears or 1980’s classic Blizzard of Ozz, but Scream is definitely an improvement over his previous two original studio albums, namely 2001’s Down to Earth and 2007’s Black Rain.  There are moments on here when the over-produced vocal effects and processed riffs do start to sound a little soulless, and one or two of the tracks around the halfway mark could be described as filler material, but considering how lame this album’s predecessors were it doesn’t drag the overall effect down.

Overall, this is a better album than expected from a singer that many had written off as past it.  Having always surrounded himself with the best musicians (his band completed by bassist Blasko and former Rob Zombie/Alice Cooper drummer Tommy Clufetos) and songwriters available at the time, Ozzy has delivered a set of rollicking tunes that are all played with renewed energy and a sense of adventure that has been sorely lacking from a lot of the Brummie legend’s output for the best part of nearly two decades.

Rating: 7/10

Standout Tracks: Let it Die, Let Me Hear You Scream, Soul Sucker, Life Won’t Wait, I Want it More, Latimer’s Mercy.

For Fans of: Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, Black Label Society, Danzig, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Judas Priest, Alice Cooper.

For more information on Ozzy Osbourne go to: www.ozzy.com

Click on images to purchase Scream