Artist: Osbourne, Ozzy
Label: Sony BMG
Release: 2007
Prince of Darknes? Black Sabbath? The Osbournes? A new record – why???
Michael Douglas starred in the movie Black Rain, a great crime thriller tied to the Japanese mafia cartels. Ozzy Osbourne has recorded a brand-new album called Black Rain, and its one and only bright spot is guitarist Zakk Wylde. The (over)treated singer, who gets presented in his own TV reality show as an addled goofball whose bossy wife leads him around by the nose, has decided to prove that his years of glory aren’t over yet.
But the voice doesn’t do Ozzy any favors anymore! He sounds congested, lost, wheezy and worn out. It just doesn’t sound good! Zakk Wylde proves once again that he’s a first-rate guitarist, but the whole record is so soft and unconvincing that you get the feeling that top-notch, virtuoso playing simply doesn’t belong in this world.
No, this isn’t heavy metal anymore, it isn’t even hard rock. Ozzy, who has built himself a veritable empire, tries to sing about commercialization, globalization, instant consumerism, politics, natural disasters. Who’s going to believe him when he embodies all of it himself! Lay Your World On Me, The Allmighty Dollar, Civilize the Universe, Countdown’s Begun… is Ozzy really capable of taking the burdens of a sick world onto his shoulders? Making the world better? Without the help of the almighty dollar, or precisely with it?
Given his extravagant lifestyle and a family that wants everything and more solely and exclusively for itself, I doubt it. And if he wants to do it with Black Rain, he sounds way too pathetic and unconvincing for anyone to believe him, let alone follow him. A record that’s well worth avoiding.
Lineup
Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, harmonica
Zakk Wylde – guitar, keyboards
Rob “Blasko” Nicholson – bass guitar
Mike Bordin – drums
Production
Ozzy Osbourne & Kevin Churko
Tracklist
1. Not going Away
2. I Don’t Wanna Stop
3. Black Rain
4. Lay Your World On Me
5. God Bless The Almighty Dollar
6. 11 Silver
7. Civilize The Universe
8. Here For You
9. Countdown’s Begun
10. Trap Door
