Scream

Ozzy Osbourne has surprised everybody

Someone once said: ‘A man works for his name during the first half of his life, and his name works for him during the second half’. Of course this statement can characterize the life of many a celebrity, but Ozzy Osbourne is probably the best example of how to make one’s own name famous. In the four decades of his career the artist who has survived both rises and falls, the latter now being left far in the past, has found himself in the centre of both press’ and public attention very often, indeed. Earning himself the nicknames ‘Prince Of Darkness’ and ‘Heavy metal Godfather’ the musician continues to be the idol of millions of the genre fans. His popularity in the new century is not that absolute as it used to be, and the generation grown up listening to the songs of Black Sabbath is gradually getting older, and the younger people see only a former alcoholic and hear his vocals which are no more that penetrating. Nevertheless, Ozzy announced in 2008 that he would release two more albums before retiring from music. It is not yet known whether he will realize his intention, but the first of the two promised albums, Scream, is already released and has surprised everybody.

Scream has been recorded with new musicians

Many Ozzy Osbourne’s fans will agree that his previous work, 2007’s Black Rain, demonstrated the guitarist Zakk Wylde’s great playing without which many songs would have sounded much worse. Therefore the news that Scream has been recorded with a new guitarist, former Rob Zombie Gas G and drummer Tommy Clufetos who worked with Alice Cooper could make somebody feel not good. These feelings, however, are going to be smashed by the very first sounds of the album’s opener Let It Die, one of the heaviest in Ozzy’s late creative work, with even his vocals sounding different. The composition Let Me Hear You Scream, the record’s first single, also conquers with its heaviness and power, and the darkest song on the album Soul Sucker reminds of the times of Bark At The Moon and The Diary of a Madman. (By the way, Ozzy initially wanted to call the album Soul Sucka, but the fans did not like the title and the artist renamed it into Scream). After such an impressive start the musicians suggest we take a short rest with a calmer and very melodious number Life Won't Wait, although not so lyrical as Dreamer. Splendid acoustic guitar opens another heavy number Diggin' Me Down, and a mid-tempo composition Crucify starts from an amazing electro guitar solo. One of the best tracks here is Latimer's Mercy, the protagonist of which is Robert Latimer, who murdered his paralyzed daughter in 1993 to end her suffering and is still serving his term in jail. It is a classic, weepy and heavy story from Ozzy Osbourne which the fans have been long waiting for. The record closes with I Love You All, a one minute long addressing to fans, so sad and beautiful that many might cry.

One of the best contemporary hard rock and heavy metal specimens

Last year Ozzy Osbourne decided that his music got more similar to that of Zakk Wylde’s other project Black Label Society, and recorded his jubilee tenth album with different musicians. The result exceeds all expectations. After listening to Scream – or rather, after all times of listening because only one is sure not enough to fully enjoy Ozzy’s long forgotten heaviness and suffering – the faithful fans will be sad and happy at the same time. Sad, because, as the Osbourne has earned this album will be probably followed by his swansong. Happy for the simple reason that ‘Prince Of Darkness’ has finally confirmed his title once again and released his best album in almost twenty years, after the 1991’s No More Tears. As for those who are only discovering Ozzy Osbourne’s music, the album Scream is the best choice for them for it contains both very worthy heavy numbers and more lyrical mid-tempo compositions. The only thing the artist refuses to do lately are real ballads but one can easily refer to them the finale of Scream, undoubtedly one of the best contemporary hard rock and heavy metal specimens.