Post by jptheprofessor on Sept 14, 2007 0:24:24 GMT -5
OZZY OSBOURNE - BLACK RAIN (Epic) Ozzy Osbourne proves that in between doing reality television shows, heading up his annual celebration of heavy metal, Ozzfest, White House visits and otherwise cheating death, he still has time to create music and record albums. His latest, Black Rain, shows that through it all, the legendary Black Sabbath frontman can still deliver some powerful metal-edged music. With its abundance of slower-tempo, weighty fist-pounding stomps, Black Rain almost sounds like a Black Sabbath album at times. Along with his frequent bursts of rapid fire guitar shredding, Zakk Wylde offers up some monster riffs throughout the album, with various distortion effects giving them a darker, more sinister demeanor. Steadied by processing and effects, Ozzy's voice is in respectable form, as he avoids excessive strain and stays within his range. Ozzy's lyrics are more outspoken this time out, as he offers edgy commentary about the Iraq war on the thunderous title song "Black Rain" and "Civilize the Universe," along with a doomsday forecast on "Countdown's Begun." His Ozzness offers defiant statements of purpose on the opening salvos of "Not Going Away" and "I Don't Wanna Stop;" rants about corporate greed on the lengthier "The Almighty Dollar," and addresses crystal meth addiction on the fast rocking "11 Silver." Ozzy's two ballads, "Lay Your World on Me" and "Here For You," are odes to his wife Sharon stemming from her recent bout with cancer. Producer Kevin Churko, who also produced Osbourne's recent cover song album Under Cover, helps give the album's metal thunder a polished and consistent sound. Ozzy Osbourne doesn't reinvent the wheel here, and Black Rain won't eclipse his legendary Blizzard Of Ozz or Diary of a Madman period. But this is a solid, hard-rocking album that shows that despite often leading a cartoon-like existence beyond music, Ozzy still knows how to get down to business and deliver the goods when it counts.