Ozzy Osbourne
Black Rain

Two years after his last new record release (the self-celebratory box-set "Prince Of Darkness" and the pleasant and intense "Under Cover"), Ozzy Osbourne returns to record store shelves with his latest effort, "Black Rain", released on May 22, 2007. And this could not fail to generate buzz around one of the most controversial figures in rock, also considering that the Madman's last album with new material ("Down To Earth", ed.) had received mixed reviews. Yet, upon closer inspection, "D.T.E" is a good record, and the most recurring criticisms (too modern sound, lack of creativity, commercial) are mostly debatable because it's undeniable that it may not be the most inventive and diverse release from our artist, but the ideas are all there and a shift towards a more contemporary sound does not hurt at all. This "Black Rain" embodies the qualities of its predecessor while enormously amplifying them, majestic songwriting and perfect production with Kevin Churko creating a sound that is both compact and where each instrument is distinct and significant. The lyrics deserve a special mention, featuring an Ozzy more engaged than ever on social issues: the drama remains, but the enemy is no longer represented by witches and Satan, but by today's demons, now in the form of war, greed, and corruption.

But the passage of time has not diminished the grit and determination of the ex-Black Sabbath frontman, nor his desire to take his crazy train around the world, as demonstrated by the opener "Not Going Away" and the fast-paced "I Don't Wanna Stop". In particular, the first is a slow-going and devastating rocker, showcasing all his love for his job-that's-not-a-job (as he likes to call it) and a precise and meticulous production, while with "I Don't Wanna Stop" (the second track on the list), the voltage increases and the music speeds up, then culminating in a chorus both claustrophobic and catchy. Unsurprisingly, this song is the album's leading single, besides being the track that stayed in the Top 20 among other rocker singles (40 weeks), and it's no surprise that the second and last single from the album is precisely the aforementioned "Not Going Away". After this tremendous pair, the concept album begins with the title track, darker than ever, to scream hatred against war to the world in what could seem at least conceptually like the "War Pigs" of the new millennium. But while 40 years ago Ozzy seemed almost amused, today he appears rather worried, by his own admission. The song starts with an initial arpeggio entrusted to the expert hands of Zakk Wylde, complete with a bluesy harmonica at its side, to which the voice of the rocker joins first in an almost subdued and admonishing tone, then bursting into a clearly hard-styled march: the piece works great. Knowing his love for family (expressed in past instances like "Mama I'm Coming Home", "My Little Man", "Aimee", "Woman"), there couldn't be a missing song of this kind, this time in the form of a melodic song rather than a true ballad, titled "Lay Your World On Me". Again, the intro is somber by the faithful Zakk, this time accompanied by keyboards. But we are certainly not faced with a copy of "Black Rain", as the fourth track soon unveils a strong melodic character (and it couldn't be otherwise given the dedication to his spouse) linked to a deep and romantic text by an Ozzy inspired as never before. Next comes "The Almighty Dollar", beginning with a granite riff made in zakkwylde that abruptly gives way to a prominently placed bass, over which Osbourne's voice spreads, first filtered, then in its full power. The chorus (and generally the entire song) alone explains why Ozzy took six years to make this album: melody and pathos reach maximum expressiveness, for a song of continuous and most unexpected twists. And in a sense, one could almost speak of a new metal composition, of course, revisited in our singer's own way. The lyrics deserve another special mention: this time the artist lashes out against the powerful and greedy who, blinded by the god of money, are the main architects of the world's ruin (one could say "talk about the pot calling the kettle black?" considering the character, his debunked retirements, reunions, reality shows, and commercial gimmicks, even if the character's magnitude is not as devastating one cannot say for sure that we are facing integrity personified).

The second part of the release opens with the super-fast "11 Silver" that features an unstoppable Mike Bordin on drums and, dedicated by the artist to his relationship with drugs, could be subscribed by who knows how many others of us ("There is no future waiting/There is no morning after/...I don't know if I'm awake or if I'm dreaming/...One shot to keep me high all day/Makes my reality fade away"). Musically the central part is impressive, where Zakk's guitar frantically chases his solos over the solid yet rapid rhythmic structure built by Bordin and bassist Blasko (Rob Zombie, ed.). The following "Civilize The Universe" combines the themes addressed in previous tracks "Black Rain" and "The Almighty Dollar", this time, however, with a more positive spirit, while still firmly attached to reality, as evidenced by the lines "I'm alive/Watching better turn to worse/One more time/Try to civilize the universe". The song is in new metal style, and probably the least successful of the bunch, despite containing great elements like the intro, chorus, and solo part. Next comes "Here For You", probably the most beautiful ballad of Mr. Osbourne's career and consequently one of the highlights of the album: a piano intro starting from the hands of faithful Zakk and a sugary melody, never trivial, a touching dedication to his wife and fans, a sort of "Goodbye To Romance" of today. But after this concession to melody that the rocker loves so much, the album continues with grit and aggression until the end, with the very hard "Countdown's Begun" and "Trap Door". The first, with a dark and almost Sabbath-like progression, remains along the lines of the social themes addressed so far, naturally with that dark tone that since '70 that former butcher and gravedigger offers us. Finally, the closure is entrusted to "Trap Door", a composition also very complex and rich in tempo changes, considered by many to be the gem of this album. We cannot fail to mention the bonus tracks included in the Japanese edition of the album: "I Can't Save You", "Nightmare", and "Love To Hate" are really high-level tracks, with "Nightmare" even exceptional. It is a track not included in the release because irrelevant to the album's two main themes, whether they be the singer's personal matters or the decline of the world we live in. But this does not suffice to banish this small work of art to oblivion, which would have surely found a place in albums like "Bark At The Moon" or "Diary Of A Madman". "Love To Hate" and "I Can't Save You" are instead two great episodes of classic metal, not included in the package for not matching the album's themes, but they serve to once again testify our artist's capabilities.

Probably a cover of "Sunshine Of Your Love" included in the previous "Under Cover" would have found its natural habitat in this album, but without a doubt, we are faced with a work full of passion, dedication, and talent, both from the singer and the musicians following him. "Black Rain", conceived as a natural follow-up to "No More Tears", is ultimately an album characterized by rock writing but with metal sounds, which ranks undoubtedly among Ozzy's most positive and valuable releases: pointless to make comparisons with the past, the madman keeps pace with the times without distorting his music and his compositional vein. And to bear witness that "he doesn't wanna stop", he has promised a new release for this 2009...