ARTIST: Ozzy Osbourne
ALBUM: Scream
LABEL: Sony Music
RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2010
SCREAMS FROM AN ANGEL
Photo by Sony Music
Written by Travis Reilly
After 40 years of heavy metal trailblazing and 10 solo LPs, Ozzy Osbourne is still one of the most compelling figures in Rock N’ Roll. “I’m a rock star,” declares the 62 year old frontman less than one minute into Scream. Spring chicken or no, you’d do well not to question his use of the present tense.
“Let It Die” is a great opening salvo. While it doesn’t transform the heavy metal landscape, the production is crisp, the drums and guitar are tight, and the energy is dialed up to eleven. In that regard, the song is a microcosm of the entire album. Scream doesn’t push the envelope very far but it probably never had the ambition.
Scream’s first single, “Let Me Hear You Scream,” is short, punchy, and anthemic—a solid choice by Epic. Osbourne sings “I’ll pull you up and push you right back in your place / I’ll take you down and wipe that smile right off your face,” and we don’t doubt him. Newcomer Gus G. (of Firewind) brings that smile right back, though, with his fervent guitar play. The song’s powerful hook and blazing tempo are punctuated perfectly with Gus’s succinctly intense micro-solos.
Gus’s axe work is especially commendable considering the pressure he must have felt following in the footsteps of the Zakk Wylde and the immortal Randy Rhoads. He is an excellent addition to the band.
“Time” is a gripping but uneven track. Musically, it’s an affectionate tribute to the early 1980s power ballad. Lyrically, it’s riddled with clichés. “Time waits for no one, yeah,” sings a disaffected Osbourne. Perhaps he’s just read this bit of news on a Popsicle stick?
“Diggin’ Me Down” and “I Want It More” are good songs but also fairly homogenized hard rock fare. The irony is that, Osbourne’s distinctive cooing aside, one might assume they were listening to any one of the many contemporary bands trying to emulate Black Sabbath.
A few of Scream’s 11 tracks are duds (“Soul Sucker” and “Crucify” spring to mind) but even those are well-made and contain enough interesting guitar work to make them quasi-bearable.
If there’s a reoccurring lyrical theme in Osbourne’s lastest effort, it’s the inevitability of the passage of time. And why shouldn’t it be? He is at the twilight of his prolific career and he knows it. He doesn’t have anything left to prove which affords Scream a refreshing degree of honesty. Osbourne isn’t straining to generate artistic capital or reclaim any lost credibility, and he certainly doesn’t need the money.
Instead, the Godfather of metal is free to make (at least) one more album that any rock fan should appreciate. He might not rock as hard as he used to but, five decades into the game, he is still rocking. And that’s something worth celebrating. Perhaps with a headbang or two.