Ozzy Osbourne ‘s next single could polarize longtime fans

Mostly Ozzy Osbourne’s latest album, A normal man, an experimental success for his solo career. Tailoring elements of his classic heavy metal styles with pop-sensibility producer Andrew Watt and several guest shows, the album was unlike anything Ozzy has ever done through his solo album. And that’s why the album was such a fun and appropriate album for fans – at the age of 72, Ozzy started to venture out and try something completely new in his solo career.

Yes, he also played with nostalgia, from the usual heavy metal riffs and the “okay now” classic taken from the prince of darkness. But overall, A normal man Most things changed upside down for the development of Ozzy’s one-man career, and he apparently ended the series of bad records to sub-par from the last two decades.

That being said, it’s no surprise to see that Ozzy Osbourne has stuck with producer Andrew Watt for his next single, which is reportedly already halfway done. In an interview with Guitar World, Andrew Watt spoke openly about the writing process for the new album:

“Yes. We are about half way through. But, you know, he’s struggled with COVID and everything to keep it safe. We all do a test every day before we work and it’s just me, Ozzy and my engineer. So it’s taken a little longer this time, but it’s cool because the last one was done here, like, a quick love of passion, like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing! [laughs]”

Digging more into the songs themselves, Watt said “there are some songs out there that are like eight or nine minutes long that are these subtle journeys. I’m excited about it. ”

But when they give the musicians details for the new album, things seem to take a turn for the worse:

“There are a handful of people involved. I can’t say for sure until the end, but I started doing a handful of basic tracks with Chad and Robert Trujillo, who used to play in the band Ozzy. And Taylor came Hawkins came in and played a bunch on the album as well, which gives it a different flavor – it ‘s kind of going back to Ozzy’ s time in the 80s, in a really good way. I think it’s so appealing to a rock fan to be able to listen to half a record with Chad Smith on the drums, and then you take it over and you hear Taylor Hawkins. ”

If this is going to be a line of musicians, it’s definitely another unparalleled change for Ozzy’s solo career. More interestingly, if the album revives elements of Ozzy from the 80s, the most beloved and unanimously praised era, it is sure to delight a crowd.

However, for many longtime fans it is very strange and uncomfortable not to have a named lead guitar, now, for two straight albums. Throughout his solo career Ozzy has simultaneously set the stage for several well-known guitarists such as Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, and especially Randy Rhoads. Many fans have either been waiting for the return of Zakk Wylde (who was a leading studio and live ax wielder for most of Ozzy ‘s career) or whether a machine has been named -new ‘top of the line’ break.

And while Andrew Watt conducted most of the guitar duties A normal man (which was particularly solid), as there were a lot of guest performances on the album he wasn’t as enthusiastic as Ozzy’s ‘next-gen’ guitar. It could be said that his career as a producer had more of an impact on record success than his guitar playing.

But as a hardcore Ozzy fan I’m still excited to see how the next album turns out, especially if it’s a shadow of Ozzy from the ’80s. And to that extent, Ozzy at 80 was heavily reliant on the awesome guitar work, so it will be interesting to see how / if the album draws parallels in that regard.