Ozzy Osbourne’s new album “Scream” – The Mumbles of a Madman

As a long time fan of both Black Sabbath and Ozzy’s solo work I would love to write a positive review of his latest album,  Unfortunately, I can not.

Ozzy’s new release Scream is a steaming chunk of beheaded bat shit that barely manages a murmur, much less a scream.
I’m so disappointed in this effort that I’m not going to even waste my time writing a proper review.  The main problem with the album is that it just sounds lazy. Ozzy teamed up again with Kevin Churko who produced his last album Black Rain but does not achieve the same results. This is probably because he recorded the album at his home studio and you can’t rock while wearing pajamas.  It’s just a fact.  Here’s why it sucks:

1.  Ozzy’s vocals sound like he downloaded the iPhone app “I am T-pain” and loves him some Autotune.

2.  No real hooks with the exception of “Let Me Hear You Scream” which sounds like Nickelback’s “Burn It Down” or a crappier version of Black Rain’s “I Don’t Wanna Stop.”

3.   Zakk Wylde, his guitarist since 1988, wasn’t invited back.  Although I love Zakk and Black Label Society, I thought this was a sign he had found a new prodigy just like Zakk and Randy Rhoads.  I have no idea why he chose new guitarist Gus G (?) as his meandering solos add nothing new to the mix.

4.  It sounds cheap.  $haron went on a rant last time about Black Rain’s mediocre sales even with an Ozzfest push.  The decision to record the album at home, not bring back Zakk,  and use a drum machine, seems to be a financial one.   (A dude named Tommy Clufetos is credited as the drummer but I think that’s just the name of the machine manufacturer.) That combined with a truncated Ozzfest run of just 6 dates shows a lack of confidence in the album’s potential.

I’m pretty sure that the Ozzy camp sensed they had a turd on their hands and tried to polish it with some creative promotion (CSI, Rock Band) since they know word of mouth will quickly kill the beast.   It’s too bad because because I was looking forward to the return of the Prince of Darkness.  He can now return to singing “Born to be Wild” with Miss Piggy, planning the reboot of Osbournes Reloaded, and riding that crazy train to nowhere.

Past RUFKM article on the Osbournes Reloaded by TylerDFC