Band's List Heavy Metal Ozzy Osbourne Down to Earth

Don't be fooled, I like Rhandy Roads' shredding skills as much as the next Ozzy-fan, but this era, the New Millennium Ozzy Osbourne, has got to be the Golden Age of the Prince of Darkness. Why is this? First off, let us mention the stellar cast of this era: the Prince-of-fucking-Darkness himself, Faith No More's Mike Bordin on drums, Suicidal Tendencies' (and future Metallica member) Robert Trujillo on bass and the great guitar beast of the south, Black Label Society's Zakk Wylde. Well, for as popular as No More Tears was, as skillfull as Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman were, and as boring as The Ultimate Sin, No Rest for the Wicked and Ozzmosis were, with this album we finally get to see the real side of the Prince of Darkness.

Well, let's begin... Track number one, "Gets Me Through", is one of the big singles off this album, and has the message that Ozzy has been trying to get through to people since Black Sabbath - he's not the fucking devil! It can get a bit repetitive, especially the music video, but it also happens to be one of the few times that Zakk Wylde has played in E-standard.

The next track is good, just not anything extra special, except for Ozzy attempting to sound like his old self as much, while still singing introspectively (the major theme of "Down to Earth"). Track three, "Dreamer" is the first Ozzy Osbourne song that I heard on my own. True, I had heard "Crazy Train", "Mr. Crowley" and a plethora of Black Sabbath hits before then, but I had made the decision to accept the Prince of Darkness as one of my favorite bands.

I was struck by the contrast in this song compared to the usual heavy, fast music of Ozzy. It wasn't unpleasant at all; it may be that many find this to be his low-point, trying to get attention by releasing "ballads" on all of his albums, but I don't care. This is still one of the more interesting songs on this album.

"Junkie", the seventh track on the album, is one of the more noticeable tracks off this album. For instance, it is part of the reason that I like this album. Ozzy Osbourne has always been recognized as foul-mouthed (possibly before The Osbournes...in fact, it was AFTER i bought every single Ozzy album and became a die-hard fan that i even bothered to check out The Osbournes show), and the profanity on this track (as well as Black Rain's "Almighty Dollar"), to me, make these albums seem more Ozzy than all of the older, cleaner albums. Musically, its a very interesting track with some sweet riffs. Lyrically, this is perhaps one of the deepest tracks off this album (with the others being "Gets Me Through", "Facing Hell", "Dreamer", "No Easy Way Out" and "Running Out of Time"): this is because the lyrics of this song reference drug abuse, something that has been a shocking part of the life of Ozzy, and contributed (along with his alcohol abuse) to his current state.

"Running Out of Time", the next track, is another "ballady" track, but it feels very Ozzy. It is the tale of the tired old Hero of metal, weary and realizing that he is getting old and that his time is short. It's very beautiful, and chilling as well.

But don't be fooled, there's plenty of sweet riffs on this album. It's not all just ballads and introspective lyrics. What we find on this album were those riffs and solos that were deemed as un-BLS as possible. And why should that even matter? It's Zakk Wylde, he has a unique style that just Screams of Zakk Wylde with every pinch harmonic he pulls. The other players are just as solid, and Ozzy's voice sounds decent, though still attempting to sound like "No Rest for the Wicked/No More Tears".

This album is definitely different. But it is still Ozzy Osbourne. I would strongly suggest this album. Some of the tracks don't stand out much, but those that do are kick-ass or profound...or even profoundly kick-ass. If there is a down-point to this album, I would have to say either "Alive" or "Can you Hear Them?" I don't know, it's just not my thing.