Clapton, Iommi, wah-wah excesses and impressive tones from the vocal booth: After a never-ending period of suffering, metal grandfather Ozzy Osbourne is back around the corner with a studio album that silences all critics.
“Heavy, hard and historical!”: The striking attributes with which Ozzy Osbourne’s new studio album was announced amazed the music world, since people were actually glad that the prince of darkness was still among the living. After severe pneumonia, various back operations and the Parkinson’s diagnosis published a few years ago, one no longer had the feeling that the eternal enfant terrible of the hardwood industry could turn around again. At the opening event of this year’s Commonwealth Games in his hometown of Birmingham, however, Ozzy Osbourne surprised the world with an entertaining Sabbath salute alongside his string wizard Tony Iommi.
A few weeks later there is even a new studio album by the metal maestro on the shelves. “Patient Number 9”, the title of the work created by producer and “sound director” Andrew Watt, once again celebrates Osbourne’s entire spectrum of sounds. A man who, in fifty years of touring, has seen and experienced just about everything the infamous “Sex, Drugs
Eric Clapton, Zakk Wyld, Mike McCready, Dave Navarro, Jeff Beck: The crème de la crème of the distorted mariachi branch is hand in hand on the lead guitar. The latter, for example, unmistakably left its mark on the playful Klappsmühle opener and the somewhat cheesy isolation ballad “A Thousand Shades”.
Not only Beck, but also the other old gentlemen with the overly long six-string letterheads give their all for Ozzy. Tommy Iommi not only awakens old Sabbath memories (“No Escape From Now”, “Dead And Gone”). Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready covers the voluminous mystic rocker “Immortal” with psychedelic tinkering. Eric Clapton pushes a pinch of blues afterwards (“One Of Those Days”). Ozzy’s buddy bear Zakk Wylde does the main work. You can rely on him again in late summer 2022.
What also stands out next to the excellent guitar work and the no less impressive supporting work by Taylor Hawkins, Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith and Chris Chaney is the indestructible vocal power of the main actor. Who knows if good Andrew needed a little help here and there. In the end, however, one is happy to accept this question mark.
It has been a long time since Ozzy presented himself as focused, intonation-proof and passionate as he did on the thirteen songs of “Patient Number 9”. If you didn’t know better, you might think that this is a classic metal shouter in his prime standing in front of the mic. Millions of music fans who have nothing to do with the genre now know that this is not the case. Ozzy’s shadow is everywhere, and we can only hope it stays that way for a few more years. In this sense: The patient is doing well. Three french fries for the madman!
