The Prince of Darkness is back. And honestly, he sounds pretty damn good. We’ll get to that later, but for now I just want to focus on the fact that Ozzy has a new single out that measures up to the excellence of his past work.
The new single, ‘Under The Graveyard,’ is a strong, melodic heavy metal piece. The lyrics, as always, fit the melody perfectly. And honestly, I gotta say that Ozzy still sounds fresh. But the song as a whole is a mixed baggage. While it provides a fresh Ozzy sound that still retains his natural, old school metal directions, it lacks the punch of long time guitarist Zakk Wylde. Who apparently was not included on the new material. He wasn’t included on the last album either. 2010’s ‘Scream.’
But that album still retained a serious heavy metal edge at moments. Now, we haven’t heard the rest of the new album. But we’ll see how Ozzy tries to remain relevant to a younger audience while still retaining his long time fans. After all, he has gotten a boost by being a guest artist on a new Post Malone single ‘Take What You Want.’ Not that Post Malone is great or anything, but it was a boon for Ozzy. And I think it’s the right time to take advantage of that.
The new single specifically reminisces the ‘Down to Earth’ album. Released in 2001. The melodies are emotional and effective. And when the fuzzy, metal guitars drop, it works. The jam section of the song is throws back to the jam sessions of Black Sabbath. Which strengthens the track. Overall it’s a great new single.
The upcoming album, ‘Ordinary Man,’ is the first solo album from Ozzy Osbourne since 2010’s ‘Scream.’ And judging from how good he sounds in the studio, I would say that he has a few more years left in him. He did, after all, announce the new 2020 tour dates. Which seem to have convenient timing with the release of the new album. Either way, I hope Ozzy has a great up and coming tour. The new single is pretty good all around, despite it’s slight departure from the traditional Ozzy solo sound.
