OZZY AIN’T NO SUCKA AFTER ALL

Last month, Ozzy Osbourne continued his campaign against the hearts and minds of his longtime fans by announcing Soul Sucka as the title of his new album, which is tentatively scheduled for a July release. Kind of amazingly, though, it seems as though the Ozzman hasn’t completely lost touch with his supporters, has heard all of our bitching and moaning, and has decided to do something about it. Metal Underground reports that Ozzy’s bassist, Blasko, has released a statement which reads in part:

“Until yesterday, the disc was going to be called Soul Sucka. However, Ozzy realized that “None of my fan base liked the title. They were like, ‘I can’t imagine me walking around the fucking house with the words ‘Soul Sucka’ on my T-shirt.’ So I was like, ‘Fuck it. I’ve got to come up with something else!’”

That’s a wise move, if you ask me. I hate to side sound like some dick from a record label marketing department, but Ozzy has enough PR problems without releasing the worst-titled record ever.

But that’s not the only step in the right direction Ozzy is taking.

According to SMN, Ozzfest will also return this summer. It’s not clear if it will be another one-off show, as it was 2008, or a full tour, as it had been in previous years, but assuming that it’s a full tour, I think it’s a good idea. As long as Mayhem and Ozzfest don’t cannibalize one another, having Ozzy once again preside over a bunch of younger, hotter acts strikes me as smart move.

If it is a full tour, I think we can expect some kind of announcement about which bands are playing soon-ish. My understanding is that the main acts for some of the smaller traveling circus tours, like Summer Slaughter, are just about locked down, and Mayhem has already announced its line-up, which features several bands that have helped make Ozzfest a success in the past.

-AR