Ozzy Osbourne Has Finished a New Solo Album
At 70 years old, does Ozzy still have it in him to release one more game-changing record? Black Rain and Scream, his two most recent efforts, certainly don’t inspire confidence… but there’s always hope, right? Especially if Zakk Wylde is involved. At this point even a half-decent record would be a win in my book.
We’ll soon find out what the Ozzman has left in the tank if he himself is to be believed (and, to be fair, he shouldn’t necessarily be believed… the man isn’t fully what we’d call “with it” these days, love him as we do). In a new interview with The Sun that focuses mostly on the myriad medical maladies Ozzy’s suffered over the past year, the Prince of Darkness revealed that not only is he working on another solo album, but the thing is completely done.
Explaining that a combination of being bedridden from his injuries and feeling inspired by his collaboration with Post Malone sparked the creative fire this time around, he said:
“I’ve made a new album and it’s helped get me back on track. I was just lying in my own self-pity for months. It’s the greatest album I’ve done.”
“I’d never even heard of this kid [Post Malone]. He wanted me to sing on his song “Take What You Want,” so I did and then one thing led to another. I started recording a new album with Post Malone’s producer Andrew Watt. It’s only nine tracks but it was a catalyst to get me to where I am today.
“If it wasn’t for making this record I would still be on traction, thinking, ‘I’m going to be lying here for ever’. I’ve missed music so badly. My fans are so loyal and so good. Up until making the album I thought I was dying. But that got me off my a**e.
“This is my first recording in a studio for ten years, so I do feel a bit out of touch. Music goes straight online these days and that’s quicker than it takes me to write a text. It’s all about downloads and streaming now. What the f*** does that mean? What’s Spotify? I thought it was a skin problem where you woke up spotified.
“The album was all finished in four weeks. I said to Sharon that I didn’t feel like I’d made an album because we haven’t ended up screaming at each other.”
I should add that it’s not clear Zakk is on the axe on the new stuff — the Sun article didn’t name a guitarist — but I can’t imagine who else it’d be, and Zakk’s participation in Ozzy’s recent touring outfit certainly points in that direction.
While we wait for new Ozzy, fans will have a chance to see him this coming winter in the U.K. and Europe and next spring and summer in the U.S. and Canada after his previous solo tour was postponed.
Tickets are available here! All dates below.
U.K. / Europe:
Jan 31: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, UK
Feb 02: Dublin 3 Arena, Ireland
Feb 05: Manchester Arena, UK
Feb 07: Newcastle Utlilta Arena, UK
Feb 10: London The O2, UK
Feb 12: Glasgow SSE Hydro, UK
Feb 14: Birmingham Resorts World Arena, UK
Feb 17: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Feb 20: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
Feb 22: Stockholm Friends Arena, Sweden
Feb 24: Berlin Mercedes-Benz Arena, Germany
Feb 26: Vienna Stadhalle, Austria
Feb 29: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
Mar 03: Hamburg Barclaycard Arena, Germany
Mar 05: Munich Olympianhalle, Germany
Mar 07: Mannheim SAP Arena, Germany
Mar 10: Bologna Unipol Arena, Italy
Mar 13: Madrid Wizink Arena, Spain
Mar 16: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
U.S./Canada:
Wed 5/27 Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena
Fri 5/29 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center
Sun 5/31 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union
Tue 6/2 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
Thu 6/4 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Sat 6/6 Hershey, PA Hershey Park Stadium
Thu 6/11 Pittsburgh, PA KeyBank Pavilion
Sat 6/13 Bangor, ME Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Tue 6/16 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Thu 6/18 Hamilton, ON First Ontario Centre
Sat 6/20 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Mon 6/22 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena
Wed 6/24 St Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Fri 6/26 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Sun 6/28 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
Wed 7/1 Milwaukee, WI Amer. Family Ins. Amp–Summerfest
Fri 7/3 St Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Tue 7/7 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
Thu 7/9 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Sat 7/11 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
Wed 7/15 Portland, OR Moda Center
Fri 7/17 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
Thu 7/23 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
Sat 7/25 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Wed 7/29 San Diego, CA North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Fri 7/31 Las Vegas, CA MGM Grand Garden Arena
TBA July Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
[via Loudwire]
