Category: Album Reviews
Tags: Gus G, ozzy osbourne, scream

Ozzy’s new album is marketed as some kind of return to form. In principle, this is good news. His last few albums were mediocre to say the least and- after the huge success of The Osbournes MTV circus, most people had forgotten what that Ozzy guy was famous for in the first place. It was clearly time for a change in the Osbourne camp. So, Zakk Wylde is out and a new guitar slinger is in. Gus G was so far more well- known as a band leader of power metal revivalists Firewind. Can he follow in the footsteps of Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde?

Well, he does a great job. I ‘m no Firewind fan and I prefer Wylde’s bluesier style, but the guy clearly knows what he’s doing, complementing Ozzy’s inmistakable voice (still in fine form by the way) with elegant, fiery leads. He is the best thing here (did we mention he ‘s Greek?). That doesn’ t mean that the album is a classic though. Unfortunately, the songs are essentially an afterthought. They are decent enough, but everything sounds like someone’s idea of an Ozzy Osbourne record. Everything is calibrated to perfection, from the shiny production that makes the guitars sound like jet engines, to the songs themselves- all of which have choruses designed to be screamed by crowds in concerts. There is even a song called Let Me Hear You Scream. Give me a break Oz! True, there is nothing here as traumatising as his duet with his daughter from a while back (when they slaughtered Sabbath’s Changes), but nothing compares to No More Tears, his last great album either. Only the disturbing Latimer’s Mercy reminds you that this is a person who bit off the head of a bat, pissed on the Alamo and tried to kill his wife in a drunken stupor once.

At the end of the day, perhaps someone in Ozzy’s management should have realised that his greatest albums were close collaborations with his guitar player and the rest of the band (Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, etc). Perhaps if Gus G was more than a hired hand here, the results would be more interesting. Scream is a good enough album, by an elder statesman. It’s good to see that he survived and I will see him live once again when he tours Europe in September, but there’s no need for more new albums. Surely, he’s done enough.

(-Dimitris Kontogiannis-)

About the Author: CnB