Ozzy Osbourne has simply introduced the information that each fan needs to listen to – a one-off all-star farewell gig in his hometown of Aston. However again in 2010, the singer was selling his new album, Scream – and as Traditional Rock found, he was anticipating the “Jesus freaks” to not be comfortable about it.
We meet Ozzy Osbourne in a large room that’s painted totally white. The partitions, the ceiling, the ground, even the trestle desk in entrance of us… the whole lot is bleached-out and colourless. It’s an eerie feeling.
The Prince Of Darkness is perched on a white folding chair, sipping tea from – sure – a white china cup. He presents a stark distinction to the pallid environment, dressed as he’s in his customary attire de noir. His dusky outfit is alleviated solely by a trusty gold crucifix, which dangles on a considerably sunken chest, plus customary blue-tinted specs. His lengthy, brown-black, dyed hair, normally rail-straight, is curiously tousled and curly as we speak.
The big anaemic space through which we’re conducting our interview lends an virtually spectral air to proceedings. Your Steel Hammer scribe appears like Saint Peter on the Gates Of Heaven, sitting judgment on Ozzy’s evil previous and questioning how a lot commotion he’ll trigger if we enable him into our peaceable realm of fluffy clouds and harp-plucking. Nevertheless, having heard one in all his new songs, Diggin’ Me Down, it’s possible the gates will keep firmly shut.
“I’m sure to get some fucking flak for that music, from all of the Jesus freaks,” the POFD admits.
Time for a double- take and a dose of actuality. We’re truly ensconced in a spot referred to as The Worx, in Parsons Inexperienced, West London. It’s a sprawling photographic studio and leisure complicated, and Ozzy has taken over the place for the day for a blitz of publicity for his new album, Scream.
On the time of our encounter, Steel Hammer has heard 5 tracks from the document: the aforementioned Diggin’ Me Down, Let Me Hear You Scream, Let It Die and Soul Sucker, every an out-and-out fist-pumping rocker, plus Time, a usually tormented ballad.
Scream is the primary studio document Ozzy has executed with out guitarist Zakk Wylde since 1986’s The Final Sin, and the primary with out drummer Mike Bordin since 1995. Gus G of Firewind and Tommy Clefetos (Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper) have taken over. Rounding out the lineup are bassist Blasko and keyboard participant Adam Wakeman.
The brand new album sounds monstrously heavy.
“Unconsciously I can hear my Sabbath roots in it. There’s some thudding Iron Man riffs in there. I’ve bought my very own ProTools studio at my home. I name it The Bunker. Kevin Churko, the producer, he’s a really intelligent man. He and I laid the foundations of it and we put the band on afterwards. Which is a brand new manner for me of doing it.”
We seen some attention-grabbing lyrics on Diggin’ Me Down: ‘How will I do know you, Mr Jesus Christ, how will I do know that you just’re the Son Of God?’ What’s that each one about?
“They are saying that Jesus goes to come back again. Effectively, how fucking dangerous is it going to get earlier than he decides to return? There’s been lots of wars and lots of people have died within the identify of faith. After I was a child and I discovered there wasn’t a Santa Claus and it was all bollocks… it’s an identical factor, isn’t it? These Jesus freaks, they’re actually annoying. Think about if somebody was to come back as much as me and say, ‘Excuse me, I’m Jesus.’ I’d reply, ‘Yeah, and I’m fucking Hitler.’ I don’t know when you’re the Son Of God, I don’t know when you’re Jesus Christ. The nuthouse is stuffed with them.”
We thought for a second you’d executed an about-turn and grow to be spiritual.
“No, no. I’ve by no means bought my head across the thought of organised faith. It’s bullshit. After I was a child I grew up with a load of Catholics and the folks round the place I lived had no cash. There was one girl who had eight youngsters, her outdated man had fucked off, she was broke, and she or he’d ship her youngsters, spick and span, to church each Sunday morning. She’d go into debt to maintain them trying good. I don’t get that. I believe folks imagine in God as a result of that’s all they’ve bought. It’s a crutch.”
One other of your new songs, Soul Sucker, appears to be about individuals who at all times desire a piece of you…
“Yeah, folks at all times need one thing, you recognize? They need one thing for nothing. It’s loopy. I simply inform them to fuck off, you recognize? One other attention-grabbing music on the album is Let It Die. I fairly prefer it. The lyrics are very repetitive. You recognize that Billy Joel music? [We Didn’t Start The Fire] The play with phrases is admittedly intelligent on it. We wished to do a music like that. The best way it picks up, hastens, I can actually hear Sabbath in it in the direction of the top. And with Gus on guitar, he got here in and he did a superb job.”
Gus G: he’s Greek, isn’t he?
“Blessed are the Greeks.”
What’s occurred to Zakk Wylde?
“I used to be starting to sound like Black Label Society, you recognize? I’m not placing him down in any respect, I really like his stuff, however I’ve been laying aside the inevitable, fascinated about it for 2 or three years, looking for a everlasting alternative. Zakk was OK about it.”
You’re nonetheless on good phrases?
“I used to say higher the satan you recognize than the satan you don’t. With Gus, I’ve bought to seek out out what he’s prefer to tour with, however on the identical time if I wanted Zakk for something I’d simply choose up the cellphone and he’d be there the subsequent day, you recognize? As he stated to me, ‘Our relationship goes past music.’ I’m godfather to his son. We went out to dinner, my household and his household, the opposite day. I don’t need anybody to assume we’ve fallen out, that I’ve fired him and he hates me. It’s not true. I simply knew I needed to get a full- time alternative ultimately, as a result of on the final tour Zakk was opening the present together with his band and fucking closing it with my band. It was my fault in lots of methods, I stored going, ‘I can’t undergo the fucking audition course of once more, I can’t do it.’”
What in regards to the response to your preliminary album title: Soul Sucka?
“I assumed Soul Sucka was an awesome title for the album. However then somebody instructed me my web site had gone nuts with complaints about it. I stated, ‘What the fuck are you on about?’ Apparently folks weren’t going to purchase the album as a result of they thought I used to be turning right into a hip-hop artist. I didn’t realise the phrase ‘sucka’ is what they use in fucking hip-hop. I don’t hearken to the fucking stuff, you recognize?”
The precise observe. Soul Sucker, now appears to have an ‘er’ on the finish.
“I ain’t bought a clue. Sharon does all that. I believe it’s Suck-A. Or it’s Suck-ER. I don’t fucking know.”
Another tracks you’ll be able to inform us about? What a few music we haven’t heard thus far, referred to as I Love You All?
“It’s only a three-minute… three-second… it’s solely a brief factor. You recognize on stage once I go, ‘Good night time, God bless, I really like you all’? On the music I am going, ‘All of us should stand collectively now, or one after the other we fall, to all of you who stood by me, God bless I really like you all.’ It’s like somewhat poem on the finish. It doesn’t imply I’m going to give up. It’s simply the top, the top of the fucking album.”
What evokes you, as an artist, to maintain recording new stuff? Since you might simply relaxation in your laurels…
“You’ve bought to have one thing to do. In my case it’s a high- profile job however it’s what I do. Most of my time is spent watching a DVD in a resort room, so the very best half is making an album or taking part in a gig. If I can’t do an album or a gig I’m fucking pissed off.”
Is retirement one thing you’ve bought in your sights?
“If I can nonetheless do it and folks nonetheless need to see me, then nice. I’m not going to go from arenas and festivals right down to bars and seedy golf equipment; I don’t need to try this. I’m doing a few small exhibits in London quickly – I like doing them once in a while, however I gained’t do them if that’s all I’ve bought left. I’m not a dummy. I’m not going to go from sell-out exhibits to taking part in in entrance of three folks. Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, they’re nonetheless doing it, so why can’t I? If folks nonetheless need to come and see me, then age doesn’t come into it.”
To your earlier album, Black Rain, you had a playback for the luxurious press at Abbey Highway. Steel Hammer managed to infiltrate it, however it was a moderately high-falutin’ affair. You appear to be going again to your roots with Scream.
“I at all times wished to do a different album; I don’t need to do one with the identical headbanging tunes all over. I need it to be extra like a journey, you recognize. Rob Halford made an all-out trendy steel album and it wasn’t significantly profitable, so you’ll be able to’t actually go that far, you’ve bought to stay to your roots.”
Are you making an attempt to reclaim your heartland with Scream?
“You recognize what? That TV movie star that I turned, I fucking didn’t prefer it. Sharon loves flying around the globe and being a TV star. I don’t, I can’t stand it, as a result of my coronary heart is in music. ‘Hello guys, it’s good to be right here on TV once more.’ Fuck that. Sharon stated, ‘I need to do a spread present.’ [The ill-fated Osbournes: Reloaded]. I stated, ‘What do you need to try this for?’ She stated, ‘Only one time for me.’ I hated each second of it. She stored pushing me into this fucking stuff.”
So, have you ever lastly determined to carry your floor?
“I stated, ‘I inform you what, Sharon, don’t even fucking ask me, don’t even go there with me in future, as a result of I don’t need to know.’ If it involves the purpose, on the finish of my days, I’m going to be remembered as a chat present host or one thing… nicely, I don’t need that to occur, you recognize?”
What are your ideas on the demise of Ronnie James Dio?
“After I heard he was sick, I did ship him a message. I ran into [Heaven & Hell drummer] Vinny Appice at an awards ceremony a couple of weeks again and I stated, ‘If there’s something I can do to assist Ronnie out, please let me know.’ Sharon had most cancers a couple of years again and it’s fucking depressing to look at any person going downhill.”
Does Ronnie’s demise, in a wierd manner, open doorways so that you can do something Black Sabbath- associated in future?
“Effectively, I by no means say by no means any extra. However I wouldn’t do [a reunion] with anyone however the authentic three: Invoice, Tony and Geezer. That’s Black Sabbath. I don’t need to get a stand-in drummer. I believe Invoice is ready in his methods, however I’d think about he’d do it. We did try to make one other album, we’ve nonetheless bought a bunch of tapes, however the factor about that’s, it’s a very dodgy factor since you’re returning to this fucking fable, aren’t you?”
Wouldn’t your lawsuit in opposition to Tony Iommi have an effect on a possible Sabbath reunion?
“It’s been settled now. We bought 50 per cent of the identify or one thing. I don’t actually know an excessive amount of about it. Sharon was coping with it. However it has been resolved. I believe so, yeah. I don’t need to fall out with Tony, so I don’t know.”
Who would play you in an Ozzy Osbourne film?
“Lots of people have urged Johnny Depp. I’d choose a younger, unknown man from Birmingham. I’m English; I’m from the Midlands, not from fucking Hollywood. Johnny Depp is without doubt one of the few People who can do a very good English accent however I’d prefer it to be somebody comparatively unknown.”
Ozzfest is coming again in the summertime of 2010…
“We’re doing a couple of exhibits, not that many. There are much more festivals on the market now.”
You’re doing Ozzfest with Mötley Crüe. Will we see a repeat of the debauchery of once you toured with them IN the Eighties?
“No. I’m going to do my gig and fuck off residence. That tour was the wildest tour I used to be ever on. I keep in mind saying to [then Crüe manager] Doc McGhee, ‘I believe one in all us goes to die on this tour.’ [Mötley Crüe] have been dangerous information; they have been uncontrolled. I used to be with Nikki Sixx a few days in the past and he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t get stoned any extra. We’re all completely different guys now.”
Initially printed in Steel Hammer situation 207, June 2010
