Label: Epic
Released: May 22, 2007
You’d think that 16 years of half-hearted recordings would destroy Ozzy’s career. If that isn’t enough, surely the overexposure from his asinine reality show would do it. No? How about one of the worst covers albums ever recorded? Somehow Ozzy seems to survive all of this, like a heavy metal Rasputin.
I think “Not Going Away” is probably a threat more than a promise, because if its generic heavy groove is all Ozzy has to offer, I can’t imagine who wants to listen anymore (even though I’m well aware that there are legions who will gladly eat this crap right out of his hand). “I Don’t Wanna Stop” is a riffy affair that might be decent if it wasn’t the same old thing I’ve heard so many times before. It makes an attempt at being a bit trippy just before the solo, but that ends up being so listless that it loses its intended effect before it gets anywhere. The title track sees Ozzy going with the medium-paced hard rock approach. To make it interesting, he throws in some electronic effects that hint at some industrial influence. It fails miserably. Over the years, Ozzy has been able to pull off some fine ballads, but that power seems to have left him along with his voice. Aside from some subtley nice guitar work from Zakk Wylde, “Lay Your World on Me” is likely the worst ballad he’s ever recorded. It gets worse from there as “The Almighty Dollar” kicks in with a generic, funky bass line. The song tries to survive on Ozzy’s voice (or the processing that has become his voice) and has very little real structure. “Silver” kicks off with an energetic riff that seems promising. While it’s nothing particularly new, the song has a mild hook, decent use of keyboards to bolster Ozzy’s voice and a driving chorus. It’s not great, but at least it’s listenable. Is the next track actually decent or have I just lowered my standards over the course of the album? “Civilize the Universe” lacks the driving chorus of “Silver,” but it also has a fair hook and the processing on the vocals actually fits in with overall trippiness of the track. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly good, but at least “Here for You” isn’t as bad as “Lay Your World on Me.” The strings in the background aren’t very original and neither is the guitar solo. “Countdown’s Begun” is nothing new either. I’d only like it if it was the countdown to the end of Ozzy’s career. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case. I’m glad the last track is called “Trap Door,” because I definitely want out. There’s a bit of the heavy, processed riffy sound of Prong or maybe White Zombie that crops up throughout Black Rain, but it’s always done in third-rate fashion and “Trap Door” is a great example of that even though it’s actually one of the album’s stronger tracks.
Black Rain is another dull release from Ozzy. It’s self-consciously heavy at times and generally formulaic, indicating that Ozzy has little or nothing left in the tank. His vocals are consistently over-processed and it makes his performance very disingenuous. If he can’t even come close to what he could in his prime, he needs to either find a new direction or hang it up. As it stands, he’s just embarrassing himself. Unfortunately, something tells me that Ozzy will survive even this and continue to destroy any credibility he has left…probably to the tune of millions in album sales. Sad.
Rating: 3/10