Written By: Luis Vox
With the first anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne's passing looming over us like a dark cloud, we felt it necessary to honor the legend and use this as the perfect time to put a spotlight on an album that feels like it kind of came and went without as much celebration as it deserved. We all know the Prince of Darkness and his hits, from Blizzard of Ozz monster track "Crazy Train" to the No More Tears title track. What we want to do here is shine a light on a time that didn't get the same fanfare. With that said, and as Ozzy would say:
I want to hear you scream!
2010's Scream was the first and only record with then guitarist Gus G., who replaced longtime guitarist and collaborator Zakk Wylde. Both Osbourne and Wylde stated the reason for the sudden lineup change wasn't due to bad blood between them, but creative differences. Ozzy felt Wylde's more recent work was sounding too close to his own band, Black Label Society, which was not what Ozzy wanted. With a new guitarist now added to the all-star lineup, consisting of Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (Rob Zombie, Zakk Sabbath, etc.) on bass, Tommy Clufetos (Rob Zombie, Black Sabbath, etc.) as touring drummer, producer Kevin Churko handling the studio drum work, and Adam Wakeman on keyboards, the band took on a different feel.
Revisiting this album after 16 years, time has had little to no effect on its sound. This is arguably Ozzy's heaviest solo album. The album's lead single is a perfect punch in the face. The energy and quick tempo of "Let Me Hear You Scream" is just the kind of track that's easy to envision a crowd of metal maniacs losing their minds to at a stadium show.
WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR "LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM" BELOW
A personal favorite of ours is "Diggin' Me Down." From the opening acoustic intro slowly pulling you into a false sense of security with what feels like a pretty ballad, to a sinister build wrapping around you like a coiling snake, that crushing galloping riff and drum combo just smacks you around. So fucking good and criminally underrated.
The album is filled with meaty riff after meaty riff. Gus G. isn't Zakk Wylde, and he's not trying to be, which is why I think this works so well. They both definitely crush at what they do. This was just a new take on a tried-and-true formula while breathing new life into a decades-long career.
Ozzy dubbing Gus G. His new guitar player
The main issue I feel here is that even though this album is punching well above its weight, Scream was released after the underwhelming Black Rain. So most fans probably just wrote it off and didn't really bother, which is a shame. The aforementioned songs, along with bangers like "Let It Die" and "I Want It More," all have noteworthy moments. Nothing can compare to Osbourne's classics, but this album still rips and deserves to be brought up more.
FINAL WORD
So, if you're like most of us and you're still mourning the passing of our one true lord and savior, Ozzy fucking Osbourne, sit back with your drink of choice and, along with your millionth playthrough of Black Sabbath's Paranoid and Ozzy's No More Tears, maybe give Scream a listen. It might surprise you.
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