Recently, I read Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography. After reading it, I firmly believe Scream makes perfect sense as a choice for a title of an album. Osbourne has screamed all his life – for attention, at dinners with former President Bush, and in thousands of concert halls. What better way to capture all of those diverse aspects of his life than to release a disc called Scream?
The main theme of this release and his autobiography are similar. For every success in life, there are penalties that must be paid, whether it is through personal growth or through the loss of someone close to you. Osbourne attempts to sort through these ideas on this release, the first to feature new guitarist Gus G.
The rest of the band makes their debut on this Osbourne release as well. A lot of people make a big deal about Gus G. taking over for Zakk Wylde, but listen to Osbourne’s career-spanning material and you will hear different styles. Jake E. Lee paved the way with his riffs on Bark At The Moon, and, later, Zakk Wylde took things to a different level with his work on No Rest For The Wicked. I am not dismissing Randy Rhoad’s contributions Osbourne’s catalog, however, so Rhoads lovers, calm down. Rhoads rocked and is probably jamming with Hendrix, Bonham, and Burton (with Cobain occasionally sitting in) – RIP.
However, since Rhoads’ death, Lee, Wylde, and now Gus G. have propelled Osbourne’s career. On Scream, Gus G. contributes more to the modern Osbourne focus on radio-friendly fist-pumping anthems. Previous gems like “I Don’t Want To Stop” from Black Rain and, on this release, “Let Me Hear You Scream” fit the bill, as both songs suffer from somewhat silly lyrics. On “Let Me Hear You Scream,” if you can close your eyes, you can possibly picture Osbourne and company cranking through this song in concert. Another song that should be added to the set list is the heaviest track on this release, “Soul Sucker.” Osbourne snarls through his lyrics on this cut.
But during the ballad-ish “Time” (which sounds like a wedding of “See You On The Other Side” and “Time After Time” from No More Tears), Osbourne is reflective. He tells his audience “Stop waiting for tomorrow / Stop living in your dream / This life fading away / This life ticking like a time bomb / Ready to blow your tortured mind.” Osbourne’s mind seems to be focused on his mortality here. In light of his autobiography and the recent news that he was going to patch up his relationship with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, the fact that he wrote a song about this doesn’t surprise me.
“I Want it More” focuses on driving forward and succeeding, a theme he focused on in his autobiography. Focusing on this passion to succeed, Osbourne includes the brief one-minute “I Love You All” as the final note of the disc. It seems fitting that these words end this release: “For all these years you stood by me / God bless / I love you all.”
How many more Screams does Osbourne have left in him? How many more concerts? How many more controversial actions? I don’t know. This release sets up Gus G. as a “Guitar World” player, and if nothing else, helps the radio suck a bit less.
