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Ozzy Osbourne - Scream review



Reviewer:
7.0

369 users:
7.32
Band: Ozzy Osbourne
Album: Scream
Release date: June 2010


Disc I
01. Let It Die
02. Let Me Hear You Scream
03. Soul Sucker
04. Life Won't Wait
05. Diggin' Me Down
06. Crucify
07. Fearless
08. Time
09. I Want It More
10. Latimer's Mercy
11. I Love You All
12. Jump The Moon [Japanese bonus]
13. One More Time [iTunes pre-order bonus]

Disc II [tour edition bonus]
01. Hand Of The Enemy
02. One More Time
03. Jump The Moon
04. Bark At The Moon [live]
05. Let Me Hear You Scream [live]
06. No More Tears [live]
07. Fairies Wear Boots [live]
+ Let My Hear You Scream [video]
+ Making Of The "Let My Hear You Scream"
+ Making Of The "Scream"

Zakk Wylde never disappoints. Riffs heavy as lead, intricate, inventive solos, incredibly heavy sound of his guitar. The latest Ozzy Osbourne album is full of Zakk. What would it sound like if he didn't play on it? Wait. Zakk isn't here! Or, he is, he just changed his name to Gus G. I hear no difference. Either Gus G. is the best Zakk Wylde impersonator in the world, or he was too scared to show his own style while recording with the Prince of Darkness for the first time. Anyway, I trust that Ozzy knew what he was doing when he chose Gus to be his axeman. After all, he always hits the jackpot when it comes to guitarists: Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, and the aforementioned Zakk Wylde - they were all brilliant.

If I were to review only guitars on Scream, I'd give this album 10 out of 10. "Let It Die", "Soul Sucker", "I Want More", "Latimer's Mercy" - all these songs are full of deliciously slow, mercilessly heavy and infectiously catchy riffs that caress my speakers and make the walls and ceiling in my apartment shed plaster on my head. Especially "Soul Sucker" is there to remind me, and everyone who is even mildly interested in metal, that Ozzy was a member of the band that invented heaviness and doom metal. Something tells me that my neighbours from downstairs are filing a complaint...

The overall idea behind Scream seems to be quite simple. A song that will become the first single ("Let Me Hear You Scream"), several ballads ("Life Won't Wait", "Time", "I Love You All"). These are mandatory elements to ensure sales and cash flow. The rest is what Ozzy Osbourne is really good at: slow songs with very heavy riffs, accentuated by very catchy choruses and melodic solos. Needless to say, I value the latter much more. I just wish that Ozzy would forget about fucking money for once and record an album as good as Diary of A Madman. It'll never happen, but one can hope.

So the commercial reality is that a large chunk of the album will make a metal fan cringe, whine and wail out of disgust, because Ozzy's 100th ballad is as cheesy and bad as his 1st. As much as I love the old man, I can't understand how he can remain blind to the blatant fact that ballads are not his thing. I suppose that the success of "Mama I'm Coming Home" and "I Don't Want to Change the World" several years ago convinced him that he needs to commit at least one murder, err, pardon me, ballad on every album. And if only he limited himself to one...

But hey, I'm being unfair here. Out of 11 songs, only 3 are puke inducing ballads, one is a non-Ozzy attempt at a song for charts ("Let Me Hear You Scream"), and the remaining 7 range from quite decent ("Crucify", "Fearless") to brilliant ("Soul Sucker", "I Want More"), so the overall impression should be very good, granting the rating of at least 8,5. Sure, but how would you feel if the girl you fancied from the pics she sent you, turned out to have an arse the size of Pentagon?


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 7
Production: 10





Written on 25.07.2010 by Writes overly honest and totally subjective reviews when fancy strikes him. Which is not often. Which is probably good, all things considered.


Comments

Comments: 25   Visited by: 401 users
25.07.2010 - 15:12
Dark Cornatus
Powerslave
I have only listened to it once and i didn't think too much, but it wasn't bad. I need a few more listens. I really loved The Ultimate Sin and of course Blizzard of Ozz. From memory, every Ozzy album has filler songs, but always at least two killer songs. IMO that is better than a whole album of 'just ok' songs.
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25.07.2010 - 18:25
vezzy
Stallmanite
This review seems kind of confused and imbalanced to me. I have yet to listen to the album.
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25.07.2010 - 18:26
GT
Coffee!!
The review makes me want to listen to the album...and I find it quite amusing actually
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Dreams are made so we don't get bored when we sleep
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25.07.2010 - 19:01
Daydream Nation
Account deleted
Very, very generous marking, haha.
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25.07.2010 - 19:36
vezzy
Stallmanite
Meh, just tried it. I'm not sure if I'll buy it. It's the same old commercial heavy rock Ozzy's been churning out for a while.
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Licensed under the GPLv3.
Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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25.07.2010 - 19:52
Rating: 7
Derwood

This review echoes my thoughts about this album completely. Ozzy's albums tend to be a little schizoid and this one is no exception. The good tracks are really good and the bad tracks are really bad. Although I don't recall having heard anything else from him nearly as horrid as "I Love You All." He surpasses even Manowar in sheer cheese factor on that particular bit of tilset.
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You can't fight evil with a macaroni duck!
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25.07.2010 - 23:03
skrätte
I Hate You
I like this review. I'd say that it is, for the most part, pretty in-line with my opinions of the album. The only thing I'd disagree with, really, is the Zakk Wylde comparison.

Personally, I hear a wild.. sorry, a Wylde difference in the guitar sound. The tone is completely different. The overall playing style seems pretty non-Zakk. The main difference is in the tone, though, I'd say. Zakk seems to have a woodsy, warm tone. The Gus G style is crunchier, more metallic.

I do hear quite a bit of similarity in the little guitar fills and runs, though. Also in some of the solos. Just my two cents though. I am, after all, listening to this album with a different set of ears.
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26.07.2010 - 01:18
RavenKing

Written by Derwood on 25.07.2010 at 19:52

Although I don't recall having heard anything else from him nearly as horrid as "I Love You All." He surpasses even Manowar in sheer cheese factor on that particular bit of tilset.


Cheesier than Manowar? I can hardly imagine that.
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They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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26.07.2010 - 02:01
Rating: 8
Elyar S.
Gud är Död
First of all Ozzy's ballads kicks ass for me (a lot of them, dont need to mention), but about:

"Zakk Wylde never disappoints. Riffs heavy as lead, intricate, inventive solos, incredibly heavy sound of his guitar. The latest Ozzy Osbourne album is full of Zakk. What would it sound like if he didn't play on it? Wait. Zakk isn't here! Or, he is, he just changed his name to Gus G. I hear no difference. Either Gus G. is the best Zakk Wylde impersonator in the world, or he was too scared to show his own style while recording with the Prince of Darkness for the first time. Anyway, I trust that Ozzy knew what he was doing when he chose Gus to be his axeman. After all, he always hits the jackpot when it comes to guitarists: Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, and the aforementioned Zakk Wylde - they were all brilliant."

thank you! Im absolutely agree with you! this is Zakk Wylde! and Im so happy because of it.
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Kiss my ass if you dont like me, I dont care.
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26.07.2010 - 10:01
R.I.Pdeadlegends
Account deleted
Ozzy hasn't had a good album since Rhoads died... Lee and Wylde were jokes imho... sad but true
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26.07.2010 - 12:56
vezzy
Stallmanite
Written by RavenKing on 26.07.2010 at 01:18

Written by Derwood on 25.07.2010 at 19:52

Although I don't recall having heard anything else from him nearly as horrid as "I Love You All." He surpasses even Manowar in sheer cheese factor on that particular bit of tilset.


Cheesier than Manowar? I can hardly imagine that.


You better believe it. Just listen to it. It's only one minute too.
----
Licensed under the GPLv3.
Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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26.07.2010 - 22:59
Perseverence
Account deleted
Again to truely enjoy this album you must see it for what it is and not what it isn't. Scream is a goodbye album. Yall think it's crap because your thinking there will be more albums.
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26.07.2010 - 23:14
Daniell
_爱情_
Written by Guest on 26.07.2010 at 22:59

Again to truely enjoy this album you must see it for what it is and not what it isn't. Scream is a goodbye album. Yall think it's crap because your thinking there will be more albums.


Err, no? This is an average album with a few standout, brilliant tracks. I would rate it the same no matter who the artist would be.
Besides, even if it IS a goodbye album (got any proof?), it doesn't matter. I won't give it 2 points more because it's the last one.
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26.07.2010 - 23:58
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
I've only heard the title track which was meh not great but not bad...
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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27.07.2010 - 00:01
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Daniell on 26.07.2010 at 23:14

Written by Guest on 26.07.2010 at 22:59

Again to truely enjoy this album you must see it for what it is and not what it isn't. Scream is a goodbye album. Yall think it's crap because your thinking there will be more albums.


Err, no? This is an average album with a few standout, brilliant tracks. I would rate it the same no matter who the artist would be.
Besides, even if it IS a goodbye album (got any proof?), it doesn't matter. I won't give it 2 points more because it's the last one.

damn straight.i wouldn't either and who uses the word Y'all
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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27.07.2010 - 02:41
Iceland_Norway

For me this album it's not a good cd. Sorry man but I have to relisten to better this album cuz it's not sounding Heavy Metal, but it's full of electronical sound and Synthethizer that make a Discotheque sound.

:
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Føroyar mítt land

Tú alfagra land mítt

Føroyar mín Móðir
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28.07.2010 - 06:38
davemurray3205

Well this review totally ignores the fact that Gus G didn't have anything to do with the writing processes. He just showed up and rearranged how he would play them. His playing is a million times better than Zakk, of course we all have our opinions. But if you want to check out Gus' playing just check out some firewind, he is a great guitarist in his own right. Hell it could just be because i found out about firewind and found the song The Fire and The Fury right when i was questioning my playing of the guitar and it kept me in it. But dont judge his playing based on this record... if you do listen to the solos, the only song that sounds remotely Gus is Scream and that's a meh song anyway...

well that's my two cents.....
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28.07.2010 - 11:04
Ziom

So... does Ozzy compose anything? Or is is Wylde? I know him only from the reality show, and I can't really picture him inventing all those kick-ass riffs.
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01.08.2010 - 22:51
RavenKing

I went to the music store yesterday and they were playing this album. Damn this album sucks! Believe it or not but it was a relief for me when they started playing some pop crap I never heard before.
----
They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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05.08.2010 - 01:16
dodstink

Not ozzy at his best but still Ozzy.
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06.01.2011 - 13:40
jimmy

I have to agree that this album sucks something awful. it's a very boring and uninspired album that has maybe 2 good songs on it. and gus g sounds NOTHING like zakk wylde. i dont know where that comparison came from but it's not true. hell gus g doesnt even sound like gus g on this album. this is just a poorly written album that sounds like people going through the motions just to get the product out. pass on this one. glad i listened to it elsewhere before buying it.
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23.05.2012 - 08:14
Rating: 4
travesfenriswolf

I haven't heard a genuinely good Ozzy album since diary of a madman, when the guitars sounded amazing, and his voice delivered the goods. There's been goods songs, but not albums. I was happy when a guitar player from a power metal band decided to join Ozzy... i frowned when i heard the results.
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28.01.2013 - 20:12
Rating: 8
AngelofDeth
Cyborg Raptor
I enjoy this album. Its nowhere near as good as Ozzy in the 80's but its got a few gems(though sour points as well..)

I think its probly best played when trying to listen to music with ladies around, you get your heavy metal without scaring them away by playing something like Death or others.
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pewpew.. gotcha
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29.01.2013 - 03:54
Rating: 7
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
I enjoyed this album when I listened to it back in 2010 for a few weeks. Funny review. What was the last sentence about with the girl from the pics having an arse the size of a Pentagon?
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The sun shines over The Fool...
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08.08.2014 - 16:30
Jawsofchaos

Gus G didn't get himself involved in this album , as he has said multiple times in the press , he was the last member to be added in Ozzy's crew and at the time he arrived everything was already written.
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