Ozzy Osbourne
The Prince of Darkness

The name Ozzy Osbourne has almost become synonymous with heavy metal music. As a member of the pioneering metal group Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne practically founded the genre. And thanks to a prolific, three-decade music career, a reputation for no-holds-barred living and persistent allegations of Satanism and animal abuse, Ozzy Osbourne will forever represent the wild, dangerous side of rock 'n' roll.

Getting his start with one of heavy metal monolith Black Sabbath, singer Ozzy Osbourne split from the band in 1979, and forged a highly successful solo career that quickly eclipsed his former outfit. While Osbourne's strange antics sometimes overshadow the music, he helped introduce one of metal's greatest guitarists in Randy Rhoads, creating numerous metal classics in the process. Rhoads died in a plane crash in 1982, ending the first great era of Osbourne's solo career, but Ozzy soldiered on to continued success. In the '90s, the Ozzfest was inaugurated, a heavy-metal package tour that helped introduce some of the biggest new metal bands of the late '90s/early '00s. Ironically, Ozzy's greatest stardom came in 2002 with MTV's reality show THE OSBOURNES, focusing on the amusing foibles of Ozzy's family life.

The influence of Ozzy Osbourne can be felt just as strong, if not stronger, in 2005 as it was in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties. In his thirty-five years in the music business Ozzy's popularity with die-hard music lovers has never waned. In fact, it only seems to have gotten bigger. From his days as a member of the legendary rock band, Black Sabbath, and throughout his tremendously successful solo career (and now, television popularity) Ozzy has transcended all boundaries and categories and is truly among the elite few who can lay claim to being called a true Rock Icon.

Ozzy Osbourne's latest release, Black Rain, is not earth-shattering in any way, nor is it something new and different from anything the Prince of Darkness himself has ever released. Black Rain is, however, a very good record. From Ozzy's lyrical inspiration to Zakk Wylde's insane guitar, which is deeper and sounds more like sludge metal than recent releases, this album certainly deserves a listen, or two, or three.