Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath Thread

[AxlsMainMan]

So, what's everyone think of the new tune?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVfUimq2KeI

[Malcolm]

So, what's everyone think of the new tune?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVfUimq2KeI

I think its pretty good, Cant say I excpected much better, so far the album is getting pretty good reviews

[Malcolm]

TONY IOMMI Is Mixing BLACK SABBATH's Final Shows For Possible Live Album

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has told NBC News that he is in the process of mixing the sound from the band's final shows in Birmingham, England for a possible live album.

"We'll actually be doing a documentary," he said. "My job at the moment is to have a listen to what we've done."

Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in late 2011 and is currently in remission, has written a piece for the long-running "CSI" television series and has "bags" of riffs he came up with for BLACK SABBATH that might one day wind up on a solo album.

"I'm certainly not retiring from playing and doing stuff," he said. "But I think since my illness I've had to look at things differently, think sensibly. I feel fine, but I still go for checkups and tests and at the moment I'm okay."

BLACK SABBATH finished its year-long "The End" farewell tour on February 4 in the band's hometown of Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career with an emotional 15-song set.

The band decided to make this tour its last because Iommi can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

The guitarist recently said that he wouldn't rule out BLACK SABBATH recording new material or playing a one-off event.

The original lineup of SABBATH came together in 1969 with Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums. That lineup recorded and toured through 1978, and periodically reformed through the '90s and 2000s for live work.

They regrouped again in late 2011 for a new album and tour, although Ward dropped out after a few months over financial issues. SABBATH has used Ozzy's regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on the album "13", which came out in June 2013.

Osbourne is reportedly at work on a new solo album, and already has a pair of shows scheduled for this summer.

[Malcolm]

OZZY OSBOURNE And ZAKK WYLDE Reunite For 2017 Tour

For the first time in more than a decade, Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde are together again.

Known as one of rock's most lethal singer and guitarist pairings, the two will hit the road for a series of Ozzy headlining shows in the U.S. this summer and fall, beginning July 14.

While they've performed together over the years, these shows are the first collaboration for the duo for a full tour since 2006. These dates also mark Ozzy's first solo tour in the U.S. in years beyond one Ozzy & Friends performance at the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in New Orleans, Louisiana in October 2015.

Ozzy and Zakk first teamed up 30 years ago when Zakk (whom Ozzy describes as "a fucking absolutely amazing guitar player") joined Ozzy's band in 1987; they last recorded in 2007 on Ozzy's acclaimed "Black Rain" album.

In addition to reuniting with Zakk Wylde on guitar, Ozzy's band will include longtime collaborators Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (bass), Tommy Clufetos (drums) and Adam Wakeman (keyboards). Ozzy's tour dates kick off in July at the Rock USA festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with additional dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

"I'm so happy to be getting back on the road with Zakk, Blasko, Tommy and Adam," says Ozzy Osbourne. "This is what I do. This is where I belong, on the road."

"I'm really looking forward to the hardcore powahlifting training sessions with Ozzy as well as playing music in between sets of heavy squats, benching and deadlifts," Zakk Wylde adds.

Next up for Ozzy: prepping for a new solo album for 2018 on Epic.

Ozzy's initial 2017 tour dates are as follows:

Jul. 14 - Oshkosh, WI Ozzy at Rock USA
Jul. 16 - Chicago, IL Chicago Open Air Festival
Aug. 09 - Sturgis, SD The Legendary Buffalo Chip
Aug. 21 - Cartersville, IL Moonstock 2017 Festival

[Malcolm]

OZZY OSBOURNE Announces Farewell World Tour

Ozzy Osbourne will embark on a two-year "farewell world tour" starting in 2018.

On the trek, Ozzy ? Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter ? will celebrate more than five decades as a performer (both as a solo artist and as lead singer of BLACK SABBATH, which formed in 1968). This tour, expected to take Ozzy around the world with dates into 2020, will mark the end of global touring for the legendary artist, though he will continue to perform select live shows. Ozzy will be joined by longtime collaborators Zakk Wylde (guitar), Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (bass), Tommy Clufetos (drums), and Adam Wakeman (keyboards).

"People keep asking me when I'm retiring," Ozzy says. "This will be my final world tour, but I can't say I won?t do some shows here and there."

Osbourne's farewell tour will kick off in May 2018 with shows in Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Those will be followed by a couple of early June dates in Russia before Osbourne embarks on on a month-long European leg, including appearances at most of the summer festivals. The beloved rock icon will subsequently headline a North American concert tour produced by Live Nation, details of which will be revealed in 2018.

Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne told Rolling Stone that the 68-year-old singer would carry on as a solo artist after BLACK SABBATH's farewell tour came to an end this past February. "We'll continue until Ozzy finishes, and Ozzy won't be long behind them when he calls it a day," she said.

"It's not going to be within the next year, but it's coming up," she said. "I don't want Ozzy singing 'Crazy Train' at 75. I think it's best you go out before you hit that 70 and go out on top."

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he wanted to keep performing for fans as long as he could. "I don't wanna stop, you know," he said. "It's been the biggest love affair of my life. When you reach a certain age in rock 'n' roll, people think, 'Well, this has got to be his last tour,' or 'This has got to be his last tour,' or 'You've got to come next Tuesday 'cause he ain't gonna do it after that.' You'll know when I've come off the road permanently. I mean, you'll know!"

This is not the first time Ozzy has announced the end of his days as a touring artist. Back in 1992, he called it quits after his "No More Tours" tour ? a pun based on the title of his then-most recent solo album, "No More Tears" ? with his solo band, only to return to action three years later.

Ozzy has not released an all-new solo album since 2010's "Scream", having spent the last few years touring with BLACK SABBATH and recording that band's "13" album.



I guess I'll have to checkout the Ozz man one last time.I have seen him twice with Black Sabbath but never solo.

[Malcolm]

Sharon Osbourne Decries Block Booking 'Pissing Match' (Exclusive)

Sharon Osbourne, wife and manager of Ozzy Osbourne,  went public Feb. 7 with her objections to AEG Live's attempt to "block book" Ozzy's final routing by requiring the "No More Tours 2" to play Staples Center in Los Angeles if it booked The O2 in London on the same tour cycle.

And less then 24 hours later,  AEG's Jay Marciano and AzoffMSG's Irving Azoff have jumped into the fray and the Osbournes are making thinly veiled legal threats over the booking policy.

In an exclusive interview with Pollstar Feb. 8, Sharon Osbourne referred to the dispute between promoters as "a pissing match."

The floodgates appear open, with Marciano responding to the public missive with a note of his own to Sharon,  followed shortly by a statement from Azoff.

"Please understand this dispute is between The Forum and Staples Center and we couldn?t agree with you more ? it should always be the artist?s choice. We long for the days when artists and fans came first," Marciano emailed Sharon, followed by a "PS - The other guys started this first!"

The spat began when Pollstar and other outlets obtained a copy of Sharon?s letter to AEG Presents Chairman Marciano chastising him for attempting to ?strong-arm? an artist into performing at Staples Center, and including a copy of an unsigned letter of commitment to play that venue.

In the letter, addressed to "Mr. Marciano" on Sharon Osbourne's letterhead, she wrote: ?Shame on AEG for bringing artists into a power struggle you?re having with your competitor, Live Nation,? Sharon wrote to Marciano. ?[W]ithout the artists there would be no AEG, no Live Nation, no promoters, agents or managers. The artists should always come first. Never forget that!?

The letter was accompanied by an unsigned copy of a ?Staples Center Commitment? document that outlines AEG?s ?new booking policy? which essentially stipulates that if Ozzy Osbourne pencils in dates at The O2 in London for his recently announced farewell tour, he will play Staples Center at least once if he does any shows within a 25-mile radius of Los Angeles.

The letter comes in context of ongoing competition between industry titans AEG and Live Nation, in which Billboard reported Neil Diamond?s agent Marc Geiger was ?squeezed? by Irving Azoff to play the Forum in the L.A. market if the artist wanted to play Madison Square Garden Arena and J. Cole was similarly pushed to play Staples Center last year.

Azoff provided Billboard a statement last year that characterized the competition between AEG and Live Nation as ?good, tough business? and explained that with limited slots available at a venue as popular as the Garden, premium nights go to friends of MSG. Full disclosure: Irving Azoff is affiliated with Oak View Group, Pollstar?s parent company, and spoke at the Pollstar Live! conference Feb. 7.

Marciano told Billboard last year that AEG Live would rather not change its practices, but the company had to ?protect our business.?

Osbourne concluded her letter with the statement: ?There?s enough for everyone without you trying to monopolize the world of entertainment.? She was a panelist at Pollstar Live! the same day.

Representatives from AEG couldn?t comment for this story at press time.

In a post-panel interview with Pollstar, Sharon Osbourne stressed that "a pissing match between two giant companies is none of my business; I truly don't care how they choose to conduct their business. But when it affects my family it becomes my business."

Her husband and client, Ozzy Osbourne, announced his "No More Tours 2" farewell outing Feb. 6. Shows made public to date include mostly amphitheatres, including a Hollywood Bowl concert Oct. 11. But as the booking process moves forward into 2019, and holds were requested at London's O2,  Live Nation and Osbourne's team received the letter requesting signatures indicating agreement to play only Staples Center if another indoor LA dates is booked on the tour cycle.

"Ozzy loves the Forum, and isn't as comfortable at Staples Center," Sharon explained. "He played the Forum when he was 21! He is 70 now. And he loves The O2 in London. These are arenas he wants to be in. They wanted signatures saying we would only play Staples Center if we agreed to The O2 and they could sue us if we didn't. So I said, 'fuck you.'"

[Bridge]

I've seen Ozzy live 6 times, but I may check out a show.  Depends on the setlist.  Great that he's touring with Zakk Wylde again though.

[rebelhipi]

Thoughts on the new Ozzy album.

I think beside the last 2 tracks it kills. It rocks hard.

Plus many songs are written and played by some dude named Duff. 

[Bridge]

I am a massive Ozzy fan and I have mixed feelings on it.

"Under the Graveyard" is now one of my favorite Ozzy songs.  "Eat Me" is easily the worst Ozzy song I've ever heard....like ever.

The rest of the album ebbs and flows for me.  However, I will keep listening and maybe it will grow on me.  I didn't much care for Ozzy's 2007 album Black Rain at first, and now it's one of my favorite Ozzy records.

Plus many songs are written and played by some dude named Duff. 

Yes, Duff has many cowriting and playing credits.  Slash also plays guitar on a couple of songs.

[rebelhipi]

I am a massive Ozzy fan and I have mixed feelings on it.

"Under the Graveyard" is now one of my favorite Ozzy songs.  "Eat Me" is easily the worst Ozzy song I've ever heard....like ever.

The rest of the album ebbs and flows for me.  However, I will keep listening and maybe it will grow on me.  I didn't much care for Ozzy's 2007 album Black Rain at first, and now it's one of my favorite Ozzy records.

Plus many songs are written and played by some dude named Duff. 

Yes, Duff has many cowriting and playing credits.  Slash also plays guitar on a couple of songs.

Black Rain is a cool record

[Malcolm]

All My Life is a pretty good song too

[Bridge]

Ozzy Osbourne drops new song "Patient Number Nine", which features Jeff Beck, and plans to release a new album by the same title on September 9th.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/ozzy-osbourne-announces-new-album-patient-number-9-releases-title-track

[Malcolm]

Looking forward to his new album

[Bridge]

Ozzy's album is out and it's awesome!  Duff cowrote and played on some tracks.  Duff also appears in this brief documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgMzgH45cz0

[DeN]

that's a very cool album, his voice is still very good, and great choice of guitarists