October 16, 2001 - Down To Earth

It's a triple release day! And six long years since his last album "Ozzmosis" Ozzy Osbourne released his eighth album "Down To Earth" on October 16, 2001. Ozzy and Zakk Wylde are still here, but Geezer Butler and Deen Castronovo are both gone since last album. The new rhythm section is filled by drummer Mike Bordin and bassist Robert Trujillo. Let's check out what Ozzy has to offer in the 21st century!

The album kicks off with it's first single "Gets Me Through" and Zakk opens with a soft but cool piano riff, then things shift into a pretty typical Ozzy main riff with Zakk playing some nice chugging guitars to lead the way and Ozzy still sounding like his solid self overtop. It's fairly basic and simple, but it's catchy and still some solid rock and roll. Wylde delivers an epic guitar solo as you'd expect that sounds pretty sweet, but the rest is pretty predictable. The song ends with another guitar solo, but it fades out while Zakk is still shredding, and he was really shredding too! Boo to the producer who cut that out! Up next is "Facing Hell" and Zakk plays another chugging and very metal guitar riff that sounds pretty cool to lead the way. It's another basic but decent verse and chorus that is certainly not bad, but also not really jumping out, aside from of course the solo. Zakk delivers a fast and epic guitar solo as usual, but the keyboards in the background are a little lame and aside from the cool guitar, the rhythm section is very simple and not really adding anything. Track 3 is the album's most popular song by far, the hit single "Dreamer" and Zakk plays a sappy but pretty solid piano riff to lead the way on this one as Ozzy sounds pretty epic and solid singing overtop. His simple lyrics about wanting peace and a better life for all are very accessible and it's non wonder this song took off as they execute this slow ballad pretty much to perfection, led by Wylde's piano. The chorus is especially catchy and after another catchy round Zakk switches to guitar for solo time and delivers a fittingly sappy solo. As far as piano ballads go, and as far as sappy Ozzy songs go, this was good on both fronts, a pretty good single! The next track is "No Easy Way Out" and Wylde plays just another super heavy and cool main guitar riff, he is just exploding with great riffs! Ozzy sings a decent verse overtop and the chorus sounds pretty epic with Ozzy sounding great and Zakk playing some catchy and cool guitar. After another round they slow things down for a short bridge, then Zakk explodes into a typically elic and awesome solo. They predictably wrap things up and this was a pretty solid tune. Track 5 is "That I Never Had" and words don't do justice when I say Wylde leads the way with yet another cool and heavy guitar riff and the blasé rhythm section falls in line behind. Ozzy sings a solid verse and chorus but it's Zakk who's carrying the load with all of his great guitar work. They collapse space-ily into a cool acoustic riff, and then Zakk takes off for quite the epic guitar solo. He rips off a few more short awesome bits as they close things out and this was easily the best song on the album so far for me! Up next is a song that's just over a minute long called "You Know... (Part I)", but there never is a part II. Zakk plays some light acoustic guitar and Ozzy sings a short sappy verse in this pretty forgettable interlude. Track 7 is "Junkie" and it's another catchy and solid main riff by Zakk and another solid verse and chorus by Ozzy. Along with a predictably cool guitar solo it's another formulaic Ozzy tune, but it's still a decently high bar and this is another above average rock song, mostly thanks to Wylde's catchy and great guitars. The next track is "Running Out Of Time" and it's the album's less popular ballad with Zakk leading the way with another fairly sappy piano riff. Ozzy sings a pop-y verse to match the mood and things get louder in the chorus, but still sound very simple and sappy. This is probably the weakest song on the album, I think five minutes is way too long and there's really nothing too amazing happening. "Dreamer" showed that you can do this style well, but this one wasn't nearly as good I thought. Track 9 is "Black Illusion" Zakk leads the way with a slow but heavy and cool guitar riff and Ozzy sings a solid verse to match the slow bouncing mood. Trujillo actually stands out for once with some nice chugging bass, but as usual it's Zakk carrying things with a cool chorus riff. The guitar solo isn't his flashiest, but it fits the mood nicely and he does shred in small doses. Another formulaic but solid tune I'd say! Up next is "Alive" and my words follow the same formula, but it's another unique and cool riff I swear! Things break into a quiet and creepy verse with Ozzy singing nicely overtop the creepy and cool guitars. Then things pick up to a loud and more typical Ozzy riff that leads right into a catchy chorus. Then they hit reset and do that whole process again, a pretty solid progression. The solo is super short on this one and then they jam out the chorus for a bit too long, it wasn't that great! A decent but not amazing song overall. The final song on the album is "Can You Hear Them?" and Wylde plays some really epic guitar on this one to start, and throughout! Bordin actually shows up with some cool drums and Ozzy sounds great as usual in this really epic and loud verse and chorus. After a couple rounds they slow things down with a brief sappy verse, then it's solo time and Zakk plays a fairly tame solo for him that's more on the space-y side and sounds cool, just not his best. The rest of the song is pretty solid and this is a pretty good way to wrap things up.

That is the end of "Down To Earth" and I thought it was a good but not great album from Ozzy once again. Most of the songs were solid, but none of them are all that memorable honestly. I do think it's better than his last album "Ozzmosis", but I don't think it surpasses "The Ultimate Sin" so 7th out of 8 will have to do. Has Ozzy lost his true swagger? He's nowhere near done yet, until next time!