Metal Sludge Gossip Board

Giving it a fair listen, as this was never a favorite of mine. Had an edible so that should give me some fresher ears. Or make me believe Ozzy is talking to me directly.

However, MAJOR recency bias, and I'll explain: There are several songs on this album about him dying! I don't know how I can listen to "My Little Man" outside of the context of him dying and Jack now grieving. So it's impossible for me say that's a bad song. I like Jack. I feel bad for him.

"See You on the Other Side"? Holy cow, I can only imagine the number of aging metalheads crying themselves to sleep to that one. Song started, I didn't really pick up on what it was. I was distracted by how the production in the verses sounded like 80's Def Leppard or Whitesnake or something. Then I was like "Oh noooooo. I think I like Ozzmosis now."

Not exactly, but this isn't Ozzy's fault per se. These songs are WAY TOO LONG. And that's on the music industry in the CD era. Everything was so overstuffed. 10 songs but they're all 5-6 minutes long! Great if it's "No More Tears," or even "Perry Mason." Punishing if it's "Thunder Underground."

I thought it was okay but I think I listened to it under the best possible conditions: Flying high again and right after he died.

"Aimee" is on now, not sure I remember this song, though I'm sure I've heard it.

AIMEEEEE, YOOOOOOOOOU'RE THE ONE
I LOVE YOU
I LOVE HER
SHE'S SHAR-ON

I'll see myself out.

By the way, "Aimee" ended up being the biggest surprise, it's probably one of my favorites. It's the only one that kinda sounds like old Ozzy. It was a demo, right?

Could've easily swapped out one of the midtempo dirges but you can't have TWO songs about your kids on the album. And songs about them individually, so I'm sure Kelly would've lost her shit. ("That's about right." - the other ones)

Chip Z'Hoy wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:12 pmAIMEEEEE, YOOOOOOOOOU'RE THE ONE
I LOVE YOU
I LOVE HER
SHE'S SHAR-ON

This was downright HOSTILE TenLennery and you can't let me get away with it.

For some reason, I love Perry Mason. Just watched a video of it with Holmes and Trujillo. It was much heavier than I expected it to sound, live.

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:27 pm For some reason, I love Perry Mason. Just watched a video of it with Holmes and Trujillo. It was much heavier than I expected it to sound, live.

I always liked "Perry Mason" but when it came out, and I saw the title, I was pretty confused.

And in hindsight, sort of a risk? He was trying to establish himself as a contemporary metal act in the mid-90's--total uphill battle--and his first single in years was a TV show my grandparents watched?

If the first single was "Murder, She Wrote," I might've been a little more intrigued.

Chip Z'Hoy wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:36 pm

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:27 pm For some reason, I love Perry Mason. Just watched a video of it with Holmes and Trujillo. It was much heavier than I expected it to sound, live.

I always liked "Perry Mason" but when it came out, and I saw the title, I was pretty confused.

And in hindsight, sort of a risk? He was trying to establish himself as a contemporary metal act in the mid-90's--total uphill battle--and his first single in years was a TV show my grandparents watched?

If the first single was "Murder, She Wrote," I might've been a little more intrigued.

Who can we get on the case? Calling Matlock. Doesn’t flow either. LOL

I AM IRONSIDE.

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:47 pmI AM IRONSIDE.

This is a nice piece of business right here. Well done.

Chip Z'Hoy wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:58 pm

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:47 pmI AM IRONSIDE.

This is a nice piece of business right here. Well done.

Thankya. I’ve already taken my beddy-bye gummy so thinking a little creatively.

Yep - a bunch of slow six minute grunge songs to fall asleep to are not what I wanted out of Ozzy.

Are you gonna review the rest of his albums? Ozzmosis is the last Ozzy album I ever bought or listened to all the way through.

FreddyFender wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 6:09 pm Yep - a bunch of slow six minute grunge songs to fall asleep to are not what I wanted out of Ozzy.

Are you gonna review the rest of his albums? Ozzmosis is the last Ozzy album I ever bought or listened to all the way through.

Yeah, I'm having fun and I like reading other people's takes on these. I might bunch up the next couple, not take up too much real estate with my MOURNING.

I didn’t love it upon its release but it quickly grew on me. Thunder Underground was probably my least favorite but I eventually grew to like it too. Aimee didn’t make the record but it’s a nice tribute to he and his daughter.

I was a fan of See You On The Other Side from the first listen. Precisely because of the ode to the 80s that Chip mentioned. I like Old L.A. Tonight too.

Acts like Ozzy were damned if they do and damed if they didn’t back then. If they released a record that sounded like 1984 they were roasted for not being “with it” by critics and their musical peers. If they released something that sounded “modern” then they were raked over the coals by their fan base for abandoning them and the style of music that got them to the top.

I think the cat, dove and bat killer found a nice balance here with copious amounts of help from outside forces, per usual. Every guy on here rubs his boner out to NMT. I like NMT but don’t love it. I’m a much bigger fan of Ozzmosis. I’ll take Other Side, Old L.A. and Aimee over Mama and Road To Nowhere

I will acknowledge that NMT is a stronger title track than Perry Mason. But Perry is no slouch.

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:47 pm
I AM IRONSIDE.

I saw "IRONSIDE WAS HERE" written on the wall of a handicap stall in an airport restroom.

Thunder Underground has a good chorus but it's ruined by a low effort third rate heavy riff by Zakk.

Turner Coates wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 7:42 am

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:47 pm
I AM IRONSIDE.

I saw "IRONSIDE WAS HERE" written on the wall of a handicap stall in an airport restroom.

Decent album...but the production sounds weak to my ears.

My top 3: THUNDER UNDERGROUND, I Just Want You, Old L.A. Tonight

Can't wait for the Down to Earth thread, I dig that album! Last good one in my book...

It's a decent album but the production isn't great and the material isn't consistent enough....Zakk Wylde was only brought in later to record the guitars but wasn't really involved in the songwriting like he was on NMT and it shows. Looking back, I honestly wish they (Sharon, the label or whoever) had just kept Steve Vai onboard and let him do the whole record. It would have at least been different and interesting. That's for damn sure.

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:47 pm

Chip Z'Hoy wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:36 pm

Hatchets Molly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:27 pm For some reason, I love Perry Mason. Just watched a video of it with Holmes and Trujillo. It was much heavier than I expected it to sound, live.

I always liked "Perry Mason" but when it came out, and I saw the title, I was pretty confused.

And in hindsight, sort of a risk? He was trying to establish himself as a contemporary metal act in the mid-90's--total uphill battle--and his first single in years was a TV show my grandparents watched?

If the first single was "Murder, She Wrote," I might've been a little more intrigued.

Who can we get on the case? Calling Matlock. Doesn’t flow either. LOL

I AM IRONSIDE.

Hercule Poirot Is a very tough name to rhyme.

Psychobolia.com wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 12:47 pm Decent album...but the production sounds weak to my ears.

My top 3: THUNDER UNDERGROUND, I Just Want You, Old L.A. Tonight

Can't wait for the Down to Earth thread, I dig that album! Last good one in my book...

you wrote a book?

The Prez wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 1:20 pm It's a decent album but the production isn't great and the material isn't consistent enough....Zakk Wylde was only brought in later to record the guitars but wasn't really involved in the songwriting like he was on NMT and it shows. Looking back, I honestly wish they (Sharon, the label or whoever) had just kept Steve Vai onboard and let him do the whole record. It would have at least been different and interesting. That's for damn sure.

What happened there?

Ozzmosis singles were great, the rest mostly filler. And Steve Vai..... he would have done for Ozzy what he did for Whitesnake (make him sound even more dated).

Wild Obsession wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 2:17 pm Ozzmosis singles were great, the rest mostly filler. And Steve Vai..... he would have done for Ozzy what he did for Whitesnake (make him sound even more dated).

Right. I reckon the production, songwriting, silly lyrics and the fact it was almost 1990 when SOTT came out had probably more to do with it

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 1:49 pm

The Prez wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 1:20 pm It's a decent album but the production isn't great and the material isn't consistent enough....Zakk Wylde was only brought in later to record the guitars but wasn't really involved in the songwriting like he was on NMT and it shows. Looking back, I honestly wish they (Sharon, the label or whoever) had just kept Steve Vai onboard and let him do the whole record. It would have at least been different and interesting. That's for damn sure.

What happened there?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJW26ljxlVc

Tomorrow was by far my favorite on the album.

One thing that I found strange was when they were recording it in one interview Ozzy was going on about how great the drum sound was going to be and all the extra work they put into achieving this massive drum sound, but then when I heard it I didn't notice anything special about them at all. I found myself addicted to hard drugs not too long after that (about a year and a half). So thanks a lot Ozzmosis' lack of an amazing drum sound. I can only hope that album didn't have a similar effect on too many other fans.

Off Topic: I wonder why the song Don't Blame Me wasn't included on No More Tears? It would've been another really good song on an already very strong album. Replace Time After Time or S.I.N. or Road To Nowhere with Don't Blame Me and that album would be an 8.5 out of 10.

Ozzy's solo career ends with that album, as far as I'm concerned. That's a good run, from "Blizzard" to "Ozzmosis".

I absolutely love half the songs on the album, and couldn’t even tell you how the other half of the songs go.

Perry Mason is a Top 5 for me. It’s just perfect.

I think the production is thick and awesome.

I’m surprised Chip took an edible and didn’t get into Thunder Underground. I didn’t get into that song until I heard it good and lit up. Great grooves, great melodies and words, great solo, the outro works.

The pre-verse riff to “My Jekyll Doesn’t Hide” is one of those riffs that I can’t resist playing if I’m plugged into a screaming Marshall for the first time in a while.

…did someone really say this sounds like grunge? Sounds like someone who hasn’t heard a lot of grunge. And, as Ozzy once said (paraphrasing), “If Soundgarden sound like Sabbath and people are saying my stuff sounds like Soundgarden…”

It’s always surprised me that this album rates so low with a lot of people. Their loss I guess.

Nate S Axel wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:53 pm Speaking of cats, I wonder how Arch Hall Jr. is doing now.

We need a Sludge tell all to see who was behind Arch (and a few others). Arch was tops.

inextrem wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 9:05 pm Ozzy's solo career ends with that album, as far as I'm concerned. That's a good run, from "Blizzard" to "Ozzmosis".

I used to think that too, but Down to Earth is even stronger than Ozzmosis, I think. Ahh, Chip will lead us into that when it's time.

SterileEyes1 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 10:29 pm I absolutely love half the songs on the album, and couldn’t even tell you how the other half of the songs go.

Perry Mason is a Top 5 for me. It’s just perfect.

I think the production is thick and awesome.

I’m surprised Chip took an edible and didn’t get into Thunder Underground. I didn’t get into that song until I heard it good and lit up. Great grooves, great melodies and words, great solo, the outro works.

The pre-verse riff to “My Jekyll Doesn’t Hide” is one of those riffs that I can’t resist playing if I’m plugged into a screaming Marshall for the first time in a while.

…did someone really say this sounds like grunge? Sounds like someone who hasn’t heard a lot of grunge. And, as Ozzy once said (paraphrasing), “If Soundgarden sound like Sabbath and people are saying my stuff sounds like Soundgarden…”

It’s always surprised me that this album rates so low with a lot of people. Their loss I guess.

I agree with most of this post I quoted. Ozzmosis is one of my favorite Ozzy albums. A couple of stinkers on there but the rest is great. Started out I only enjoyed half but within the last 15 years I started enjoying most of it. My Little Guy and Ghost Behind My Eyes I can do just fine without. I absolutely love love Worlds Falling Down.

I didn't care for Down To Earth but will give it another listen. Haven't heard it since it came out. I hated Black Rain. I enjoy half of Scream. I haven't heard the last two.

^^^

The two you can do without are two of the songs that I can’t recall at all. World Falling Down is another but I’ll have to give that a listen, maybe I’ve been sleeping on it.

“That I Never Had” from Down To Earth is the only song that stuck out to me. The live version from Live At Budokon is particularly rocking. The band really cooks:

https://youtu.be/0Vosma2wU_s?si=LId1nuwLlLNIvEHc


I only got into the first song from Black Rain and never heard Scream. Listened to Ordinary Man once and remember being surprised by how strong a lot of it was. Your post is reminding me to give those last two albums more of a chance.