Ozzy Osbourne released his twelfth studio album Ordinary Man this year, but the Prince of Darkness isn’t wasting any time on his follow-up.
Andrew Watt, who produced Ordinary Man, told Guitar World, “We’re about halfway through. But, you know, it’s been hard with COVID and everything to keep him safe. We all test every day before we work and it’s just me, Ozzy and my engineer. So it’s taken a little longer this time, but it’s cool because the last one was made in this, like, swift love affair of passion, like, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible!’”
Watt added, “But this time everyone’s moving a little slower and we’re taking a little more time. And the songs, there’s some songs on there that are like eight or nine minutes long that are these really crazy journeys. I’m really excited about it.”
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Ordinary Man featured a number of guests including Slash, Duff McKagan, Elton John, Tom Morello, Chad Smith and Post Malone. From the sounds of it, this follow-up will feature a number of guests, as well.
“There’s a bunch of people involved. I can’t say for sure until the end, but I started doing a bunch of basic tracks with Chad [Smith] and Robert Trujillo, who used to play in Ozzy’s band,” said Watt. “And Taylor Hawkins also came in and played a bunch on the record as well, which adds a different flair – it kind of harkened back to Ozzy’s ‘80s era, in a great way. And I think it’s so cool for a rock fan to be able to listen to half an album with Chad Smith on drums, and then you flip it over and you get to hear Taylor Hawkins.”
Watt continued, “And you know, the last album was really special for everyone involved. And so there was no point in Ozzy or me doing this again unless we thought we could bring something new to the table. And I feel like we’re achieving that.”