All aboard the crazy train! In his return to the music world, on Sept. 9, The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne released his 13th solo record titled “Patient Number 9.”

 “Patient Number 9” features all types of high-profile figures in the rock world like Black Sabbath bandmates, Tony Iommi, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton Mike McCready and the return of Zakk Wylde.

 Before diving into the music on the record, what strikes me as the most interesting is that on almost all the songs, Ozzy has given songwriting credits to Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer, Chad Smith, former Jane’s Addiction bassist, Chris Chaney, current Metallica bassist, Robert Trujillo, Andrew Watt who has been credited with collaborating and contributing to artists such as Post Malone, Eddie Vedder, and helped Ozzy on his most recent record which was 2020’s “Ordinary Man,” and finally credit is given on a few songs to late Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins

 With a little over an hour of classic hard rock, what isn’t there to love?

 My one critique is the vocals. Ozzy has a very distinct voice, one that any rock fan would be able to recognize. On this record though, it sounds almost computerized. I know his voice isn’t going to sound exactly like it did on 1983’s “Bark at the Moon” record but it doesn’t sound totally authentic. It was a lot more obvious on the “Ordinary Man” record and it seems to be less obvious on this record, but it is still a bit concerning on whether or not Ozzy is using overdubs and Pro Tools on his voice.

 Despite the vocal critique, that’s really where the negatives end. The songs are all solid and are typical Ozzy-style hard rock and metal-driven songs with some genius songwriters from Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, even Duff McKagen from Guns N’ Roses gets credit on the second track, “Immortal,” and the fifth track, “One of Those Days.”

 Being a music lover and reviewer like myself, you listen to all the different parts of a song and do your best to absorb as much of it as possible.

 One of my favorite things while listening to this record was the bass playing. I love a good bass line or bass player like Gene Simmons of Kiss, Johnny Colt of The Black Crowes, or Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith. Chris Chaney’s bass playing on this record is insane. The bass isn’t completely muffled by Ozzy singing or the rest of the band playing, it’s upfront, in your face, and leaves listeners asking, “why did Jane’s Addiction move on from Chris Chaney?”

 Some of the most notable songs that I liked and or added to my playlists are the title track, “Patient Number 9,” “Parasite,” No Escape From Now,” and “Degradation Rules.”

 When the title track of the record, “Patient Number 9,” was released as a single, I did not like it, something about it I didn’t enjoy, maybe it was the fact that it was a seven-and-a-half-minute song, but I didn’t care for it. 

 After listening to it again, my opinion has changed faster than Ozzy can bite the head off of a bat or use the bathroom on the Texas Alamo. I really liked Jeff Beck playing a hard rock song instead of a blues type of song, I really think he fits in nicely with Ozzy and they complement each other beautifully.

 “Parasite” could easily be thrown onto any Ozzy Osbourne record that has Zakk Wylde on it. It could appear on the “No Rest for the Wicked” record, or the “No More Tears” record. That’s all that needs to be said about that song, it’s Ozzy at his absolute best, down to his roots as one of the gods of rock and roll.

 The final song that I enjoyed right away is the partial Black Sabbath reunion of Iommi and Ozzy on “No Escape From Now.” What I’m secretly hoping is that this record and the on-stage reunion at the Commonwealth Games bring another Sabbath reunion to the masses of fans that beg and hope for a reunion. 

 Fans shouldn’t get their hope up. “I want to take it away from Sabbath. We put that band to bed,” Ozzy told ultimateclassicrock.com. “And if he wants to [turn it into another] Sabbath album, I’m not doing it.”

 “No Escape From Now” is classic Sabbath. Tony Iommi adds his Godfather of Heavy Metal touch on the guitar solo which seems to just naturally come with Ozzy Osbourne’s voice is such a soothing sound to hear and fans will and should be grateful that Ozzy isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. 

 This record definitely isn’t the absolute worst, its good. It honestly is better than I expect it to be and I’m extremely happy that Ozzy was able to put out such strong material.

As always, here are The Singer’s Thoughts:

1. Making a new record is the bridge for a tour for Ozzy, as we’ve learned from the music industry, never say never (a la a Motley Crue reunion tour).
2. If there is a tour, will it include Zakk Wylde on lead guitar? Wylde had a long career next to the man he calls “The Boss” (sorry Bruce Springsteen) ever since he joined the band in ‘87 and then reportedly left in ‘05 before Ozzys “Black Rain” record. Wylde did appear on stage when Ozzy kicked off the start of the NFL season on Sept. 8 during a halftime show between the Buffalo Bills and the L.A Chargers (even if they only showed Ozzy for a full 10 seconds if that…)
3. The door is now officially open for a Sabbath reunion, like I said before, we’ve learned from the music industry, that you should never say never (just look at The Black Crowes). If Iommi and Osbourne can record two songs in a studio and perform at the Commonwealth Games together then they can reunite Black Sabbath

Overall Grade: 7/10