Just when we thought things were veering towards the wrong direction, Ozzy Osbourne emerges from his symbolic grave and casually dishes out what may go down as one of the Prince of Darkness’s most impressive solo albums in four decades.

Ordinary Man, Ozzy’s first full-studio album in ten years, strings together the rock icon’s viciously famous vocal wale, raw metal roots, a recurring gospel backing and a slew of unpredictable featured guests to somehow arrive at a composition that is virtually impossible to criticize.

Despite what the title may suggest, its portrayal is deceiving as the core of the track list revolves around the idea that the former Black Sabbath frontman is far from what would be considered an ordinary man. Let’s face it, no person in their right mind would categorize the grim character as “normal.”

While Ozzy’s obsession with all things death and darkness is obviously a stark idiosyncrasy to the average man, it’s that very trend on this album that is so encouraging.

Following the announcement regarding his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis, you may think that releasing a record that so blatantly addresses the theme of death may not, let’s say, lighten the mood. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

With tracks like “Goodbye,” “Under the Graveyard,” “Today Is The End” and even “Ordinary Man,” which all face the notion of death head-on, Ordinary Man quickly becomes a paradox in that while he sings about his disdain with the ordinary, Ozzy simultaneously celebrates his one commonality — mortality.

Opening with a gospel backing on “Straight to Hell,” Ozzy immediately sets the stage for the core theme of the album. Embracing an intermittent guitar loop through the first two verses, Ozzy steps back from the throne towards the end of the track to make room for guitar royalty as Slash joins in for a solo that we are truly not worthy of.

Transitioning into one of the slower hits of the album, “All My Life,” Ozzy reflects on a somewhat surrealistic outlook of his life up until this point, paying careful attention to highlighting the lyrics through the use of a heavy bass line to make up for the more subtle percussion and guitar riffs.

As a certain fineness floats in the listener’s surrounding, Ozzy smacks everyone in the face with “Goodbye” and “Under the Graveyard,” a pair of hard-hitting tracks that emulate a more contemporary metal sound, while still managing to keep the Sabbath metal core at their basis.

In between the two reaper-inspired tracks sits “Ordinary Man,” perhaps the most impressive song on the entire album, and frankly one of Ozzy’s best solo singles of his entire career.

Led by a melodic piano performed by the Rocketman himself, Ozzy reveals his vulnerability in the title track, owning up to his well-documented mistakes, while expressing a raw and desperate plea to avoid the ordinary.

In addition to Elton John, “Ordinary Man” features another solo from Slash, along with the likes of Guns N' Roses’ Duff McKagan and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith. Talk about rock distinction at its finest.

Playing with a bit of a punk-influenced distortion, Ozzy throws in a couple of emerging tracks including “Eat Me” and “Scary Little Green Man,” which tackle some questionable subject matter. Although for a presence as odd as the man himself, aliens and cannibalism seem tame in retrospect.

Wallowing in the lack of deathly tunes? Don’t fret. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer heads towards the end of the album with “Today Is The End” and “Holy For Tonight,” two tracks that manage to flounder in the reality of one’s last day, all while approaching it with a forward-looking respect. It seems like Ozzy may have found a more positive outlook on existence in recent times. More than warranted, I suppose.

And with a solid instrumental throughout “Today Is The End” and a more than impressive faction of back-up singers to compliment Ozzy’s forward vocal on “Holy For Tonight,” the songs hold strong as easy hits amongst a competitive track list.

Rounding out the album are the two obvious outliers of the pack, “It’s A Raid” and “Take What You Want.” Asserting clear abstract arrangements, tracks ten and eleven are spearheaded by Post Malone, who is actually credited as the artist of “Take What You Want” which technically only features Ozzy.

While the more modern approaches may be seen as hindrances to a technically flawless metal rock album, what the final songs do reveal is Ozzy’s rejuvenated perspective on his music and career. The will to venture out and experiment in different creative pathways has clearly kept his musical genius more alive than it’s been in decades.

Recently admitting that he has already begun the process of creating even more new content, Ozzy has seemingly found an outlet to his recent troubled times, and boy are we rooting him on.

In the end, if we’ve learned anything from this most recent release, it's this — Ozzy Osbourne is certainly NOT an ordinary man.

Although he recently had to cancel a long leg of scheduled tour dates for a second time since 2018, the metal pioneer is still set to kick off his No More Tours 2 run in the UK come October. To keep up with developing news, upcoming tour dates and ticketing information, visit Ozzy’s official website!