Ozzy Osbourne, Under the Graveyard | Track Review 🎵

[usr 3.5] 

Following an extended hiatus, ‘The Prince of Darkness,’ Ozzy Osbourne, returns with a new, dark single, “Under the Graveyard.”

It’s been pretty quiet times for Ozzy Osbourne, a heavy metal/rock icon by all means.  Yes, Ozzy is 70 years old, and productivity in the recording studio tends to wane after a while, but his collaboration with Post Malone (“Take What You Want,” Hollywood’s Bleeding), definitely reinvigorated demand for the legend.  “Under the Graveyard” marks the first original music attributed to Osbourne (excluding Black Sabbath’s 13) since his 2010 album, Scream.  “Under the Graveyard” is set to appear on his long-awaited, 2020 album, Ordinary Man.

If you are looking for tons of ‘shock’ from Ozzy Osbourne via “Under the Graveyard,” well, you’ll probably be disappointed.  This hard-rocking joint is well-rounded overall but doesn’t feature anything mind-boggling from ‘The Prince of Darkness.’  Lyrically, there is ample darkness and pessimism, beginning on the first verse. “Today, I woke up and I hate myself,” he sings, continuing, “Death doesn’t answer when I cry for help.” Yeah, that’s dark, but we’ve been there, done that with Ozzy.  Remember “Suicide Solution”? The second verse is disturbing, with lyrics such as “Ashes to ashes, watch me disappear / Closer to home because the end is near.”

The best part is definitely the chorus, which is big and epic as one expects from Ozzy.  He prefaces it with a pre-chorus, best characterized by the word ‘misery.’ Then, we get the crème de la crème:

“Under the graveyard
We’re all rotting bones
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
Everything you are
Can’t take it when you go
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
I ain’t livin’ this lie no more…
It’s cold in the graveyard
We all die alone.”

Sure, Ozzy has a point but it’s not particularly encouraging, uplifting stuff unfortunately.  Musically, “Under the Graveyard” keeps Osbourne in his comfort zone without sounding like a total anachronism. Vocally, he remains potent.  Andrew Watt (aka watt) and Happy Perez handle production duties.

Final Thoughts

All in all, “Under the Graveyard” is an enjoyable, respectable comeback from Ozzy Osbourne.  It won’t be superseding or supplanting his classics mind you, but after such a lengthy hiatus (and that PM collaboration), it’s pretty awesome to hear him back at it again.

[usr 3.5]

Ozzy Osbourne • Under the Graveyard [Single] • Epic • Release: 11.8.19

Photo Credit: Epic