Ozzy Osbourne has recruited a who’s who of guitar legends for his upcoming album. The Prince of Darkness’ new studio effort will feature contributions from Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, and Zakk Wylde.
After releasing the album Ordinary Man in early 2020, Ozzy quickly got back to work with producer Andrew Watt on its follow-up. Much like Ordinary Man, the forthcoming album features a previously reported all-star backing band, this time consisting of drummers Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), as well as bassist Robert Trujillo (Metallica).
Now, Ozzy has revealed that the aforementioned guitar legends will guest on the new album. Of course, Ozzy is very familiar with Iommi, his longtime Black Sabbath bandmate, and Wylde, who’s had numerous stints in Ozzy’s solo band, including its current touring lineup.
In the latest episode of his “Ozzy Speaks” series on his Ozzy’s Boneyard SiriusXM channel, Osbourne offered the list of names to co-host Billy Morrison: “On this new album, I’m working with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, and Zakk.”
When asked by Morrison about the process of collaborating with the various musicians, Ozzy said, “You just write the song and you just ask them to sing [or play guitar].”
As to whether Ozzy ever had to reject any contributions from guest musicians, the metal legend remarked, “No. Eric Clapton, on this new record, one of the lyrics was about Jesus, and he wasn’t sure about that. But it was all right in the end … [and his guitar solo] is very good.”
Clapton has been making headlines during the pandemic for his anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown stances, insisting he wouldn’t perform for “discriminated” audiences at venues where proof of vaccine was required. However, he just played a venue in New Orleans that required proof of vaccinations.
Recently, Ozzy released a new version of the song “Hellraiser” featuring vocals from both himself and late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. The track came in advance of the new 30th anniversary edition of Osbourne’s No More Tears album.
