Osbourne makes a stunning come back with his ninth album full to the brim with some of the heaviest metal produced in the last decade. Ten promising tracks that make the listener yearning for more of Ozzy’s thoughts on the monotones of society in general.

Black Rain cannot be said to contain material that made Ozzy Osbourne reach the heights of popularity during the last few decades. Nevertheless, the material therein is definitely something that can be associated with him. What one means by this is that it is your old Ozzy Osbourne with a difference in technology that somehow makes this album stand out from what one would normally expect from him. Obviously, anyone would hardly be wise if he expects to hear something like Blizzard of Ozz in today’s world, but nonetheless, you won't be disappointed if you're on the look out for some pure, home born heavy metal music. The music in this album is quite orthodox, with an added “Ozz-style” aggression to it.

In Ozzy’s own words, this album was made without excessive use of hard drinks, and therefore has a more mature feel to it.

When I say the music is simple, I mean most of the songs lack that intricacy of solos that we have all come to expect from Zack Wylde. Even though solos from a couple of songs like “Silver” and “I Don’t Wanna Stop” take us back to the old Ozzy days, a general passiveness is adopted to the lead guitars in this album. The only two love songs in this album, though, have quite melodious lead guitaring to their credit. Of these, “Here for You” is the chosen favorite as it is all too reminiscent of the Ozzy classic “So Tired”. When it’s a little softer metal you want to listen to, the album offers you “Countdown’s Begun”, a war related song that is sure to shatter some nerves as it progresses. As already mentioned, easily the best single in this album is “I Don’t Wanna Stop”, a track that promises the avid listener that they haven’t seen the end of Ozzy Osbourne yet.

Overall, this album cannot be counted among the band’s most productive efforts, but it is a very good change in today’s commercial music. Somehow, the band convinced Epic Records that this genre still sells; and the latter definitely got their money’s worth, as suggested by the user ratings. Ozzy’s age may hamper his voice, but his spirit remains as steady as hard rock. For this reason, he may not shout as much as he used to, but he can deliver the same kind of euphoria that he has carried since the days of Black Sabbath. Wylde’s lead guitars are given their true respect only in “Silver”. Overall, nowhere does the album suggest that Ozzy Osbourne’s days are numbered, and the listener is given a constant reminder that there is more to come. Even “Trap Door”, which lacks completely of solos, at least contains promising riffs that say that Wylde is still out there, playing the guitar as it should be.