Ozzy Osbourne Is Working on His New Album with Members of Metallica, Foo Fighters and RHCP

The follow-up to 'Ordinary Man' is apparently about halfway done

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Dec 17, 2020

Ozzy Osbourne is gearing up for a new studio album, and the follow-up to his Ordinary Man will feature a bunch of notable guests.

While work on Ozzy's new album is only "about halfway through," producer and guitarist Andrew Watt has revealed that the as-yet-untitled album will feature Metallica's Robert Trujillo doing bass throughout the record, while Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith will be splitting up drum duties. In the new interview with Guitar World, Watt also said he would be doing most of the guitar work on the new Ozzy record.

Beyond that, Watt explained that there are some surprise guests as well, though he would not name names.

"There's a bunch of people involved," Watt said. "I can't say for sure until the end, but I started doing a bunch of basic tracks with Chad and Robert Trujillo, who used to play in Ozzy's band. And Taylor Hawkins also came in and played a bunch on the record as well, which adds a different flair — it kind of harkened back to Ozzy's '80s era, in a great way. And I think it's so cool for a rock fan to be able to listen to half an album with Chad Smith on drums, and then you flip it over and you get to hear Taylor Hawkins."

Watt went on to say that those involved with the album are doing their best to be extra careful as a result of the ongoing pandemic, with studio sessions only including Watt, his engineer and Osbourne. All three are also receiving a COVID-19 test before work; Watt himself had already contracted COVID-19 earlier in the pandemic, while Ozzy's wife Sharon Osborne recently tested positive.

"It's been hard with COVID and everything to keep him safe," explained Watt. "We all test every day before we work and it's just me, Ozzy and my engineer. So it's taken a little longer this time, but it's cool because the last one was made in this, like, swift love affair of passion, like, 'Oh my God, this is incredible!'"

He added: "But this time everyone's moving a little slower and we're taking a little more time. And the songs, there's some songs on there that are like eight or nine minutes long that are these really crazy journeys. I'm really excited about it."

Below, you can check out a short clip of Ozzy, Watt, Smith and Trujillo in the studio recently playing Black Sabbath's classic track "Sweet Leaf."

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