Black Rain (Ozzy Osbourne Album) - History

History

This album featured a new musical style for him and was his first album to feature elements of industrial metal, such as The Almighty Dollar, and thrash metal, such as 11 Silver. Though his lyrical style remained similar to before, the album featured many elements not seen in previous albums, such as distorted vocals, heavier guitars, and the higher usage of synthesizers. The latter may be because this is the first album not to feature a keyboardist in Osbourne's backup band. Guitarist Zakk Wylde filled the spot for the album, and sometimes chose to add a keyboard solo to a song rather than a guitar solo.

The album was released in several different versions. The original US version was released in a thin, brown digipak with the crowned skull Ozzy Osbourne logo (pictured lower right), and for the rest of the world, it was released in a standard jewel case featuring cover art of Osbourne with "Black Rain" falling (pictured right). This cover included a booklet complete with lyrics and album credits. The US version did not include a booklet, lyrics, or album credits. The Japanese release was the same as the other releases outside of the US, except for the fact that it included two bonus tracks, "I Can't Save You," and "Nightmare." The iTunes release of the album included the aforementioned "Nightmare," plus an exclusive bonus track, (only for those who preordered through iTunes) "Love to Hate." It also included a printable pdf file of the booklet, complete with lyrics and album credits. This same booklet was later made available as a free pdf download from Osbourne's website on 1 June. The song "I Don't Wanna Stop" was also featured as the theme song for WWE Judgment Day 2007.