The basic message of Ozzy Osbourne's ninth studio album, Black Rain (Epic), is illustrated by the song "I Don't Wanna Stop": ("All my life I've been over the top/ I don't know what I'm doing/ All I know is I don't wanna stop.") For those who didn't get grasp the tricky concept, Ozzy reiterates on "Not Going Away." The veteran rocker's declarations not to disappear are accompanied by a renewed energy and hunger that make Ozzy's first album in six years a welcome return. Black Rain is filled with triumphant fist-raising songs colored by guitarist Zakk Wylde's crunchy riffs and sqealing pinch harmonics. And the aggression of the disc is enhanced by songs about war ("Countdown's Begun") and consumerism ("The Almighty Dollar"), making it seem more timely than some of Ozzy's past solo albums. But the bottom line is this: No matter how much mainstream exposure he receives on television and in the tabloids, Black Rain is proof that, for Ozzy, the music still matters most.
Carnal Forge -- Testify For My Victims (Candlelight) It may mark the debut of new vocalist Jens C. Mortensen, but Testify For My Victims isn't a radical departure for Sweden's Carnal Forge. The band's sound is still anchored in melodic death metal and thrash rhythms and fleshed out by hardcore-style vocals. Sure, there's some melodic singing here and there, but for the most part, the Forge's mission is to keep in brutal.
The Dead See -- Through The Veil (Pluto) -- From the blackened heart of Lubbock, Texas comes The Dead See with a barrage of textural down-tuned stoner sludge that sounds like an agonized hybrid of Eyehategod and Neurosis. The band's debut, Through the Veil, is probably also inspired by recreational pharmaceuticals and horror films, and the combination yields songs that are dark, ominous and entrancing. Come See.
Despised Icon - The Ills Of Modern Man (Century Media) -- The third album by Montreal technical grind band Despised Icon is as musically accomplished as it is heavy. The band's abrupt tempo shifts are impressive and unsettling and the many melodic guitar runs between bludgeoning rhythms are jarring enough to sustain listener's interest far beyond the next bout of sadistic hammering.
Death Before Dishonor - Count Me In (Bridge Nine) -- Boston-based hardcore metal band, Death Before Dishonor don't believe in subtlety. Like their idols Hatebreed, the group tempers scalp-ripping riffs with aggressive mosh passages that'll leave many a pit slippery with blood.
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