So remember a few weeks ago, producer Andrew Watt had a crazy birthday party and had Post Malone, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins over to jam? We were all like "how did this group of people end up together?" Well, turns out all of them, sans Malone, were together recording the new Ozzy Osbourne album, which Watt is once again producing.
Watt, who produced Ozzy's previous release, Ordinary Man, spoke to Guitar World and revealed the murderer's row of players he lined up for the new Ozzy record.
“There’s a bunch of people involved. 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.
"And you know, the last album was really special for everyone involved. And so there was no point in Ozzy or me doing this again unless we thought we could bring something new to the table. And I feel like we’re achieving that.”
Watts revealed they're halfway done with the album and was asked to describe the sound. “Well, we’re just halfway through, so it could still change. Some of these songs we have could wind up not even making the album. So I can’t really say yet. But in the end it’s all Ozzy’s decision. When he tells me we’ve got the album, that’s when I’ll stop.”
Because of Ozzy being a high risk for catching COVID-19, Watt revealed the extra protocols everybody goes through to make sure the Prince of Darkness is safe. “It’s been hard with COVID and everything to keep him safe. 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!’ [laughs]
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.”
