Ozzy Osbourne is “about halfway through” his next album, and the rocker has enlisted some A-list talent to help on the songs, including Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins.

"There's a bunch of people involved,” reported record producer Andrew Watt in a conversation with Guitar World. “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.”

As Watt noted, Trujillo and Smith have previous history with Osbourne; both worked with the Black Sabbath singer in the past. Meanwhile, Watt believes Hawkins’ contributions to the new LP “hearken back to Ozzy's ‘80s era, in a great way.” “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,” the producer opined.

Watt previously produced Osbourne’s 2020 album, Ordinary Man, a release that came together rather quickly. In this case, however, things are progressing at a calmer pace.

“This time everyone's moving a little slower and we're taking a little more time,” Watt admitted. “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."

Also complicating matters: updated safety protocols during the coronavirus pandemic. “It's been hard with COVID and everything to keep [Ozzy] safe," Watt explained. "We all test every day before we work, and it's just me, Ozzy and my engineer."

Even though there's no timetable for when the new album will be released, the producer insists the wait will be worth it. "The last album was really special for everyone involved," he said. "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."

 

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